16 July 2007
The Passport Office is asking for the public’s help and understanding as it battles to reduce the waiting times for passport applications.
In October 2006, the States of Jersey, following UK Home Office guidelines, introduced biometric passports in order to increase the level of security. However, unfortunately it now takes longer to produce passports.
The Passport Office is currently fully staffed and working to maximum capacity. Because of that, the period between application and receipt of a passport is only four weeks. There are similar waiting times in Guernsey and the Isle of Man , with whom Jersey shared the procurement costs of the new system.
Deputy Andrew Lewis, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, said that the Passport Office needs the public’s help so that the backlog does not increase further in the peak demand period of July and August. He commented:
“The staff in the Passport Office have worked hard, and extremely efficiently, since the very necessary introduction of biometric passports in order to reduce waiting times. To maintain current waiting times we are asking members of the public to only enquire about the process of their application if they urgently need a passport within a week. If you can wait for a passport, please do so, as staff waste valuable time checking on the status of applications.”
In order to create uninterrupted time for processing passport applications, the Passport Office has temporarily changed the times at which it is open to the public to 9am-3pm .
Deputy Lewis added:
“The change of hours will help us clear the backlog of applications. We regret any inconvenience caused to the public by this measure and ask for their patience and understanding.”
Islanders are asked to apply for a passport at least three weeks before they intend to travel. Applications should not be made if the intended date of travel is more than five weeks away unless that application is for a different purpose such as obtaining a visa for another country. Once the application has been submitted, islanders are asked not to enquire about its progress unless the passport is urgently needed within a week. Urgent requests for passports are dealt with sympathetically and will be fast tracked where there is a genuine need. Applicants who forget to apply in good time can apply for an express service but that will incur an additional fee of £35. Applicants also need to carefully follow the passport photograph guidelines which are included with every application form.
gov.je