Britain’s Brexit blue passports will be launched next month, the Home Office announced today.
British citizens have been issued with burgundy-covered documents for 30 years because of the UK’s membership of the EU.
But campaigners demanded a switch back to the original 1921 dark blue as a symbolic mark of Britain’s departure.
And Boris Johnson’s government was more than happy to swing into action – after handing the contract to a Dutch firm that’s printing the documents in Poland.
The first batches of blue passports will be delivered in “early March” in a phased way, with all new issues being blue from mid-2020.
If you’re a Brexit fanboy though, probably don’t get a special application in.
(Image: The Home Office)
Not only is the exact date not confirmed by the Home Office; you’ll also not be guaranteed to get a blue document until the stocks of burgundy blanks run dry later this year.
The new design will have the words BRITISH PASSPORT in block capitals, replacing the words EUROPEAN UNION, at the top of the cover in an aping of the old design.
It’s bad news for those in Northern Ireland, though – their documents will still say BRITISH PASSPORT, despite the fact they’re not only not in Great Britain, but trade from Great Britain to where they live is having to come with customs declarations.
(Image: The Home Office)
A Home Office official pointed out the words ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ will still be on the same page lower down.
The inside cover has a string of security features, including a seven-sided sideways photo cutout that appears to look like a drunk 50p of your own face.
(Image: The Home Office)
In another change, the back cover will carry its own symbolic design – the floral embossed emblems of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Leaving the European Union gave us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path in the world.
“By returning to the iconic blue and gold design, the British passport will once again be entwined with our national identity and I cannot wait to travel on one.”
The new passports will have updated security features, including a “hard-wearing, super-strength polycarbonate data page”.
(Image: The Home Office)
Burgundy passports can still be used until they expire – but travellers are being warned to have at least six months’ validity left if they visit the EU from 1 January 2021.
That is because current free movement rules will end and we will default to the stricter travel rules for certain countries outside the EU.
UK travellers are also being warned not to take a passport older than 10 years to the EU, even if it’s still valid (which does happen in some circumstances).
(Image: The Home Office)
The contract for printing passports was due to be renewed anyway and is not being renewed because of the decision to change their colour.
Because of that, the government has insist there is no actual cost to turning passports blue.
But the Home Office was embroiled in a row in 2018 after handing the £260million, 11-and-a-half year contract to a Dutch firm – which is printing UK passports in Poland.
Gemalto, whose parent firm is Thales, insisted it was compliant with Poland’s labour laws after the Mail on Sunday reported the factory workers making the passports were on just £400 a month.
