Tier 2 with expiring Passport

[traveller789654]

Hi all,

I apologise in advance if this question is not in a more suitable category. But I need some guidance on this matter.
My passport (Indian) is expiring in a week and the high commission has only just opened today. Unfortunately I am not able to schedule an appointment and I am getting the following error on their website -

"Sorry! All appointment are now booked. Due to social distancing, we have limited the number of appointments available.
Appointments slots are updated every Friday, so please try again later."

I am also in process of trying to look for another employment opportunity due to this Covid situation. So if I find another opportunity, I would be applying for Tier 2 change of employment and I don't know if I should apply with an expired passport OR apply without one and show proof that I have applied for passport renewal ?

Since it is not my fault that the High Commission has only just opened and that too it's currently not letting anyone apply for an appointment. I think they can take fewer applications for passport due to Covid.

Ofcourse best case scenario would be that I get my renewed passport before I apply for the visa, but in case it does not work out this way, I was wondering what are my options ?

I have read in the guidance document on gov.uk that in certain cases they accept a national ID card instead of a passport if you have a valid reason. Is this correct ? If not, shall I just show them my expired passport with a letter ?

I also have a related question regarding the passport renewal as well... In case my passport application has a small difference in my street address as compared to my Aadhaar card, is that acceptable ? So basically, my passport application shows my street address as " XYZ Post Office Road " , whereas my Aadhaar card just shows it as " XYZ road " along with a landmark.
Now I did not check this and both names of the road are used by people. So, in this case, shall I make a fresh application with the address matching the Aadhaar card address or just leave it and ignore the minor difference in the street names ?

[traveller789654]

Anyone has any ideas about trying to apply for Tier 2 with an expired passport ? Is this possible considering the special Covid-19 circumstances ? Does anyone know if any exceptions have been made with regards to this ?

And does anyone have any experience with changing a passport application in case of typo in the application ?

[poper]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... s#helpline

try contacting the helpline

[poper]

I do not recall submitting India address documentation while renewing my passport.
This may only be required if you wished to change address in your to be issued passport
You may contact VFS helpline:
https://www.vfsglobal.com/india/uk/customer-care.html

[traveller789654]

Thanks poper.

I will try to contact the helpline once I have some more confirmation about the possible work opportunity.
I am hoping in the meantime my passport gets renewed before I end up making the application for Tier 2

The reason I am giving address documentation for passport renewal is because my address in India has changed in the last 10 years. Luckily I have the new address on my Aadhaar card, unfortunately, there is a minor discrepancy with the name of the road and an extra landmark mentioned in the Aadhaar card. Otherwise the address is the same. I am hoping they will let me correct it at the appointment else this will be a big problem for me.

In case anyone else has experience with any of these situations, it will give me some idea as to what to expect

[honestguy2020]

Hi Mate,

I'm also in the same situation.
My passport is going to expire in start of August.
My change of employment application has been put online and I'm waiting for biometrics appointment.

As we aren't sure of when the biometrics centre would allow new applicants, I have got my passport renewal appointment.
One of the immigration advisers told me once you get your new passport, you'll need to update home office with new passport number.

It is a tough time we all are going through.

[traveller789654]

Hi, yes, it would be a good idea to update the Home office just in case.

An update regarding my situation... I have finally got my passport renewed! I submitted all the required docs as per the website, and the process was smooth. Just a heads up, try and arrange for the passport photos in advance before the appointment as the photo machine at the centre was not working and I spent 45 minutes roaming around trying to get passport photos!

Now the second part remains and that is to apply for jobs and hopefully get something soon.

[cortezabc]

Hi traveller789654,

Can you please let me know how did you manage to book an appointment? What time on Friday the bookings open?

Thanks

[traveller789654]

Hi cortezabc,

First I completed the application form on this page -

https://portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html


And then booked an appointment on this page -

https://www.vfsvisaservice.com/IHC-UK-A ... eUVLcp3A4=


It was not easy and it took me 2 weeks approx to finally get the appointment. There is no fixed time as such, I tried all possibilities, first I woke up at 12 am Friday exact, didn't get, then woke up at 6 am, didn't get it, 8 am no luck, then finally, at 10 am, I tried again, for Goswell centre, and it worked.
Also, I faced issues like once it took me to the next screen, it said enter valid e-mail address, even though I had entered a valid e-mail address. It turns out that my CAPS lock was on and the form can't take caps. So make sure when you enter your e-mail, it's in small case. Also, there might be some bug on the page like when you are supposed to click and select a date on the calendar, it does not respond and you have to again try? I don't know if this was a one off browser issue, but I faced it. In the end I managed to complete it using the latest Firefox browser.

[cortezabc]

Thank you very much for the details, traveller789654. Much appreciated.

Looks like there is no shortcut but to keep trying