Validity of Jersey variant British passports (FOI)

​Request

Given that Jersey has never been in the European Union, will all passports issued under the authority of the lieutenant governor, prior to March 2019, remain valid until their expiry date?

If this is not the case, please provide a copy of any plan to replace existing passports on a like-for-like basis (including any funding requirements).

Please provide all correspondence between States of Jersey and the UK DeXEU on the topic of passports.

Response

Article 35 (Formulation and development of policy) and Article 41 (International relations), of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 have been applied to your request and the request is therefore refused.

However, Jersey Customs and Immigration note that following Brexit, Jersey variant British passports will continue to be issued and will be aligned to the design of those issued in the United Kingdom.

There is currently no need for Jersey variant British passport holders to do anything prior to their current passport renewal date.

Exemptions applied

Article 35 Formulation and development of policies

Information is qualified exempt information if it relates to the formulation or development of any proposed policy by a public authority.

Public Interest Test

It may be in the public interest to disclose the information held for the purposes of transparency and openness. However, it is also considered that it is not in the public interest to disclose the information requested as releasing the information at this time is inappropriate, given that States of Jersey policy relating to Brexit is ongoing and the final position will be dependent on UK Government negotiations yet to be agreed and beyond our control.

In this instance, it is considered that it is not in the public interest to disclose the requested information.

Article 41 International relations

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between Jersey and –

(a) the United Kingdom;

Public Interest Test

It is considered that releasing any such information would be likely to prejudice the relationship between the two jurisdictions (Jersey and the United Kingdom).

It may be in the public interest to disclose the information held for the purposes of transparency and openness. However, it is also considered that it is not in the public interest to disclose the information requested as releasing the information may damage the relationship between the two jurisdictions.

In this instance, it is considered that it is not in the public interest to disclose the requested information.