Passports
UK Passport Office Strikes 3 April to 5 May 2023
The Isle of Man passport office will continue to process and issue Isle of Man variant British Passport passports as per our standard processing times . These service times should not be taken as a guarantee. Whilst every effort is made to meet them, circumstances beyond our control may prevent the delivery of the passport within the standard processing times.
HM Passport Office workers strikes in the UK are scheduled between 3 April to 5 May 2023. Whilst we do not anticipate the HM Passport Office strikes will cause disruption to the processing times of the Isle of Man Variant British Passports, no guarantee can be made that the strikes will not affect the delivery times.
Please ensure that you submit your passport application in plenty of time to avoid the possibility of any delays. Please see processing times, fees and application forms
Any renewal passport applications that have already been made may have the option to upgrade for the additional express fee.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and update our website when more information is available.
Public Counter Hours
As of Monday 27 February 2023, the Public Counter hours will be 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday until further notice.
Passports
The power to issue Isle of Man British variant British passports is derived from the Royal Prerogative. The Isle of Man is an issuing authority for British passports and complies with HM Passport Office issuance policy for British passports. On the Isle of Man this is formally exercised by the Lieutenant Governor on behalf of the Crown.
The powers of the Lieutenant Governor allow the issuance of an Isle of Man British Passport to:
- a person resident in the Isle of Man or
- a person who is born in the Isle of Man and who is resident in the United Kingdom; for example a student at University or
- a person whom His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor considers there are exceptional grounds for example a person born overseas to parents who were Isle of Man born, and were serving in the RAF or Navy at the time the child was born and the child was then brought up in the Isle of Man and went to University in the United Kingdom
The powers of the Lieutenant Governor do not extend to the issue of passports to British nationals resident overseas where the Prerogative is exercised by the Home Secretary exclusively.
Overseas applications
An applicant resident overseas must apply online through the overseas passport services of HM Passport Office.
Important information
Isle of Man Passport Office strongly advises against the booking of travel before an individual has received their valid passport. Isle of Man Passport Office accepts no responsibility for travel booked by applicants that cannot be fulfilled due to non-receipt of their passport.
Isle of Man Passport Office shall have no liability for any delays, or for loss of or damage to any passport or other documents, caused by, or occurring whilst any application, passport or document is in the possession of, any postal or courier service.
It is each individual's responsibility to check that the temporary passport will be accepted by each country they intend to travel to before making their application. Isle of Man Passport Office accepts no responsibility for travel booked by applicants that cannot be fulfilled due to non-acceptance of the temporary passport by the country an individual is travelling to.
The refunding of passport fees is publically available on the HM Passport Office website. In addition to the HM Passport Office refunding policy, Isle of Man Passport Office will consider refunding all or part of the passport fee where the Isle of Man Passport Office has been unable to meet the same day or 5 day service as a result of circumstances within its control or where we have overcharged the customer. Fees will not be refunded for failed or withdrawn passport applications. In the case of withdrawn applications, there is no provision for fees to be held over until such time as a subsequent application is made.
A replacement passport will be issued free of charge where it is clearly identified that the passport contains an error that was made by the Isle of Man Passport Office during the examination, input or validation process. The passport being replaced must be valid, in date, and not damaged. On occasions it may be necessary to process an emergency same day or a 5 day express and therefore waive the express fee component.
