Passport 'mix-up' puts Southampton family's holiday in jeopardy

A "mix-up" by passport staff has resulted in a family fearing they will miss out on a long-planned holiday.

Jasmeen, from Southampton, had become worried after her three-year-old daughter Daya's passport was taking longer than the expected three weeks.

She said staff only told her this was due to a different child's photo being mistakenly attached to the application after persistent chasing.

HM Passport Office (HMPO) said it was trying to resolve the issue.

The family are due to fly to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt this month and are growing concerned that time is running out.

Jasmeen said they applied for the passport in December via the Post Office, with Daya's identity electronically verified by a close family friend using an emailed link.

When she initially chased the progress of the application, she said she was told "everything was fine".

But there continued to be delays and she became increasingly worried, persistently calling the HMPO in the hope of answers.

She said it was less than two weeks ago that staff told her the delay was caused by issues with the photograph, which she was told appeared to show a girl who was also Asian but several years older than Daya.

"They're not giving me any clear answers as to how that mix-up has happened," she said.

"Nobody's really taking any responsibility for it, they're not giving me any answers as to how this could have happened... but also why nobody has communicated to me that there's a concern around the picture for three months.

"It was only when I started asking questions that I was then told there was a problem."

Jasmeen said the situation had left her feeling "angry" and "exasperated", while the thought of missing out on the holiday was "heartbreaking".

A spokesperson for the HMPO said: "Passport processing systems are performing without issues, with over two million applications already processed in 2024."

They added that they were aware of the family's travel plans and were in touch with Jasmeen directly "regarding next steps for her application."

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