Press releases – Avoid a passport ´Nightmare Before Christmas´ says IPS

Press release

Avoid a passport ´Nightmare Before Christmas´ says IPS

Thursday 16th November 2006

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is calling on all winter holiday-makers to check their passport expiry date as there are now only six weeks to go before the winter holiday exodus predicted for the weekend of 23/24 December.

Every Christmas people risk being unable to go on their winter holiday as planned when they turn up at ports or airports with a passport that has expired, or discover that their passport has been lost or stolen.

Last December 17,270 people needed a ´Premium Service´ same-day renewal and ended up paying £42 more than they would have done if they had made a conventional postal renewal. An astonishing 4,926 people applied for a same-day replacement passport in the last week before Christmas.

Although many people loathe having to plan for Christmas far in advance of the day itself, IPS is advising people to avoid last-minute panicsby checking now that they have their passports and that they are still valid.

Home Office Minister Joan Ryan said:

"With so much to organise in the run up to Christmas, holiday-makers can easily forget to check their passports, and then have to act swiftly to ensure their winter break doesn´t become a Christmas nightmare.

"The advice to holidaymakers from IPS is to check now that you and your family have your passports and that they are still valid, to avoid disappointment and ensure they don´t miss out on a winter trip abroad."

A series of changes is being made to British passports to help fight fraud and forgery as well as meet international standards, including:

enhanced background checks on passport applicants;
the introduction this year of new biometric "ePassports" including a scan of the holder´s face in a chip. Since October 2006 all new passports have included this technology; and
in 2007, a new process of face-to-face interviews for everyone applying for an adult passport (16 and over) for the first time.

For information on the services that IPS provides and to find out more about the passport application process, please visit www.passport.gov.uk or call the Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000.

Notes to Editors

The Identity and Passport Service was established as an Executive Agency of the Home Office on 1 April 2006. The IPS Mission statement is ´safeguarding your identity´.
For media enquiries relating to IPS and passports, contact the Home Office Press Office on 020 7035 3535.
Further information on IPS and passports is available at www.ips.gov.uk.

24-hour Passport Adviceline: 0300 222 0000 (see terms and conditions). Calls made from landline phones are charged at your network provider's national rate, charges for mobile phones may vary depending on your service provider. Live operators are available to assist with your enquiry 24 hours a day.