This week has been a real eye opener for all the wrong reasons and it is kind of sad the world has deteriorated so much. last Thursday I was asked to send through my kids South African passports to the UK Home Office so they could verify one the dual nationality and also that the details are the same. This should have been asked for when the application was sent off because the costs are already adding up with double everything it seems. The combined courier bill is now already over $150. This would not have been a problem if hey had kept the British Embassy open here as online is not a replacement with dealing with someone directly.
This sounds fair enough until you read further down where it states they need to check the details like the names and gender are the same due to those who have changed their gender. There was an entire paragraph on this and this is not normal and the main reason behind the name checks. Surely if your expired passport and your application for a renewal are identical then why all this nonsense.
This is going to delay my travel plans yet again because of some woke ideals someone added in order to not upset a pronoun. I just don't get it and I consider myself normal and not far right, but would now be classed as the devil. I just don't have time for this nonsense because this is what it has become and it is not pleasant having it thrown in your face on a regular basis. I can only imagine how the corporates of the world are handling this and I am glad to be out of that environment.
This new passport delay is just adding to the list of all the speed bumps I have had to endure in order just to travel. I still need to apply for the 3 Schengen visas and 3 UK visas which I am now kind of dreading. This from what I have been told should take around a week for each so instead of flying this Friday which was the original plan it is looking more and more like mid to late April.
This is quite shocking a s a timeline because this was started in the first week of January and will have taken more than 3 months possibly 4 when all this is sorted out. Government departments truly do suck generally and we know that yet we have no choice, but to put up with it.
This morning I followed up on my insurance policy which fell due and had submitted the online forms only to be told I need to physically send those in. There is apo BOX number, but no street address and very glad I asked because the courier needs a physical address. Common sense tells you this should be stipulated, but then again it buys them at last another 2 weeks earning interest whilst keeping your money.
I just don't know what it is at the moment because it is like we live on a different planet than what we did prior to Covid lockdowns. Nothing is normal and it is like we are living in a bad dream.