Just the other day I mentioned the problems of obtaining a British passport outside the UK – the scandalous cost and the bureaucratic problems involved. Today (and coincidentally as far as I know) this letter has appeared in the Independent.
I wonder if British citizens, thinking about emigration perhaps, know what the Government's latest earner is for its passport-holders abroad? Now the only means of obtaining a new passport is by application to Düsseldorf – "UK in Germany" – via the web. According to their leaflet, "We look forward to welcoming our overseas customers."
Customers? What happened to citizens? One is expected to post the passport (that may not have run out yet of course), with bank details, by courier across borders then pay them for the return. The charge is €150 for the "service" plus shipping.
If one wants to find out about the process, we cannot call Düsseldorf but only an outsourced company in the UK – and must have credit card ready to pay a minimum of £3.50. They give different information from what is on the consulate's website.
Nobody in real Europe believes us that such things are possible.
Brian Banks, Warsaw
The great British passport scam is indubitably an earner for the British State.With passports valid for 10 years there must be round about 4,000,000 of them issued every year. I am convinced that this is one reason (there are others) why the UK refuses to join the Schengen Agreement on passport-free travel.
It is also worth pointing out something that seems to have eluded British anti-ID crusaders. The plasticised page at the back of a UK passport, which is internationally standardised, contains the same information as is on an ID card in other countries. So anyone who has a passport has already given the State bureaucracy the relevant data anyway!
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