I have been living in India for over a year now and my passport is due to expire next year so I was wondering if anyone has any experience in getting their passport renewed while in India and how long it takes to do that and most importantly how much does it cost?
If you have your old passport and it is just a simple renewal without any name change and stuff then it shouldn't take more then two weeks under normal circumstances provided you submit all the required documents. I am not too sure about the costs though.
You need to go to the nearest British Consulate and ask there, applications for new passports are made from there.
You need to go to the British Consulate and they will go through with you the steps you need to take to get your passport renewed. The time it will take is dependant on how much of a backlog they have, and what option you choose. The more you pay, the quicker it is, but make sure you take your time going through the paperwork, as one tiny mistake can result in the whole process being set back by weeks. They are for some reason particularly strict about the size of photo you have and the way you look in the photo. For some reason your not allowed to smile these days as it's seen as an attempt to obscure your appearance. I thought that was rather bizarre but their in charge.
Yes, this is great advice, I'd add that you don't want to be wearing any kind of hat, keep your face serious and free of expression and don't wear anything but plain glasses, no sunglasses or exotic frames. They are not too keen on beards either but if you do have a beard just make sure its the same length and style as in the picture and you should be ok. The British consulate are likely to charge you about £70 to renew it although I think there may be a premium service where you can pay another £10-£20 and you will receive your renewed passport within about two weeks. If you have anything up to 9 months left on your old passport, that time is added to your new one so you won't actually lose any time by renewing it before it expires.
