British travellers who lose their passports overseas will now have to wait two days to receive an emergency replacement.
Previously they could get temporary papers within hours, but The Mail on Sunday has learned that the Foreign Office has quietly introduced a new trial system in which emergency applications are handled by officials in Poland and Spain instead of by individual consulates around Europe.
It means tourists could miss flights home and be landed with huge extra costs while they wait.
British travellers who lose their passports overseas will now have to wait two days to receive an emergency replacement
More than 21,000 British passports were reported lost or stolen worldwide with 31,340 emergency travel documents issued from April 2015 to March 2016.
Last night, the Foreign Office said there had been no change in emergency passport waiting times and there had always been a two-day turnaround. But The Mail on Sunday pointed out that as recently as April, the department’s own website had advertised that emergency travel documents could be obtained ‘on the day of your appointment’.
More than 21,000 British passports were reported lost or stolen worldwide with 31,340 emergency travel documents issued from April 2015 to March 2016
Now it says: ‘Your emergency travel document will normally be ready in two working days.’
When asked, the FO was unable to explain why and when it made the website changes.
The pilot scheme, launched last month, is intended to improve security measures and the Foreign Office denied it was a cost-cutting measure.
The process of entering data and approving the forms will be carried out centrally in Warsaw and Malaga but the emergency passports will still be printed at individual embassies and consulates.
British travellers are charged £100 to apply for emergency travel documents. They need to fill out a form on the Government’s website and attend an appointment at their nearest British embassy or consulate, bringing a passport-quality photo, proof of travel plans and a police report if the passport has been stolen.
Last night, James Daley, founder of consumer campaign group Fairer Finance, said: ‘It’s meant to be an emergency passport but it people have to wait two days before they get one then they are not really being treated as if it’s an emergency.
‘There are lots of people who will need to travel immediately and if they can’t, then there’s going to be an additional cost to bear. Who’s going to bear that cost? You can make a pretty sure bet that insurers will try to ensure it’s not them.
‘There’s already a cost to apply for an emergency passport so it’s turning £100 into potentially hundreds of pounds if you’re having to stay in an expensive resort for a couple of extra days. Consumers will just be left paying the bill for that which seems unfair.’
Tourists could miss flights home and be landed with huge extra costs while they wait due to the new measures
The pilot is running at embassies and consulates in Germany, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Estonia and the Canary Islands. In the next few weeks it will expand to include Luxembourg and Slovakia.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘These trials, in a small number of countries, are not designed to cut costs, but to ensure we can continue to provide British nationals with efficient and helpful consular support, prioritising those who are most vulnerable.
‘They will also mean that we will be able to make decisions about a person’s eligibility for an emergency travel document in fewer places, safeguarding a secure UK border.
‘We have continued to meet our public commitments during these trials, and will be monitoring these closely as they continue.’