My daughter’s UK passport arrived yesterday, which was earlier than we expected. So, I can wholeheartedly recommend the UK Passport Service’s online application system.

The entire process took a month and a day from start to finish, including a week to get the application notarized.

That’s a dramatic improvement compared with five years ago, when the process was taking 10 weeks and the government paid compensation for delays and cancellations in travel plans (see BBC News | UK | Passport pile grows higher).