BOT passports now need ‘live’ signatures
New passports must be signed in black ink
(CNS): From now on, when people receive their new British or British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC) passports, they will have to physically sign them, as the UK passport office has dropped the digital signature in preference of a ‘live’ one. The new “sign after receipt” policy means that a new passport must be signed by the holder immediately in black ink because the new more secure travel documents will no longer have the signature already printed from the applications.
The new passports include a printed line where the passport holder must put their handwritten signature, otherwise the document will not be valid for travel.
On page three of the new passports, there will be a blank signature line and a caption stating “holder’s signature”. Travellers who are exempt from providing a signature, such as children 11 or under, or those with disabilities who are unable to sign, will see printed beneath the signature caption on page two of the passport “the holder is not required to sign”.
British passports, including BOTC passports, with the signature in digital format are still legitimate and will continue to be in circulation up until 2027. Officials said the latest passport change brings the United Kingdom into line with other countries, such as the United States, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada.
There are no other changes to the passport design, or to the process or submissions. Applicants will continue to provide photographs and signatures when submitting applications for their British passports.
The Passport and Corporate Services Office received the first batch of the “sign after receipt” passports on Friday, 3 February, officials said.
Category: Local News
There has been a great improvement with the phone being answered at Immigration for the last few years. Its usually difficult to get through to Enforcement but I must congratulate Immigration on being so responsive to the telephone. Just wish that Cayman Brac hadn’t adopted the telephone voice mails like it is in Cayman. It used to be so good before. One step backward.
What concerns me with this is that the UK Passport office in conjunction with the courier of their choice delivered my UK passport to the wrong person here in Cayman. Luckily the person who received it, remembered me from my visits over 3 years ago to his place of work, and luckily could look up my phone number and give me a call to come and collect it.
Had the exact same problem with the original documents I had sent to the U.K. Local courier claimed they didn’t have them and I had to call U.K. Passport office to get it sorted out.
Electronic signatures are a new thing anyway, it was always normal to sign a passport.
XXX If you go to the UK, you can walk in to a passport office, pay the fee, hand in your old passport and come back two hours later for a new one. You can even get a photograph from an automated booth right there if you haven’t got one.
So how do you get your photo certified? It’s supposed to be signed by someone who has known you xx years & not a relative ….do you take your lawyer/doctor/banker to the U.K. with you?!!
Well, if one does not have a cadre of professionals in London to call upon, and many do, the other option is to get your photographs done before you leave, dummy.
Do we know when the last of the previous, non-RFID chipped passports expire? Will the old style passports work in the new “departure area” pre-clearance machines, or will an e-passport be required like in the USA arrivals machines?
More red tape. Trying to get a handle on terrorists instead of keeping middle east people out? Nothing is easy for people and travel any more.
This is the new normal. Travel is hell for everyone and Government is all about making things impossible and no one enjoys working in their offices or dealing with these officious, self aggrandized bureaucrats!!!!!
England has made the Caribbean impossible. In Jamaica things got worse for us after Independence so no answers to problems there.
Oh get a grip man. All you have to do is find a black pen and sign your name. Are you honestly saying this ‘extra red tape’ is too much hassle for you?
Just another cry baby. Poor Poor me, I have to sign this document.
Please pull yourself together man! The new passports you sign in ink – ONCE. This additional millisecond effort will not harm you. To be honest, in the era of grand-scale computer hacking, tampering, and identity theft, this is frankly, a positive step in a more secure direction. Take a deep breathe. Go outside and listen to some birds, smell some flowers – find some joy in your day please!
I don’t have a problem with signing my name on a passport. I do have a problem with filling out a very long form asking for information that should be on Immigration files just to renew said passport. You should just be able to bring in your old passport, prove your identity, get a temporary one and receive a phone call when your new one is ready. Instead you have to get a photo looking like a serial killer on your lunch hour and fill out the equivalent of an IRS form and then stand in line etc etc.
Don’t even get me started on how long it took me to obtain the direct phone number of someone in the Passport Office, which has never – ever – answered my calls, not once.
You are very naive complaining nobody ever answers the phone. Do you not realise the Passport Office is staffed by civil servants who are trained never to answer calls from the public or to respond to voice mail.
Temporary passports are generally not issued whilst your current one is being renewed , they are typically only issued ‘temporarily’ in an instance where a passport is stolen ,lost or damaged ( ie: being replaced rather than being renewed ) only as an interim measure , to facilitate being issued a new valid 10 year passport. Temporaries are also only valid for short periods of time , I believe a year or less , or purely to allow you to travel on an emergency basis.
Ok