You absolutely definitely cant use a Swiss residency permit to travel to the UK in place of a passport.  its not a valid form of ID

A permit is not an Identity Document, it's a residency document.  It cannot be used for travel, it always has to be accompanied by the passport that it was issued against.

If you are flying, you will need the UK passport.  They may be able to issue a temporary one.   If you are going by land, the UK birth certificate might be enough.  But you'd have to ask UK authorities.

Britain isnt part of shengen; you need to show your passport when getting on a plane at both ends.  Also when you return to Switzerland the Swiss border control will equally want to see your passport and neither will accept a residency permit.  Sadly you can't add a child on your passport any more, it has to have an independent document.  The most crazy thing about the UK is that they dont even offer an identity card so every 5 years for a child or ten for an adult you have to go through the whole process again and as you have to send your old passport in in order to apply for a new one, you end up passport-less until they send a new one a month or so later.

Have you tried the online application though

https://passportapplication.service.gov.uk

Its the best for people abroad.  I don't know who or why you were told it would take 18 weeks; the advice on the website says it will take 3 weeks for a new child passport from the Uk so about 4 weeks from abroad.  I just renewed mine and it took about three weeks.  Do it asap as the nearer we get to summer the more applications they have to process...

The advice you have been given is absolutely correct.

I used to work at the British Consulate in Zürich [when it still existed] and travelling without a valid passport for whatever age is not allowed. You would probably be stopped at the border and sent back without being allowed to enter. Don't risk it!

Thanks for the replies .... It's what I expected bit I'm v disappointed. I applied for the passport on April 17th as we have a wedding on June 14th thinking that would be plenty of time... But been told they're experiencing a high volume of applications and it could take up to 18 weeks.

seems crazy that im British, my husband is British , our daughter is British but we can't go to britain :-(( 

Ahh Elizabeth

It's called "cost-cutting". Our office in Zürich was closed with the loss of 22 jobs [not many in this day and age, but nevertheless].

The Geneva Passport office was subsequently closed [they dealt with renewals for the whole of Switzerland] and passport applications now have to go through Paris.

You can probably imagine my own personal reaction to the aboveand suggest you take this up with your MP....... or better still, with Mr Nigel Farrage!!!

The daughter of a friend of mine had a similar experience recently.  The young woman lives in an African country but came to CH for the birth of her child and then stayed on for a few weeks with her Mum who lives in Romandie West.  The Swiss birth certificate was duly translated and dispatched to the Passport Office in the UK but the translator had made a minor error so the papers were returned for correction and then re-disptched.  There then ensued a long saga of phone calls to ask when the precious document might arrive, always with the same response that it was being processed save that the expected date of posting to CH was put back and back and back.

Luckily, the young woman also had Swiss nationality so she was able to get a temporary Swiss travel document for her baby in a relatively short time and so return to her home in Africa.

Meanwhile, her mother still hasn’t received the baby’s UK passport.

I would also add – for Sheila and maybe  interested others –

that the Paris office has closed and UK nationals resident in CH now have to apply to Durham in England.

And one last thought to conclude on a cheerful note: what do you think might be in store if Scotland goes independent?

R.

It becomes worse and worse.

Mr Farrage, we are expecting great things from you!

You can say that again -- and also more and more cavalier.

R.

Would it not be possible to get an "Emergency Travel Document" from the embassy in Bern, valid for one trip to the UK .. Prior to departure book in with a UK passport office for a one day premium service and get the passport in 4 hours.

My daughter was born in UK 6 weeks before we moved to CH. The passport office could not guarantee she would get a passport in time. Until I paid more for the premium service and then done same day.

Details :

https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/british-embassy-berne

I think John has it nailed.  This is what my wife did a couple of years ago when passport was lost.

Berne should be able to help you with this.

Good luck.

Hello again all and thanks for all this great advice. Alas Berne simply tell us that they cannot issue an ETD (emergency travel document) for a child's first passport.

A slight glimmer of hope - I wrote to my MP in Wolverhampton where i'm from (and where a party for my daughter is being held next weekend ... i fear the guest of honour will not be present!) Anyway, my MP is actually being really helpful and has said he'll do what he can.

I can't tell you how many times I've been passed between Berne and the passport office in Durham, and how long I have been on hold only to be told by an automated voice message to consult the bloomin website!! deep breaths!

Guess there are worse places to be stuck than Geneva in the summer......! 

It's pretty sad that it's so difficult to obtain a legitimate passport through official channels. 

Maybe a trip to Calais and on to the back of a lorry is the modern way.

I remember the good old days when one could just go to the passport office in Petty France in London and wait for a few hours to get one's passport issued. Seems we are going backwards progress wise!

Some of us even remember the “good old days” when we could go to the Consulate in Geneva and get a new travel document in a few days – and have a catch-up chat with the staff as well:  “How are you?  That’s a good photograph you’ve got there.  Yes, your passport should be ready by the end of the week, but maybe give me a ring first.  Have a good day”, etc., etc.  Somehow, the place felt like an oasis of the UK, friendly but not intrusive.

All gone -- and let’s not forget that quite a few of those nice people, some of whom were locally recruited, lost their jobs when the Consulate closed.

R.

Yes, see above.

Along with those of us in the Zürich office, 22 in all. Sad day for everyone.

Our receptionist/telephonist was killed in the Tsunami only a few months later.

Maybe, only maybe, if she had still been employed, she would still be alive.

But then HMG don't want to even contemplate such things