Isle of Man variant British Passports will be printed from Thursday 19 February 2015 at a central facility in the United Kingdom, increasing security and making the service more efficient.
Applications will still be accepted and processed by the Passport Office in Douglas, with passports returned from the UK via special postal delivery (included in the fee). During the transition to the new system, it should be noted that applications for standard and 5-day express passport services received on Tuesday 17 February will not be processed until Friday 20 February.
The Passport Office will continue to deliver the same-day passport service from Thursday 19 February up until Thursday 19 March, after which this service will no longer be available. Using this service, any time left on the old passport cannot be carried over to the new passport.
From Friday 20 March, people who are required to travel urgently can apply for an Emergency Passport which will be issued in the Isle of Man, with restricted validity up to a maximum of 12 months.
The fees in the Isle of Man will remain in line with UK charges:
- Standard passport service for adults £72.50; express service (5 working days) £103
- Standard passport service for children £46; express service (5 working days) £87
- Emergency passport service, subject to conditions and with restricted validity, £128
Annie Taylor, Senior Passport, Immigration and Nationality Officer said:
'Printing in the UK will ensure the security and integrity of the Isle of Man variant British passport and the benefits that go with it for international travel.
'From this implementation date, Isle of Man applicants will receive a New Generation British passport with enhanced security features, making it one of the most secure documents for travel in the world.'
Current Isle of Man variant British passports will continue to be valid until the expiry date.
