Brexit: Blue passports to return from March 2020
British passports will return to their original blue colour for the first time since 1988 from next month, when the UK government will issue the first blue passports since the Brexit vote.
The first blue passports will be issued from early March and from mid-2020 all new passports issued to Brits will be blue.
The blue passports will also feature a new symbolic design on the back cover featuring the floral emblems of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
“Leaving the European Union gave us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path in the world,” said home secretary Priti Patel.
“By returning to the iconic blue and gold design, the British passport will once again be entwined with our national identity and I cannot wait to travel on one.”
The blue passport was first introduced in 1921 and remained in use until the UK joined the EU. The colour changed to burgundy 32 years ago.
But the government announced a return to blue-coloured passports in December 2017, after the UK voted in favour of Brexit in the June 2016 referendum.
They were originally due to be issued in October 2019, but the Brexit departure date was repeatedly delayed – from 29 March until 31 January 2020.
The new blue passports will also contain what the government called a “hard-wearing polycarbonate data page” that it promised would keep personal data secure. They will be 34 pages long. A so-called jumbo version for frequent travellers will contain 54 pages.
Gemalto, which is producing the passports, has also used the latest printing and design techniques to make them harder to forge.
British firm De La Rue lost the battle for the £490m contract to print the blue passports to the French-Dutch company in 2018.
Since then De La Rue has issued repeated profit warnings and seen its CEO depart. Its current contract ends this year and last November the company warned of “material uncertainty” unless it can address its net debt. Management is due to reveal a turnaround plan next month.