Passport Information for your Florida Flight

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Preparing for your trip

You will need a valid passport!

You will need a valid passport to enter and leave the United States.

Be aware of a Passport That Is About to Expire!

Make sure any passport you hold is valid for your trip. Some countries have an immigration requirement for a passport to remain valid for a minimum period beyond the date of entry to the country.

When to Apply

Demand for passports becomes heavy in January and declines in August. To avoid delays apply between September and December. Whenever possible, apply several months in advance of your planned departure.

Urgent Applications

The Passport Service provides a guaranteed same-day service for straightforward properly completed applications for passport renewals, amendments and child extensions only; and a one-week fast track service for all types of applications. The fee for the same-day service is £75 (child £61) and for the one-week service £60 (child £46). These fees include the standard passport fee of £30 (child £16). Customers will not be able to obtain a first passport or a replacement for a lost or stolen passport in less than a week. This is to enable the UKPS to undertake the checks necessary to confirm an applicant's identity and eligibility.

How to Apply for Your UK Passport

The standard 10 year British passport is only available to adults over 16 years of age who are in the UK at the time of application and who have one of the following citizenship's:

A British citizen.

A British Dependent Territories citizen.

A British Overseas citizen.

A British Subject. (Further categories also apply:

For more information on these see the section Rules and Eligibility for British Passport or contact your local Passport Office.)

Documents Required

You must be able to prove that you are of British Nationality. To do this you must include the original of the relevant document/s as listed below. Copies or photocopies of any kind will not be accepted.

If you were born in the United Kingdom

Birth Certificate.

If you were born outside the United Kingdom

If naturalised, your Naturalisation Certificate.

If registered, your Registration Certificate.

If you were born outside the UK before 31 December 1982 but father* born in UK:

Your full birth certificate, showing both your parents' names.

Your father's birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate.

(*Prior to the coming into force of the British Nationality Act, 1981, a person could not claim British nationality from his or her mother)

Born outside the UK after 31 December 1982 but father born in UK:

Your full birth certificate, showing both your parents' names.

Your father's birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate.

Born outside the UK after 31 December 1982 but mother born in UK:

Your full birth certificate.

Your mother's birth certificate.

Alternatively, if you hold a Consular birth certificate issued by a British Consulate abroad, you may submit your consular birth certificate instead of your parents' documents as listed above.

Married or divorced women

If you are a woman who is or who has been married in the past, we will need to see either your marriage certificate or divorce document as evidence of your change of name from your maiden name to your married name (and vice versa - if you wish to revert to your maiden name).

When your passport arrives

When you receive your passport check the details are correct and make a note of them in case the passport is ever lost or stolen.

Children included on Passports before 5th October 1998

Before 5th October 1998 many children were already included on a valid passport. These children can still continue to travel abroad with the passport holder until either:

The child reaches the age of 16.

The passport on which the child is included expires.

The passport on which the child is included is submitted for amendment

The Child Abduction Act 1984 makes it a criminal offence for anyone connected with a child under the age of sixteen to take or send that child out of the United Kingdom without appropriate consent.

Persons connected with a child are parents, guardians and persons with a residence order or who have parental responsibility.

The appropriate consent is the consent of the mother, the father (if he has parental responsibility), guardian and anyone with a residence order or parental responsibility, or the leave of the court.

In general, a child's father only has automatic parental responsibility if he is or has been married to the child's mother. A person with a residence order may take or send the child out of the United Kingdom without the appropriate consent for up to a month at a time.

Renewal

You can renew your existing standard 10 year British passport once it expires, is full or is shortly due to expire. Using the standard application form, simply return your passport with two new, recent photographs (these do not have to be signed or certified) and payment and a new valid passport will be issued. Please note that your old passport will be cancelled. Please be aware that this may invalidate any visas in the passport. You are recommended to contact the issuing authorities to confirm whether an unexpired visa in a cancelled passport remains valid.

When you get married

There are so many things to organise when getting married that changing your name on your passport may get overlooked. Some countries might not accept an unamended passport even if you carry your marriage certificate (you can check this with your travel agent or the country’s consulate), so it’s well worth having the name changed on your passport well in advance.

We can arrange this for you any time up to three months before the wedding, although you’ll be unable to use your passport until the actual day of your marriage.

You have two options:

You can be issued with a new standard 10 year passport. If you are already a passport holder this will mean surrendering your present passport with no refund for the unexpired time. We will then issue a new passport with the change of name. Payment will be as for a new passport.

Alternatively, if your current passport is still valid you can have it updated. It is worth bearing in mind that amending your passport will result in your existing passport being cancelled and a new passport being issued which will be valid to the same expiry date. This will need to be accompanied by two new photographs and will incur a charge for the amendment.

In both cases you will need to send the following forms:

A correctly completed standard Application Form.

Form PD2 - completed by the person who will be conducting the ceremony.

Amendments to 10 year passports

If you already hold a 10 year passport, the following amendments can be made to it:

Amendment to personal details, for example a change of name.

New photograph attached.

Extension of a restricted passport or renewal of a child’s passport which was issued before 26 March 1998 (total possible life 10 years).

Two recent, identical photographs taken on a white background will be needed. These do not have to be signed or certified.

What to do if your passport is lost or stolen in the UK
Protect your passport

Using the standard application form, fill in the details of your last passport in section 3 of the form. In particular, you will need to know the year it was issued. Fill the remainder of the form in as if applying for the first time and enclose the relevant documents, certified photographs and payment.

What to do if your passport is lost or stolen abroad

In the event of the loss or theft of your passport while you are out of the UK, contact the nearest British Consulate or Embassy who will be able to advise you.

Immunizations

No immunizations are needed to travel to the United States.

Medical Insurance

Obtaining medical treatment and hospital care can be costly for travellers who are injured or who become seriously ill overseas. Even if your regular health insurance covers you for emergencies abroad, you should consider purchasing supplemental insurance to cover medical evacuation.

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

You may not need travel insurance if you are already adequately covered by other insurance policies.

Travel insurance covers you for cancellation or interruption of your trip, emergency medical care and lost/stolen luggage. Before you decide on a travel insurance plan read the fine print and ensure that it caters for all your holiday requirements. e.g. some may not cover you for scuba diving, winter sports etc. If you have a fully refundable airline ticket, you may decide that you would not need trip cancellation/interruption insurance.Major credit cards may also provide additional travel insurance, if you have used them to purchase the tickets for your trip. Your health insurance may provide certain coverage, regardless of where you travel. But it is very important to note that some policies only partially cover medical expenses abroad. It is important that you read your policy thouroughly.

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