How to Apply for a British Passport

British adults living in United Kingdom

Go to www.direct.gov.uk complete the online form and print it or obtain a paper copy in person at any interview office, Regional Passport Office or text PASSPORT to 83377

To complete the form you will need to provide the following:

1.    personal information (full name and place of birth).

2.    proof of citizenship (British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British subject, British national (overseas), British protected person.)

3.    proof of identity (Provincial driver’s license, Provincial health care card, other provincial identification card, other federal identification card, Certificate of Indian Status, Old Age Security card, federal, provincial or municipal employee identification card, or a previous Canadian passport).

4.    a fee (It costs £77.50 for a standard 32-page ten-year adult passport. If you were born on or before 2 September 1929, your passport is free of charge, payable by credit card, debit card, postal order, cheque(if by post), cash(if in person at a Post Office or at a Regional Passport Office)

5.    passport photos (identical photos meeting specific requirements listed on the Passport British website, must be taken and signed by a commercial photographer).

6.    guarantor (You need to sign the form yourself and should also get it countersigned at section 10. The person you ask to countersign should be a person you have known for at least two years. They must also:

• be over 18
• hold a current British or Irish passport
• be willing to write their passport number on the form

They should work in a recognised profession or otherwise have good standing in the community. For a list of suitable professions, see 'Who can countersign your application?' You should ask the same person to certify one of your photographs. They do this by writing on the back. They must then sign and date the statement.).


Submit  The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) needs to see original documents that prove you are British. IPS does not accept photocopies of documents. IPS normally only accepts laminated documents for change of name purposes. However, documents that are laminated for Braille labelling are acceptable for all types of application. A birth certificate is not considered absolute proof of identity. Even if you were born in the UK, IPS may ask to see further documents.

Processing times for passport applications can take up to six weeks for a first adult passport. If you need your passport within two weeks, this counts as an urgent application and you will need to visit a Regional Passport Office. You must always make an appointment. Find out which service best meets your needs and what to do if you can't get to an office.

Dilivery of your passport Your new passport will be delivered by Secure Delivery. In certain postcode areas you’ll need to sign for your passport. The delivery company will leave a calling card if you’re not home.

If you have ANY QUESTIONS and you are a Footprints Teacher moving forward with a placement with Footprints please do not hesitate to contact your Placement Coordinator for more information on the process and to get proof of employment or flight information to facilitate an expedited passport application.

1. Focus on relevant information starting with the objective at the top of your resume. dont' be fooled into thinking that generalizing your resume nad describing everything you've ever done is a way to impress potential employers. It's not. If you're applying to teach but you're never done so formally. don't discount that summer you spent as a nanny and instead include numerous cashier jobs. Your resume is a reflection of why you think you'd be the best person for the job so make it relevent not lengthy.
2. Don't be lazy! In order to make employers take notice you MUST tailor your resume to the position you are applying for. Sending out one general resume to numerous employers shows that you don't care about the opportunity and that you take shortcuts, and don't think employers won't know otherwise, trust us thet will! In their eyes and ours, someone who won't take the time to do a proper resume is not the type of employee that great organizations want to hire. This doesn't mean you have to spend endless hours on a resume every time  you apply for a different job, it simply means that you can have one standard resume that you use as a template and just cut and paste the most relevant information for different jobs so it shows that you put some thought into it.
3. stay organized with your resume so that employers don't have to take out a magnify glass to find what they are looking for. A commonly used layout that we suggest would be to organize your resume in the following order (ideally one page long but definitely no more than two).
   • Name and details
   • Objective (make this job specific)
   • Education (be sure to include the years attended)
   • Work Experience (be sure to list both the month and year start and end date)
   • Other Skills (make this relevant to the job)
4. Edit, edit, edit. Make spell check your new best friend. There is nothing that potential employers hate more than to see a resume riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Additionally, as a rule of thumb pick one tense and stick with it when writing about your job duties.

When you're writing a resume to teach abroad you need to consider your audience.  In many cases the people making the decision are not native English speakers.  You need to make sure that the information you are presenting is concise - wordiness is not an advantage nor is having a resume that is several pages long.  A resume to teach abroad should be no longer than 2 pages. 

Here are some common mistakes we see in ESL Teacher Resumes:

1. Spelling mistakes - unforgiveable - you are applying to be an Engilsh teacher.  SPELL CHECK IT.  Make sure there are no grammer errors, errors with abbreviations,commas, etc.
2. Make it simple - some teachers spend days agonizing over fonts, spaciing etc - don't worry about this.  We see hundreds of resumes every week.  We want to see the information we are looking for QUICKLY.  Use a clear font that is easy to read
3. Put your post-secondary first.  We really don't care where you went to high school.  Omit your highschool completely unless you are applying to teach AT THAT High School or unless you are applying for a job where a degree is not a requirement (IE: Georgia)
4. Mission Statement - a huge number of the resumes we see have the EXACT SAME mission statement: "Creative, Self-Motivated Team Player" --- really, thanks for that... how about something a bit more relevant to why you want to teach or how your experience or interest will make you a great teacher.
5. Skills - we assume you know how to use Internet Explorer, Excel, Word and Outlook - not necessary to list these.
6. Short and concise - we need to know if you are fit for the teaching job, we don't need your life history.  If you send a 5 page resume you are lucky if we get to page 2.
7. Gaps/Timeline - when we scan a resume we are immediately looking for time gaps.  If you leave big gaps with no explanation we will assume the worst.  If you've been searching for work for the past 6 months, let us know.  If you took off 3 years to start a heavy metal band, make a note of it.
8. Professional Email - hardcoredrinker@hotmail is NOT a good email for your teaching application/resume - we search every email to see what comes up.
9. Be Prepared - know what is required and start that process to get the documents/information that is going to be needed for your teaching job.  Present that information early to show you are on the ball.
10. Provide contact information for your references right off the bat.  References supplied on request wastes time.

1. Jobs you’ve had.
2. Schools you’ve gone to.
3. Areas you’ve majored in.
4. Special courses you’ve taken.
5. Extra-curricular activities you’ve joined
6. Memberships you’ve held (or hold).
7. Awards or honors you’ve received.
8. Athletics you enjoy.
9. Languages you speak.
10. Special interests you have.
11. Special skills you have.

Teachers often ask how they can prepare for their interview with us, which we think is great!  Seriously – it is great.  It shows that you are taking this seriously, as you should.  This is no joke.  This is not something flippant.  We want to represent teachers who care, who are sincere about teaching, and who are genuinely enthusiastic about this opportunity.  By virtue of the fact that you are reading this, you are on the right track. 

Ok - we know what you’re thinking – why in the world do you need my picture? Aren’t there laws against this? Isn’t this discriminatory? and you’re right…if we were talking about North American or Australian or New Zealand or British or Irish or even South African employers – but we’re not!

In the Asian countries that we work with all teacher applicants have to submit a picture with their resume – no ifs, ands or buts! Since you are applying to teach in Asia, the same applies to you. To help you out with this we have created some “don’ts & do’s” (yes, we know it’s usually written the other way around) to give you a clear idea of the best type of photo to submit.

Writing about yourself and bragging about your best assets isn't always the easiest thing in the world to do, but in this case it is critical that you write well and that you express yourself in a professional way.

Creating a Cover Letter

Desired outcome: to get an ESL teaching position abroad.

Your cover letter is important because it gives the company you are seeking employment with a snapshot of who you are, and what you have to offer. It not only summarizes your accomplishments, but it also reflects your personality through the words and experiences you choose to share in it.

Writing a good resume is not rocket science.  In fact, many of the rocket scientists that apply are rejected based on their poorly written resumes.

In order to write a good resume the first thing you have to consider is your audience. Who will read your resume? What are they looking for?

Imagine yourself as the hiring manager or the school owner. What would you be looking for in a teacher if you were the one hiring?

Being organized with your documents and paperwork can mean the difference between getting a job this month or having to wait til next month or even the month after to get started.  

Here is a paperwork/document checklist if you're considering teaching overseas:

The process to apply to be a Footprints Teacher is very simple and can take less than 24 hours from application to acceptance.  How's that sound?  Apply today, get a job tomorrow?  In today's job market that's pretty impressive.