Anxious About Passport

I have given consent and started paying for an A-Level trip to Iceland in April next year (a once in a lifetime opportunity for me because I don't have much money and my family never really travels anywhere), but I don't currently have a passport. I only have physical passport photos and can't scan them into my computer to put them on an online application, so will have to do a paper application (which is unideal as it is)... will it come in time? The internet says it could take up to 10 or even 11 weeks... which means around early February.

We didn't know for sure that this trip could happen so we didn't want to waste money buying the passport only to find out I couldn't go, but now it's definitely on and I need a passport...
Should I speak to my teachers about it or will they just be annoyed that I didn't sort this out earlier? I feel anxious about it but my ma just keeps saying 'WeLl YoU nEeD tO gEt It SoRtEd ThEn DoN't YoU?' as if I can go and get an application form right now... hopefully I can get one tomorrow and get it sent off by the end of the week but I'm just anxious it's all gonna be too late

If it's not your first ever passport then you don't need to scan anything or so a paper application. Most photo booths have an option for a digital service. When you get the photos taken, before you start it asks you if you want an online code. When you apply online you put the code in that the booth have you (it's printed on the top above the physical pictures). The government website recognises that code and the photo booth picture is digitally applied to your online passport application.

Yeah, thanks, but when I got my passport photos I didn't get the code (didn't know you needed it and was using it for something else), but can't really afford to just spend money on a different set of photos...

So you can afford multiple hundreds of pounds on an unnecessary trip abroad, but you can't afford to spend £8 on more photos? If £8 is the difference of going on this trip or not then you obviously don't want to go. It makes things much quicker and easier, and you wouldn't have to do the paper application which may not come in time.

Is there nowhere at school you can scan your passport photos and email them to your personal email to fill out the online form at home? Like library, ask a nice teacher, etc.

Don't be condescending lol I'm extremely grateful for what I've got... neither of my parents have ever earned much money (they're also divorced so it's not combined income) and this is a really rare occasion for me. I don't want to look ungrateful to my parents by asking for more photos, even if it is oNlY £8. I simply asked if it would be possible to send off a paper application and get the passport back in time, and you haven't answered that so there was no point in you replying in the first place. If there is no other option for me but to get another set of photos then I guess I'll have to but I just want to avoid spending even more 'unnecessary' money. I want to do a geography-related degree so it's not even a waste..

Nobody knows if a paper application would get back in time, because the government doesn't know so can't tell anyone. They give you an average waiting time on their website, which is ever-changing and updating one way or the other, due to large amounts of the passport office workers constantly being on strike and there never being enough people working at once to go through the paper applications efficiently.

You'd spend more on your UCAS application when you submit it. If your parents are paying for you to go on this trip, yes they might find it a bit annoying to pay for the photos again, but if it's the difference between you realistically being able to go and not go, they will mostly likely pay it if you ask them and say you made an honest mistake.

I have given consent and started paying for an A-Level trip to Iceland in April next year (a once in a lifetime opportunity for me because I don't have much money and my family never really travels anywhere), but I don't currently have a passport. I only have physical passport photos and can't scan them into my computer to put them on an online application, so will have to do a paper application (which is unideal as it is)... will it come in time? The internet says it could take up to 10 or even 11 weeks... which means around early February.

We didn't know for sure that this trip could happen so we didn't want to waste money buying the passport only to find out I couldn't go, but now it's definitely on and I need a passport...
Should I speak to my teachers about it or will they just be annoyed that I didn't sort this out earlier? I feel anxious about it but my ma just keeps saying 'WeLl YoU nEeD tO gEt It SoRtEd ThEn DoN't YoU?' as if I can go and get an application form right now... hopefully I can get one tomorrow and get it sent off by the end of the week but I'm just anxious it's all gonna be too late

Nobody knows if a paper application would get back in time, because the government doesn't know so can't tell anyone. They give you an average waiting time on their website, which is ever-changing and updating one way or the other, due to large amounts of the passport office workers constantly being on strike and there never being enough people working at once to go through the paper applications efficiently.

You'd spend more on your UCAS application when you submit it. If your parents are paying for you to go on this trip, yes they might find it a bit annoying to pay for the photos again, but if it's the difference between you realistically being able to go and not go, they will mostly likely pay it if you ask them and say you made an honest mistake.

Is it your first ever British passport? If so, I literally just went through that process and got mine this week.

I started early-mid September, it seems long but I had delays/ some stuff was wrong and sent back and forth, so this timeline gives you an idea of what it would be like if you screw up or they take the piss.
I'd say 11 weeks is on the long side if you do everything correctly, it will come faster than that

You can just take a pic with your phone but you have to be super careful. They can reject it, eating up your cash and time o.O
Luckily mine was accepted. They have a system that judges your photo beforehand and gives you a percentage that indicates whether their machine/people would accept that type of photo. Mine was 80% ish so aim high, take a hundred pics if you have to and you'll be ok.

You'll have to get a non-family member person of specific professions they list to sign to confirm that you are you and the rest of the form is simple and straight forward. Then there's just a whole load of waiting and waiting.
Eventually if they don't send anything back to you for fixing, they'll give you an interview. Which is a conversation just to test that you know your area, your family, your school etc... that you aren't faking an identity.

Then fairly quickly, within a week or two of your interview you get your passport. Good luck!

(By the way, I sent mine as a paper application but I printed out the form with my photo I took on my phone I put on it beforehand then filled the rest of it by hand)

Hi, thanks for this, I had a passport as a child but am nearly 18 so need an adult passport... I'm not really sure what this means lol like does that count as renewing or will it need to be a whole new thing? I might do as someone else has told me and just do all of it online, hopefully it'll be quicker and I think it's very slightly cheaper, but I'm so new to it and anxious about it all that I really don't want to screw it up because I want to go so badly but don't want to mess people around

But dude, it's defo gonna come in time for April
OP don't stress that's a huge timeline, you'll feel silly when it comes months before that haha

I'd advise contacting them about that. If it's classed as a renewal you can get one in as little as a week.
As for me, I went from being Dutch to British so it was a whole new thing yet it still only took 2 months so no matter what it is, you have plenty plenty plenty of time

Yeah, April seems like a long way away but I'm scared my school will need it before then for whatever reason (I really have no idea how any of this works). Do you think it's worth voicing my concerns to a teacher and just making sure they're aware of what's going on? I really don't want to mess them around because I'm scared they'll just refuse to take me and then it's just a massive waste of money (the deposit was £175)

But dude, it's defo gonna come in time for April
OP don't stress that's a huge timeline, you'll feel silly when it comes months before that haha

I guess it depends if when booking the ticket they require a passport number then or they check it on the day of the flight.
Yeah you should tell your teacher if ultimately they are the ones organising the trip, they would know what is needed and when. I'm sure they'll understand, this passport stuff won't take long either if you start now you'll have one soon.

I really hope you get to go to Iceland and more places in the future