25 February 2015
Jersey variant British passports will be produced at a central facility in the United Kingdom from March 2015 as part of an initiative to improve security.
Under these new arrangements Jersey will maintain its status as an issuing authority. The Passport Office at Maritime House will continue to accept and process applications, it will also retain its ability to issue a passport for local residents who need to travel urgently in an emergency.
Security concerns
These new arrangements are the culmination of a UK project that began in 2010, and which was agreed by previous Council of Ministers. It was driven by HM Passport Office concerns about the practice of shipping blank passport books to British Embassies and diplomatic posts around the world. These changes have also affected the other Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar.
From March, Jersey applicants will receive a new generation British passport which incorporates improved security features; the passport will still be distinguished as a Jersey variant British passport and the front cover will retain the wording ‘Bailiwick of Jersey’.
Developments in passport production
The centralisation of passport ‘personalisation’ in the UK will ensure that Jersey will remain in step with the very latest developments in passport production. The British passport remains one of the most secure documents in the world, allowing holders to travel visa free to many international destinations.
The price of passports will not change as a consequence of these new arrangements.
- The cost of the standard passport service for an adult will remain at £72.50 and £46.00 for a child.
- The express service will remain £ 111.00 for an adult and £84.50 for child.
Passports will be posted from the UK to applicants in Jersey using the Royal Mail Special Delivery service. Processing times for standard service passport applications will remain unchanged; applicants are advised to allow up to 6 weeks. Applicants who opt to use the express service will be advised to allow up to 8 working days in order to adequately allow for postage from the UK to Jersey.
Passport holders are urged to check the validity of their passports for their travel requirements and are reminded that they can apply to renew at any time, without waiting for their current passport to expire. Up to nine months’ validity remaining on their old passport may be transferred to the new passport.
The Customs and Immigration Service Director, Legal Status and Revenue, Steven Le Marquand, said “These changes will bring to a close a two year project between Her Majesty’s Passport Office, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar. The arrangements agreed mean that Jersey applicants will continue to benefit from the personal service offered by the Passport Office at Maritime House. Processing times will be very much in our control and we have service level agreements in place to cover both the printing functions in the UK and the onward delivery to Jersey. The Island has secured access to future upgrades to passport designs whilst retaining its ability to issue a passport locally in an emergency situation."
gov.je