'British passports' may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of
British nationality.
The British monarch does not have a passport as British passports are issued in the monarch's name
[1].
Issuing
In the
United Kingdom, British
passports (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) are issued by the
Identity and Passport Service. In the
Channel Islands or the
Isle of Man, British passports are issued by the
Lieutenant-Governor.
In
British Overseas Territories, British passports are issued by the
Governor. In
Commonwealth or foreign countries, British passports are issued by the
Passport Section of a British Consulate, Embassy, or High Commission.
At present holders of the following forms of British nationality can apply for a British passport:
★ British citizens (GBR)
★
British Overseas Territories citizens (formerly British Dependent Territories citizens) (GBD)
★
British Overseas citizens (GBO)
★
British Subjects (GBS)
★
British Protected Persons (GBP)
★
British Nationals (Overseas) (GBN)
The three-character codes appearing after each type of nationality above are the
ISO/IEC 7501-1 machine readable passport
alpha-3 country codes of such British passports.
No British national has a
legal right to be issued a British passport. All British passports are issued at the discretion of the government under the
Royal Prerogative.
Right of abode, i.e., the right to enter and live in the UK freely, is only automatically held by British citizens, as well as by some British subjects and those other Commonwealth citizens who were patrials under the
Immigration Act 1971.
History
'Safe Conduct' documents, usually notes signed by the
monarch, were issued to foreigners as well as English subjects in
medieval times. They were first mentioned in an
Act of Parliament in 1414. Between 1540 and 1685, the
Privy Council issued passports although they were still signed by the monarch until the reign of
Charles II when the
Secretary of State could sign them instead. The Secretary of State signed all passports in place of the monarch from 1794 onwards, at which time formal records started to be kept
[2].
Passports were written in
Latin or
English until 1772 when
French was used instead. From 1858, English was used, with some sections translated into French until 1921.
In 1858, passports became a standard document issued solely to British nationals. Until 1915, they were a simple single-sheet paper document and included a photograph of the holder.
The
British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 was passed on the outbreak of the
First World War. At this time a new format was introduced, a single sheet folded into eight and containing a
cardboard cover. It included a description of the holder as well as a photograph, and had to be renewed after two years.
The old blue passport
UK passport 1924
A 32-page passport, known colloquially as the Old Blue, came into use in 1920 with the formation of the Passport Service following international agreement on a standard format for passports, and remained in use until replaced by the European Union style machine readable passports in late 1988. An interesting aspect of the old blue passport was that the data entered into the passport was handwritten rather than typed or printed.
Two versions were available: one for individuals (but which could also include the person's spouse), and another for families which included children as well.
Various changes to the design were made over the years
[3]:
★ In 1927, the country name changed from "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" to "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"
★ In 1954, the name of the Secretary of State was removed
[4].
★ In 1968, the validity was extended from two to ten years.
★ At the end of 1972, several modifications were made. A special blue
watermarked paper was introduced to make alteration and
forgery harder. The number of pages was reduced from 32 to 30, and descriptions of the holder's
eye colour and (for a married woman)
maiden name were removed.
★ In May 1973, an optional 94-page passport was made available which provided many more pages for immigration
stamps and
visas for frequent travellers.
★ In 1975,
lamination over the bearer's photograph was introduced to make alteration harder. Overprinting of the laminate was added in 1981 to make removal easier to spot.
★ The holder's occupation and country of residence were removed in 1982.
★ In July 1988, changes were made to ease the introduction of the machine readable passports later in the year. Joint and Family passports were no longer issued and the descriptions of distinguishing features and height were removed.
The British visitor's passport
A new type, the
British Visitor's Passport, was introduced in 1961, and was a single page cardboard document valid for a year and obtainable from a
Post Office. It was recognised by most West European countries, but was dropped in 1995 since it did not identify the holder's nationality nor did it meet new security standards.
The burgundy passport
On
15 August 1988, the Glasgow passport office became the first to issue burgundy-coloured machine-readable passports
[5]. They followed a common format agreed amongst member states of the
European Community, and had the words 'European Community' on the cover. This was changed to '
European Union' in 1997. The passport is burgundy coloured, machine-readable, and has 32 or 48 pages. The machine-readable portion is two lines of printed text in a format agreed amongst members of the
International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The current biometric version captures a digital image of the photograph, signature and reproduces these onto the personal details page of the passport. The whole page is protected from modification by a laminate, which incorporates a colour
holographic image comprising of native British bird (a design feature found throughout the visa pages of the passport). The hologram is affixed directly over the holder's photograph (tilting the passport page in direct light reveals the image). An
RFID chip and antenna are located on the obverse of the data page and hold the same visual information as is printed, including a digital copy of the photograph with biometric information for use with
facial recognition systems. In addition, both the
Welsh and
Scottish Gaelic languages have been included in the British Passport for the first time. These now appear on the titles page and within the multilingual notes section, the latter also provides translations into the official EU languages as required.
[6]
"Lookalike" passports
British "lookalike" passport, issued to British nationals who are not European citizens
For the purposes of the
European Communities treaties, the nationals of the United Kingdom comprise all British citizens, British Overseas Territories citizens by virtue of a connection with
Gibraltar and British subjects with right of abode in the UK (mainly, but not exclusively, those connected with the
Republic of Ireland before 1949). These UK nationals have the status of
European citizen in common with nationals of other member states of the
European Union.
British nationals who are not European citizens are issued what is known as "lookalike passports". These are similar to normal British passports, except that they do not have the words "European Union" on the cover, and do not contain any EU-specific information inside, e.g., the words "Passport - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and the information on the photograph page are given only in English and French, rather than all the official languages of the European Union. However, the contents of new
biometric passport are given in other official languages of the
European Union rather than English and French only.
Physical appearance
British passports are burgundy, with the
royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The word PASSPORT is inscribed below the coat of arms, with EUROPEAN UNION and UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND above. As with other countries, the biometric symbol appears at the bottom of the front cover.
Identity information page
The British Passport includes the following data:
★ Photo of passport Holder
★ Type (P)
★ Code of Issuing State (GBR)
★ Passport No.
★ Surname (1)
★ Given Names (2)
★ Nationality (3)
★ Date of birth (4)
★ Sex (5)
★ Place of birth (6)
★ Date of issue (7)
★ Authority (8)
★ Date of expiry (9)
★ Holder's Signature (10)
The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone.
Passport note
Each British passport contains on its inside cover the words in the
English language only:
::''Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.''
In older passports, more specific reference was made to "Her Britannic Majesty's Principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs," originally including the name of the incumbent.
Passports issued in overseas territories are issued in the name of the Governor, rather than the Secretary of State, in the name of Her Majesty.
Endorsements
Certain British passports are issued with printed endorsements in the Official Observations page. These form part of the passport when it is issued, and should be distinguished from immigration stamps subsequently entered in the visa pages:
★ ''Holder is not entitled to benefit from European Community provisions relating to employment or establishment''
:British citizens from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man without a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom by descent or residency have this endorsement in their passports, as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are only part of the European Community for the purposes of the free movement of goods.
Endorsements found in a British National (Overseas) Passport.
★ ''Holder of this passport has Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card No: A123456(7) which states that holder has right of abode in Hong Kong
★ ''
:British National (Overseas) passports will have this endorsement in their passport, as a valid
Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card (which guarantees right of abode in Hong Kong) is required to possess a BN(O) passport.
★ ''Holder is entitled to right of abode in the United Kingdom''
:British subjects with the right of abode (usually from the Republic of Ireland) will have this endorsement in their passports. Commonwealth citizens, with the right of abode, who do not hold a United Kingdom passport are eligible to have a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode placed in the visa pages of whichever country's passport they do hold, upon request.
★ ''Holder is entitled to readmission in the United Kingdom''
:British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British protected persons without the right of abode who have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain retain this entitlement for life, and their passports are accordingly issued with this endorsement.
★ ''Holder is subject to control under the Immigration Act 1971''
:British nationals without the right of abode will have this endorsements in their passports unless they have been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain.
★ ''In accordance with UK immigration rules the holder of this passport does not require an entry certificate or visa to visit the UK''
:This endorsement is found in
British National (Overseas) passport and BN(O)s enjoy six-month visa free access to the UK as a visitor.
★ ''The holder is'' or ''Holder is also known as ...''
:This endorsement is found in passports where the holder uses or retains another professional name or has an academic, feudal or legal title. The styling 'Dr ...', 'Professor ...' or similar is recorded here, or the alternative professional name.
★ ''The holder's name in Chinese Commercial Code: XXXX XXXX XXXX''
:This endorsement was found in British passports held by people with Chinese names issued by the
Hong Kong Immigration Department before the
handover of Hong Kong. After the handover, the practice is ceased and British passport can only renewed in Hong Kong at the British Consulate-General there. (See also:
Chinese commercial code)
National identity registration
Under the
Identity Cards Act 2006, probably from 2008, anyone applying for a passport will be required to have their details entered into a centralised computer database, the National Identity Register. Once registered, they will be obliged to update any change to their address and other personal details.
It is expected that the cost of a passport and ID card package will rise to at least £93 to help fund the new scheme.
In May 2006 a "Renew for Freedom" campaign
[7] was launched by the
NO2ID opposition group, urging passport holders to renew their passports in the summer of 2006 in order to delay being entered on the
National Identity Register. This followed the comment made by
Charles Clarke in the
House of Commons that "anyone who feels strongly enough about the linkage [between passports and the ID scheme] not to want to be issued with an ID card in the initial phase will be free to surrender their existing passport and apply for a new passport before the designation order takes effect"
[8].
In response, the Home Office said that it was "hard to see what would be achieved, other than incurring unnecessary expense" by renewing passports early
[9].
:''main article:
British national identity card''
Fees
The cost of obtaining a standard passport over the years has been as follows. It is expected that fees will rise to at least £93 to help fund the National Identity Register and ID cards, as discussed above.
★ £72 -
4 October 2007 - due to an increase in the consular premium added by the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office KArticle&aid=1181130687024
★ £66 -
5 October 2006 - for the introduction of the latest generation passport, anti-fraud measures and interviews for first-time applicants
[10]
★ £51 -
1 December 2005 - to reflect the cost of implementing key anti-fraud measures
[11]
★ £42 -
2 October 2003 - to pay for new anti-fraud measures
[12]
★ £33 -
21 November 2002 [13]
★ £30 -
14 January 2002 [14]
★ £28 -
16 December 1999 - to fund a major overhaul of the Passport Agency following the summer crisis
[15]
★ £21 -
26 March 1998 [16]
★ £18 -
November 1992
The above fees apply for passports issued in the
United Kingdom by the
Identity and Passport Service. Passports issued outside the UK by the Passport Section of a British Consulate, Embassy, or High Commission cost £119 (as of April 2007)
[17].
Extra pages
Unlike
US Passports, pages cannot be added into British passports. There must be at least one completely blank page for the passport to remain valid. If a passport is full, the bearer must apply for a new passport to use it.
However, like expired passports, passports without blank pages that have not been cancelled are still valid
ID, and therefore can be used as such in the UK and for travel in the
EU.
Vulnerabilities
According to
The Guardian, the information contained on a biometric passport can be viewed using readily available hardware and software. Information is stored in encrypted form on an
RFID tag, with the password as a combination of information written on the passport, so that anyone with access to the passport will be able to read the chip. The passport is also vulnerable to
brute-force attacks. And because it is possible to read the RFID tags remotely at a distance of several centimetres, it is not necessary to be in possession of the passport to extract the data.
[1]
As a result, the
cloning of the passport is a possibility. Because the biometric passport is supposedly highly secure and therefore trusted, it is thought that the holder of a cloned passport might be more likely to escape detection than the holder of a traditional passport.
Visa-free entry
According to a study done by Henley & Partners, the UK has a
Henley Visa Restrictions Index of 128, which means that British citizens enjoy visa-free access to 128 countries and territories. The UK is ranked 3rd in the study in terms of international travel freedom. However this survey did not address British National (Overseas) and other British passports.
[18]
It is estimated that 188 countries and territories granted visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to British Citizen passport holders while 173 to BN(O)s. 152 countries and territories granted visa free access to British Citizen passport holders and 137 to BN(O)s.(visa on arrival for free counted)
[19] Visa issued prior to arrival or pre-arrangement required for countries or territories not mentioned below. However, from the links below, immigration authorities of many countries do not explicitly state whether BN(O)s passport holders enjoy visa-free access as British citizens do.
800 px
Africa
| Country | British Citizen Passport | British National (Overseas) Passport |
|---|
| Botswana | [20] | [21] |
|---|
| | [22] |
|---|
| Cape Verde | visa issued upon arrival [23] | visa issued upon arrival |
|---|
| Comoros | visa issued upon arrival [24] KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385790 | visa issued upon arrival |
|---|
| Djibouti | visa issued upon arrival for DJF3,000 (10 days), DJF5,000(1 month) [25] | visa issued upon arrival for DJF3,000 (10 days), DJF5,000(1 month) [26] |
|---|
| Egypt | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$15[27] | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$15 |
|---|
| Ethiopia | 3-month visa issued upon arrival [28] | 3-month visa issued upon arrival [29] |
|---|
| Gambia | [30] | [31] |
|---|
| Kenya | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for £35[32] | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for £35 [33] |
|---|
| Lesotho | [34] | [35] |
|---|
| Madagascar | 90-day visa issued upon arrival for MGA28,000 [36] | 90-day visa issued upon arrival for MGA28,000 [37] |
|---|
| Malawi | [38] | [39] [40] |
|---|
| Mauritius | [41] | [42] [43] |
|---|
| Mayotte | [44] | [45] |
|---|
| Morocco | [46] | [47] |
|---|
| Mozambique | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$25 [48][49] | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$25 [50] |
|---|
| Namibia | [51] | [52] |
|---|
| Réunion | [53] | [54] |
|---|
| Rwanda | [55] | [56] |
|---|
| Saint Helena | | [57] |
|---|
| 1-month visa issued upon arrival for US$60 [58] | 1-month visa issued upon arrival for US$60 |
|---|
| Senegal | [59] | [60] |
|---|
| Seychelles | [61] | [62][63] |
|---|
| South Africa | [64] | [65] |
|---|
| Swaziland | [66] | [67] |
|---|
| Tanzania | visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [68], [69] | visa issued upon arrival for US$50 [70] |
|---|
| Togo | 7-day visa issued upon arrival [71] | 7-day visa issued upon arrival |
|---|
| Tunisia | [72] | [73][74] |
|---|
| Uganda | visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (single entry), US$80 (6 months multiple entry), US$160 (one year multiple entry) [75], [76], [77] | visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (single entry), US$80 (6 months multiple entry), US$160 (one year multiple entry) |
|---|
| Zambia | visa issued upon arrival for £35 (single entry), £45(multiple entry) [78] | visa issued upon arrival for £35 (single entry), £45(multiple entry) [79][80] |
|---|
| Zimbabwe | 3-month (tourist) or 30-day (business) visa issued upon arrival for US$30 ~ 55 [81][82] | 3-month (tourist) or 30-day (business) visa issued upon arrival for US$30 ~ 55 [83] |
|---|
Americas
Asia
| Country | British Citizen Passport | British National (Overseas) Passport |
|---|
| Armenia | 21-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (available at Yerevan Zvartnots airport). | 21-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (available at Yerevan Zvartnots airport).[194] [195] |
|---|
| Azerbaijan | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$100 [196] | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$100 [197] |
|---|
| Bahrain | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for BHD5 [198] | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for BHD5 [199] |
|---|
| Bangladesh | 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50 (available at Dhaka ZIA airport) [200] | 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$50(available at Dhaka ZIA airport) [201] [202] |
|---|
| Brunei | [203] | [204] |
|---|
| Cambodia | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$20 (tourist), US$25 (business) [205][206] | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$20(tourist), US$25 (business) [207] |
|---|
| People's Republic of China | [208] | |
|---|
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | [209] | 14-day entry permit issued on arrival for Hong Kong permanent residents who born in HK only for NT$200. See Entry Permit of HK and Macao Residents to the Taiwan Area |
|---|
| Georgia | [210] | visa issued upon arrival for US$10 ~ 200 [211] |
|---|
| Hong Kong | [212] | [213] |
|---|
| Indonesia | visa issued upon arrival for US$10 (7 days), US$25 (30 days) [214] | visa issued upon arrival for US$10 (7 days), US$25 (30 days) [215] [216] |
|---|
| Iraq | [217] | [218] |
|---|
| Israel | [219] | [220] |
|---|
| Japan | [221] | [222] |
|---|
| Jordan | visa issued upon arrival for JOD10 [223] | visa issued upon arrival for JOD10 [224] |
|---|
| Kyrgyzstan | 1-month visa issued upon arrival: US$36 ~ 70 (business),US$35 (single tourist),US$55 (multiple tourist) [225] | [226] |
|---|
| South Korea | [227] | [228] |
|---|
| Kuwait | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for KWD5 [229] | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for KWD5 [230] |
|---|
| Laos | 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [231] | 15-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [232] |
|---|
| Lebanon | [233] | [234] |
|---|
| Macau | [235] | [236] |
|---|
| Malaysia | [237] | [238] |
|---|
| Maldives | [239] | [240] |
|---|
| Nepal | visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (60 days), US$80 (150 days, multiple entry) [241] | visa issued upon arrival for US$30 (60 days), US$80 (150 days, multiple entry) |
|---|
| Oman | visa issued upon arrival : 1 month (OMR6), 1 year multiple entries stay up to 3-week per visit (OMR10) [242] | visa issued upon arrival : 1 month (OMR6), 1 year multiple entries stay up to 3-week per visit (OMR10) [243] |
|---|
| Philippines | [244] | [245] |
|---|
| Qatar | 21-day visa issued upon arrival for QAR55 [246] | 14-day visa issued upon arrival for QAR55 [247] |
|---|
| Singapore | [248] | [249] |
|---|
| Sri Lanka | [250] | [251] |
|---|
| Thailand | [252] | |
|---|
| Timor-Leste | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [253] | 30-day visa issued upon arrival for US$30 [254] |
|---|
| Turkey | 3-month with multiple entry visa issued upon arrival for US$20, £10 or €15 [255] | 3-month with multiple entry visa issued upon arrival for US$20 or €15 [256] |
|---|
| United Arab Emirates | [257] | [258][259] |
|---|
| Yemen | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for YER10,500 [260] | 3-month visa issued upon arrival for YER10,500 [261] |
|---|
Europe
Oceania
See also
★
Biometric passport
★
Identity document
★
Identity and Passport Service
★
British national identity card
★
British nationality law
★
UK topics
News stories
★
4 April 2006, ''The Register'',
Passport rule change anticipates ID refusenik sabotage efforts
★
24 May 2006, ''
BBC'',
Lib Dems back the "Renew for Freedom" campaign
★
8 February 2006 UKPA
Welsh and Scots Gaelic to be included on UK passports for the first time
References
★
Early history of passports, UK Passport Agency
★
History of passports (1915 and 1920), UK Passport Agency
★
History of Burgundy machine-readable passports, UK Passport Agency
★
Visa Free Access for BN(O) Passport Holders, British Consulate General Hong Kong
★
IATA Visa Information from Continential Airlines
★
Visa on Demand, Hong Kong Trade Development Council
★
A visa-free access survey by Henley & Partners
;Online references
1. Cracked it! The Guardian
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