Global InformationBritish passport information
| |
|---|---|
 Front cover of the current British passport (with chip  ), issued since March 2020 | |
 Polycarbonate data page of the current Series C British biometric passport | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by | United Kingdom —HM Passport Office —CSRO (Gibraltar) —Crown dependencies —Overseas Territories |
| First issued | 1414 (First mention of 'passport' in an Act of Parliament)[d][1] 1915 (Photo passport) 1921 (Hardcover booklet) 15 August 1988 (Machine-readable passport) 5 October 1998 (Version 2) 6 March 2006 (Series A biometric passport) 5 October 2010 (Version 2) 7 December 2015 (Series B) 10 March 2020 (Series C) |
| Purpose | Identification, international travel |
| Valid in | For most passport types, all countries; British National (Overseas) passports not recognised in People's Republic of China |
| Eligibility | British nationals |
| Expiration | Adult: 10 years Child: 5 years |
| Cost | Adult (16 or older)[2][e][f][g] Standard (32 pages): £ 88.50 Frequent traveller (50 pages): £100.50 Child (under 16)[2][f] Standard (32 pages): £57.50 Frequent traveller (50 pages): £69.50 Fees above are only for applications made online from within UK |
A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requirements and serves as proof of citizenship. It also facilitates access to consular assistance from British embassies around the world. Passports are issued using royal prerogative, which is exercised by His Majesty's Government; this means that the grant of a passport is a privilege, not a right, and may be withdrawn in some circumstances. British citizen passports have been issued in the UK by His Majesty's Passport Office, an agency of the Home Office, since 2014. All passports issued in the UK since 2006 have been biometric.
The legacy of the United Kingdom as an imperial power has resulted in several types of British nationality, and different types of British passport exist as a result. Furthermore, each of the Crown dependencies and certain Overseas territories issue their own variants of British passports to those with links to their jurisdictions, which have small differences from the UK-variant passport. All British passports enable the bearer to request consular assistance from British embassies and from certain Commonwealth embassies in some cases. British citizens can use their passport as evidence of right of abode in the United Kingdom.
Between 1920 and 1992, the standard design of British passports was a navy blue hardcover booklet featuring the royal coat of arms emblazoned in gold. From 1988, the UK adopted machine readable passports in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization standard 9303. At this time, the passport colour was also changed to burgundy red, to bring it into line with the European Community passports of the other member states. The previous blue hardback passport continued to be issued in tandem with the new design until stocks were exhausted in 1992.
Pre-Brexit, the contract for printing British passports had been held by British company De La Rue. In 2018, the contract for printing post-Brexit was awarded to Franco-Dutch company Gemalto, which in 2019 became Thales DIS, part of the multinational Thales Group. The passport booklets will be printed more cheaply in Poland, with a controversial loss of printer jobs at De La Rue, but the passports will be personalised in the UK across two sites.[4][5][6][7] All passports are now issued with the blue design and they are made by Thales DIS in Poland.[8][9][10][11]
British citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 188 countries and territories; the international access available to British citizens ranks sixth in the world according to the 2023 Visa Restrictions Index.[12] Since the introduction of biometric passports in 2006, a new design has been introduced every five years.[13]
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- ^ Nisbet, Gemma (23 September 2014). "The history of the passport". The West Australian.
- ^ a b "Passport fees". GOV.UK.
- ^ "Family Law Reform Act 1969". Gov.uk. 25 July 1969. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Post-Brexit UK passports will be printed in Poland". British Poles.uk. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Shocking! Après le Brexit, le passeport britannique sera Made in France" [Shocking! After Brexit, the British passport will be made in France]. BFM Business (in French). 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Blue passport to return after Brexit". BBC News. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "New blue British passport rollout to begin in March". BBC News. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Changes to the design of British passports". GOV.UK. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ Stewart, Heather; Rawlinson, Kevin (22 March 2018). "Post-Brexit passports set to be made by Franco-Dutch firm". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ "Britain won't make its new Brexit passports. Guess who will?". CNN Money. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Humiliation, says Priti Patel, as blue Brexit-era passports to be made by Franco-Dutch firm". The Times. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Passport Ranking 2023". 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ HM Passport Office. "New UK passport design". GOV.UK. Retrieved 28 March 2020.