British Consulate and Renewing your British Passport

If you’re in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera or El Hierro and you need urgent help (for example, you’ve been attacked, arrested or someone has died), call +34 928 26 25 08. If you’re in the UK and worried about a British national in Spain, call 020 7008 1500.

General enquiries

Consulates deal with a large number of urgent cases each year. Before contacting a Consulate with non-urgent enquiries, please read our detailed guide for British nationals living in Spain to see if the information you need is there. If you still cannot find the information you need, you can call on the following numbers:

Telephone: 902 109 356 (if calling from within Spain)

Telephone: +34 91 334 2194 (International/alternative number)

Emergency Travel Document

Apply on line https://www.apply-emergency-travel-document.service.gov.uk/

From 7 November 2017, and British citizens who need an Emergency Travel Document will now have to apply  online HERE applicants should no longer go to the British Consulate. Those who are not British Citizens but who have held another British Nationality passport are also advised to visit the link above for guidance on steps to take.

It costs £100 (or the equivalent in local currency) to apply for an emergency travel document. The fee isn’t refundable.

You’ll need to attend an appointment at your nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate after you apply online.

What to bring to your appointment

• a recent passport-quality photo
• proof of your travel plans, such as booking confirmations (or detailed written travel plans if you can’t book ahead)
• your passport if you have it
• a police report if your passport has been stolen

If you’re applying for a child under 16, both parents should attend the appointment with the child if possible.

How long it will take

In most cases you’ll get your emergency travel document on the day of your appointment. It can take longer if your situation is complicated, for example if the embassy needs more documents to prove your identity.

Apply on behalf of someone else

You can apply for an emergency travel document and book an appointment for someone else if they’re a British citizen. They must attend their appointment and collect their travel document in person.

The consulate advises where possible try ringing 922 286863 to discuss the nature of the problem.
But for lost or stolen passports, the first step is a special police line on 902 102112, which will be answered in English.
It is possible to travel abroad using a police report of passport loss but the consulate warns that there can be no guarantee because it is subject individual airlines’ policies.

British Consulate Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Renewing an existing Passport

Information on applying for a new passport can be found here https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports and Spain specific information is here https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports/y/spain

Don’t book any travel until you have a valid passport. If you need to travel more urgently, apply for an Emergency Travel Document.

You must apply and pay for your passport online.

Before you start you need:
your current passport
2 identical new photos of you (or your child, if it’s a child passport application)
any other current passports issued by other countries
a MasterCard, Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Debit or Maestro (UK Domestic) card – Maestro (International) cards aren’t accepted

Read the guidance notes to help you fill in your online application. Check which supporting documents you must send with your application. Any documents that aren’t in English (including documents showing an address) must be translated by a professional translator.

Once you have made your appolication on line you print of the confirmation form and send it with the documents as instructed preferably by recorded delivery. Your old cancelled passport will be returned to you and then a short time afterwards you new pasport will be sent by courier.