Although the Bailiwick is not a part of UK, the design of all British passports are a matter for the UK Government.
The issue has proven controversial after British firm De La Rue, which was founded in Guernsey, lost out on the £490m. contract to print the new passports to French-Dutch company Gemalto. It is now set to appeal that decision.
De La Rue printers, now based in Basingstoke, began its operation in Guernsey when it printed the first edition of Le Mirror Politique in 1813.
A blue plaque on the wall of Forest Stores marks the birth of the company’s founder, Thomas de la Rue, at Le Bourg.
‘The new blue passports will start to be issued sometime in late 2019 or early 2020 to those renewing or applying for a new passport,’ said Michelle Lacey, nationality manager for the Guernsey Border Agency.
‘There is no need for people to do anything ahead of their current passport renewal date.
‘The design of all British passports is a matter for the UK Government, therefore the format and security features will be identical regardless of where the passport is issued – however the text on the front cover will still state Bailiwick of Guernsey.’
When it comes to travel, it is still unclear whether or not Channel Islands passport holders will still be syphoned off to a separate queue at airport arrivals.
‘We understand that will be a matter for each port individually,’ said a spokesman.
Islanders have always been issued with a passport for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by His or Her Majesty at the time – the earliest issued on record dates back to 1721.
The passport is currently ranked fourth in the world in terms of ease of mobility, meaning all British passport holders can travel to 160 out of 199 countries without applying for a visa beforehand.
The new blue and gold passports will be issued across the UK from October 2019 following Brexit in March.
Some local people would like to see Guernsey have its own distinct passport.
‘Guernsey is self-governed, but we seem to have more and more of these English laws,’ said Len Domaille.
‘I don’t see why we shouldn’t have a different colour, green would be nice, but they won’t do that,’ said Les Gallienne.
There are 43 green passports issued worldwide including those for citizens of Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan.
Guernsey passports have been printed in the UK since March 2015 as a result of HM Passport Office concerns about shipping blank passport books to British embassies and diplomatic posts around the world.
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