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Red or blue passport as due to the Brexit?
Every passport worldwide needs to have certain similarities according to the regulations of the International passport style book. This style book contains the requirements of passports and the restrictions in which all passports need to comply to such as the material, the typography and the colour of the passport.
But, what is the reason for the United Kingdom (UK) to change the colour of the passport after the introduction of the British exit (Brexit)? And what does this mean for your organisation?
The reason for this alteration
Pro-Brexit activists used the former blue passport, which was issued in 1921 for the first time, as one of their mascots during their campaign. Nigel Farage, the man behind Brexit, understood the iconic value of the blue passport. He requested the return of the “iconic” blue colour, as of one of the first, after the referendum.
The British minister of immigration, Brandon Lewis, even said:” The returning of the Blue passport is an act to restore the British independence and sovereignty we once had”. Former Prime Minister Theresa May indicated at the end of 2017 to restore the blue passport in 2019.
British minister of immigration, Brandon Lewis:” The returning of the Blue passport is an act to restore the British independence and sovereignty we once had”.
Alterations of the passport
However, the British will have to wait for a blue version of the passport. The blue passport will not be printed and issued until the remaining stock of red passports is spend. The expectation is that sufficient stock is still available until at least June.
There will not be a lot of other changes on the British passport besides the colour because of the International requirements. So, for the next 10 years there will be blue and red British passports around. This does not change a thing while verifying a passport since the colour of the passport does not say much about the validity of the document.
What should I pay attention to when verifying?
There are a lot of factors you should take into account while verifying an identity document. DataChecker has a team of document experts who are always up-to-date concerning the latest developments of identity documents. Are you curious about how we verify identity documents, or how we can help your organisation concerning this matter? Contact us!