A first piece of positive news to emerge from the meeting held at HM British Embassy in Vienna on Friday 9 October, 2020 was that in light of delays in the processing of British passports as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, people forced to apply for an Emergency Travel DocumentEmergency Travel Document The Emergency Travel Document (sometimes also called an Emergency Passport) is issued for British citizens abroad who need to travel who do not have a passport for travel (e.g. due to loss/theft/expiry of their previous travel document) and are unable to apply for one in time. Full eligibility criteria can be found on the section of the UK Government Website about Emergency Travel Documents. (ETDEmergency Travel Document The Emergency Travel Document (sometimes also called an Emergency Passport) is issued for British citizens abroad who need to travel who do not have a passport for travel (e.g. due to loss/theft/expiry of their previous travel document) and are unable to apply for one in time. Full eligibility criteria can be found on the section of the UK Government Website about Emergency Travel Documents.) may be entitled to a refund of the cost of their ETD, through HM Passport OfficeHM Passport Office HM Passport Office is responsible for the issuing of British passports. The British Embassy does not handle regular passport applications, but can issue Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs). Further information about getting a new passport urgently can be found on the section of the UK Government website on Getting a passport urgently (HMPOHM Passport Office HM Passport Office is responsible for the issuing of British passports. The British Embassy does not handle regular passport applications, but can issue Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs). Further information about getting a new passport urgently can be found on the section of the UK Government website on Getting a passport urgently).
The following conditions apply for potential reimbursement of the costs:
- The emergency travel document must have been issued at the time of your passport application pending with HM Passport Office being delayed.
- Your eligibility for a refund must be confirmed by HMPO. To do this you should send your Emergency Travel Document, issue date and Passport Application Reference number to feedback@hmpo.gov.uk
