What Happens After You Get the Passport When You Have a Special Guardianship Order

When the passport finally arrived, I remember holding it in my hands and feeling something close to relief. Not excitement exactly. Relief mixed with exhaustion. If you have ever applied for a passport for a child under a Special Guardianship Order, you will understand why. It is not a simple tick box exercise. It is paperwork layered on top of court orders, parental responsibility, consent, uncertainty, and the constant fear of getting something wrong.

For a brief moment, I thought we were done. Passport sorted. Box ticked. Job finished.

But the truth is, the passport is only the beginning.