For as long as people have been travelling between countries, there has been some form of a passport. The concept originated in the United Kingdom as a 'Safe Conduct', which was simply a note signed by the monarch requesting that the holder by permitted to travel freely. These notes were given to people of all nationalities and mentioned in 1414 in an Act \of Parliament, during the reign of King Henry V. In 1915 the first UK passport was issued, following the introduction of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act. This consisted of one page within a cardboard cover and included a signature and a photograph. Following the First World War, the modern British passport service was created and the 32-page blue British passport introduced. The burgundy passports issued today first came into use in 1988 with the new feature of machine-readable information strips.
All passport applications can be completed online through the Identity and Passport Service website (see References below). Your application information is then returned to you by post for you to sign, date and return to the IPS, together with the supporting documents. Passport application forms can also be picked up at your local Post Office or you can request one by telephone by phoning the Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000. The application procedure for a first adult passport requires an interview at a regional passport office as part of the process.
Certain documents are required to be sent in support of your passport application. Two passport-sized photographs must be sent if the application is for a first adult passport or a child's passport. If you were born in the UK before 1983, you need to send your UK national identity card or your birth or adoption certificate. For those born on or after 1 January 1983, you must also send either your mother's UK birth certificate, Home Office certificate of registration or naturalisation, or her passport that was valid at the time of your birth; or your father's UK birth certificate, Home Office certificate of registration or naturalisation, or his passport that was valid at the time of your birth and your parents' marriage certificate.
Times for passport applications to be processed vary according to the service chosen. For postal applications, the recommendation is to allow six weeks for the passport to arrive, although the IPS try to take no longer than three weeks. The Check & Send service, which is available at some Post Offices, takes around two weeks. The fast track service is a guaranteed one-week service, available only by appointment at regional passport offices. The premium service is also only available by appointment and is a guaranteed same-day service. If you are travelling within four weeks of applying for your passport, the IPS recommends that you do not apply by post as your passport may not arrive in time for you to travel.
As of June 2010, the fee for a first adult passport is £77.50. The fee to replace a lost, stolen or missing passport is the same; there is also an additional service available for replacements, the one-week fast track service at a cost of £112.50. For a first child's passport, if the child was previously included on a parent's passport, is £49 with the fast track service costing £96.50. To renew or amend an existing adult passport is £77.50 or £112.50 for the fast track service; a further option for a renewal is the one-day premium service at £129.50.
