UK immigration launches next generation passports

June 12 2009 by Gareth McConnell

Picture of the new iPhone 3 G becasue we don't have a picture of the new UK passport

UK immigration to launch passport

A ten-year contract worth £400 million has been awarded to banknote printing firm De La Rue by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to design and produce next generation passports for British nationals and UK visa holders granted citizenship.

The new passports, which will include the capacity to store fingerprint biometric information, will have a new design and be available from October 2010.

The passport upgrade is part of the government’s £4.9 billion National Identity Scheme, which is likely to take around ten years to roll out.

The enhanced passports are intended to protect against identity theft and help secure the UK’s borders against people who want to move to the UK using fraudulent passports and UK visas. The changes follow the introduction of a digital chip into passports in 2006, containing a digitial photo of the holder along with additional personal information.

James Hall, chief executive of the IPS, says the upgrade is necessary. "The British passport is recognised as one of the best in the world and we want to keep it that way… upgrading the British passport is essential to keep pace with the most advanced international standards for travel documents and will ensure that British citizens have the freedom to travel easily worldwide."

See the latest Immigration News