What does your passport mean to you?
You might be looking forward to using your passport to go away this summer, but what else does the burgundy booklet mean to you?
The Identity & Passport Service has issued 2.5 million passports this year with demand increasing as people book summer holidays.
The UK passport is one of the most trusted documents in the world and can help you get to far flung destinations. But today the Identity & Passport Service want to know what else it means to you. Use Twitter to send your answer to @ukhomeoffice, using the hashtag #mypassport.
Lord Sugar’s right-hand man in the Apprentice, Nick Hewer, who travels extensively in his role as patron of the charity Hope and Homes for Children, said: ‘My passports are one of the few things I can’t live without - and they remind me of my dual identity as an Irish and British citizen.’
Crest means home
Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said: ‘I am delighted that we have issued 2.5 million passports since January and 99.9 per cent of these have reached customers well within our published delivery times.
‘My passport always makes me feel proud to be British, and at the same time proud of the service we deliver to the public. We are asking you what your passport means to you.’
New design
The new passport design was introduced in October last year and features some of the most iconic scenes from the British landscape, including the White Cliffs of Dover.
The book passport that we all recognise today was introduced in 1915. You can find out more about the history of the document on the Identity & Passport Service website.
Although, there have been various designs since that time, the Royal Prerogative on the inside cover has remained the same and reads: ‘Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all of those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.’