C4.51 Applying for a Replacement Chinese Passport¶
How to apply for, reissue, or renew a Chinese passport in the UK? What to do if your passport is lost or expired?
What to do if your passport is lost in the UK? What to do if your passport is expired? How to apply for a Chinese passport?
Starting from 1 July 2019, Chinese embassies and consulates in the UK have reduced the fee for ordinary passports and travel documents from £18 to £14 per copy. Applications for passport issuance, reissue, and renewal can be submitted at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, the Consulate-General in Manchester, or the Consulate-General in Edinburgh.
In what circumstances do you need to reissue, renew, or apply for a passport?
The passport is expired or about to expire (e.g., the validity period is less than 12 months).
The passport is lost.
The passport is damaged.
The number of blank visa pages in the passport is less than 2 (4 pages total).
Your appearance has changed significantly.
Passport Application 1. Online Appointment
In general, except for special cases, all applicants must make an online appointment first before applying for a passport.
Special cases refer to the following 5 scenarios. After providing relevant certificates, applicants can use the "Green Channel" without making an online appointment:
Newborns applying for a passport or travel document for the first time;
Persons who lost or damaged their passports during a temporary stay in the UK with a visitor visa and need to urgently apply for a travel document to return to China;
Persons who need to urgently apply for a passport or travel document for humanitarian reasons such as attending a funeral, visiting a critically ill patient, or seeking emergency medical treatment;
Compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan who apply for a travel document to travel to mainland China;
Special groups including the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant.
Online Appointment Link: https://ppt.mfa.gov.cn/appo/index.html
Reminder from Shishengmiao: Please carefully check the information when filling out the form, as all details cannot be modified after submitting the application. If you find errors after submission, you can cancel the appointment and re-log in to the online appointment system to fill out the application again after 72 hours—this 72-hour waiting period is mandatory.
Additionally, be sure to keep the file number provided when making the online appointment. Usually, the official will send an email with your file number to the email address you provided. If you do not receive the email, check your junk mail folder or verify that you entered the correct email address. The file number allows you to modify the saved application information before submitting the appointment. If you still cannot find the file number, send an email to lssservice@mfa.gov.cn with your full name, gender, date of birth, and place of birth, and the staff will assist you.
After successfully making an appointment, you can still cancel or change it by logging into the appointment system with your file number. However, the appointment date can only be changed once, and the change must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment time. For example, if you want to reschedule to 3:00 PM on 6 February, you must make the change before 3:00 PM on 5 February
Reminder from Shishengmiao: After filling out the form as required, when uploading your photo, be sure to check that it meets the specifications and upload it in JPEG format. Screenshots may result in unclear photos or non-compliance with requirements. Even if the upload is successful and you find the photo clear, it may still fail to meet the electronic passport standards.
If you encounter repeated failures when trying to upload the photo, you can skip the online upload step. Instead, bring 3 photos that meet the requirements when applying at the consulate. If the online upload is successful, you need to bring 2 physical copies of the same photo as the electronic one (but Shishengmiao still recommends bringing 3 to be safe).
Make sure to prepare and bring physical photos that comply with the specifications in advance. If your photos do not meet the requirements, self-service photo-taking services are available at the Document Hall on the G Floor of the Consular Section of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, costing £6, payable by bank card or cash, as shown in the picture below:
Official requirements: Link to the specifications for uploading electronic passport portrait photos:
Submit the application in person at the embassy/consulate
After successfully making the online appointment, print out the completed form from the website using PDF software. Bring the aforementioned application materials, 2 physical photos consistent with the uploaded electronic one, and other required documents to the embassy or consulate you applied for on the scheduled date.
Note that you must not go to the wrong address. Passport services are not interchangeable between embassies and consulates—you must submit your application in person at the location you selected during the online appointment. For example, if you booked an appointment at the Consulate-General in Manchester, you cannot attend the Consulate-General in Edinburgh for on-site processing.
Reminder from Shishengmiao: If you cannot select a date when making the online appointment, first try switching browsers, as the issue may be browser incompatibility preventing the page from loading. If no date selection interface appears and a QR code pops up instead, do not worry. Simply print out the application form and the QR code, then go directly to the front desk of the overseas diplomatic and consular mission to apply for the passport.
Upon arrival at the site, take a queue number, wait for document verification in order, and then proceed to payment. After successful payment, you will receive a collection slip for the new passport, and you can return home to wait.
Collect the new passport
Check the application progress online in advance. Once you confirm that the passport has arrived at the embassy or consulate, bring the collection slip to pick it up. The new passport can be collected by yourself or entrusted to someone else.
Application progress inquiry website: https://ppt.mfa.gov.cn/appo/index.html
Link for passport/travel document applications at the Consulate-General in Manchester:http://manchester.chineseconsulate.org/chn/passport/hz/t1639551.htm
Applying for a passport renewalReminder from Shishengmiao: When applying for a passport renewal, you must also bring your old passport. It will be submitted to the staff during the application, and returned to you along with the new passport when you collect it.
The steps for applying for a new passport and renewing a passport are almost the same, with a fee of £14:
Make an online appointment via the link: https://ppt.mfa.gov.cn/appo/index.html
Attend the on-site processing at the scheduled time, pay the fee, and collect the collection slip before leaving.
Once the new passport is ready, bring the collection slip to the embassy or consulate during official working hours to collect it.
For the specific process and required application materials for passport renewal at the Consulate-General in Manchester, please check the official link: http://manchester.chineseconsulate.org/chn/passport/hz/t1639550.htm
Reminder from Shishengmiao: It is advisable to renew your passport before it expires. The processing time for expired passports is much longer, usually taking 30 working days to receive the new passport. However, if your passport is about to expire or has insufficient blank pages, you can generally get the new passport within 15 working days. After receiving the new passport, keep the old one properly—any valid visas (such as UK visas or tourist visas for other countries) on the old passport remain effective and must be used together with the new passport. The old passport may also be required for other future formalities.
Applying for a passport reissueReminder from Shishengmiao: If you find your old passport after applying for a reissue, the old passport will be invalidated. You need to take the recovered old passport to the consular window of the embassy or consulate for cancellation. However, any valid visas for other countries on the old passport still remain usable, so the old passport should be kept properly.
Both passport reissue and renewal cost £14, with a processing time of approximately 15-30 working days (the exact duration depends on individual circumstances). The application process for reissue is similar, but requires slightly more materials:
Make an online appointment via the link: https://ppt.mfa.gov.cn/appo/index.html
Attend the on-site processing at the scheduled time, pay the fee, and collect the collection slip before leaving.
Once the new passport is ready, bring the collection slip to the embassy or consulate during official working hours to collect it.
As shown in the picture below:
Link for specific details on passport reissue applications at the Consulate-General in Manchester:http://manchester.chineseconsulate.org/chn/passport/hz/t1639549.htm
Summary: Applications for passport issuance, reissue, and renewal in the UK must be submitted in person by the applicant. However, the new passport can be collected by a representative with the collection slip. You can apply at the nearest embassy or consulate listed below, but the application method is unified: make an online appointment, select the nearest embassy or consulate, and attend the on-site processing on the scheduled date. Since January 2015, only electronic passports have been issued, and traditional passports are no longer issued. Traditional passports still within their validity period can continue to be used until expiration.
Currently, the fee for passport issuance, reissue, and renewal in the UK is £14. The expedited service costs £19, and the urgent service costs £28. As shown in the picture below:
Reminder from Shishengmiao: Be sure to arrive early to get a queue number—no services are provided during breaks, so the earlier you go, the better. Shishengmiao arrived around 9 AM and found that many people were already waiting, which shows arriving early is essential as services are provided on a queuing basis with numbered tickets. Their working hours are only on weekday mornings: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 12 PM (excluding UK and Chinese public holidays), and no services are available in the afternoons.
Note that embassies and consulates do not accept cash. Payments can be made via debit card, postal order, company cheque, credit card, Apple Pay, Alipay, or WeChat Pay.
As shown in the picture below:
：
Official website of the Chinese Embassy in the UK: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/chn/lsfw/hzlxz/Address: 31 Portland Place, London, W1B 1QD
Official website of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Manchester: http://manchester.chineseconsulate.org/chn/passport/hz/Address: Denison House, 71 Denison Road, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5RX
Official website of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Edinburgh: http://edinburgh.china-consulate.org/chn/hzlxzj/Address: 55 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 5QG