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FIFTY COUNTRIES TO ACCEPT EXTENDED PASSPORTS TO AID BACKLOG CRISIS
Renewed British passports will now be accepted in popular holiday
destinations, including Cyprus, Turkey and the US
Alan Travis
theguardian.com,
Friday 20 June 2014 20.04 BST
The Foreign Office will extend existing British passports to help
clear the backlog - 50 destinations have confirmed they will accept
them. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
The Foreign Office has issued a list of 50 countries which will
accept British passports that have been renewed for a further 12
months as part of the package of measures designed to resolve the
backlog crisis at Her Majesty's Passport Office.
But Labour says the measures, announced by the home secretary,Theresa
May, do not include some of the most popular holiday destinations.
Passport chiefs were expected to update MPs on the home affairs
select committee with further details of their progress in dealing
with the 489,000 applications, being handled as "work in progress"
after a surge in demand.
Labour's shadow immigration minister, David Hanson, said three of the
seven most popular holiday destinations, the US, Cyprus and Turkey,
as well as destinations for British migrants such as Australia, and
trading partners including China, India and Brazil, did not appear
on the list.
"A week after Theresa May announced an extended passport for residents,
almost three-quarters of the world are currently not accepting them,"
said Hanson. "People are still stuck without their passports, unable
to travel at what is the busiest holiday period of the year. While
it is good that some will be able to travel on an extended passport,
the government haven't got some of the most popular destination
countries in the world to agree."
He said the current omissions were further evidence that the home
secretary had not got a grip on the problem.
The countries that will accept extended British passports or travel
documents are: Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus,
Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central
African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Gabon,
Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Kosovo, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique,
New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, San Marino,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia,
Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/20/extended-passports-accepted-by-fifty-countries-to-aid-crisis
Renewed British passports will now be accepted in popular holiday
destinations, including Cyprus, Turkey and the US
Alan Travis
theguardian.com,
Friday 20 June 2014 20.04 BST
The Foreign Office will extend existing British passports to help
clear the backlog - 50 destinations have confirmed they will accept
them. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
The Foreign Office has issued a list of 50 countries which will
accept British passports that have been renewed for a further 12
months as part of the package of measures designed to resolve the
backlog crisis at Her Majesty's Passport Office.
But Labour says the measures, announced by the home secretary,Theresa
May, do not include some of the most popular holiday destinations.
Passport chiefs were expected to update MPs on the home affairs
select committee with further details of their progress in dealing
with the 489,000 applications, being handled as "work in progress"
after a surge in demand.
Labour's shadow immigration minister, David Hanson, said three of the
seven most popular holiday destinations, the US, Cyprus and Turkey,
as well as destinations for British migrants such as Australia, and
trading partners including China, India and Brazil, did not appear
on the list.
"A week after Theresa May announced an extended passport for residents,
almost three-quarters of the world are currently not accepting them,"
said Hanson. "People are still stuck without their passports, unable
to travel at what is the busiest holiday period of the year. While
it is good that some will be able to travel on an extended passport,
the government haven't got some of the most popular destination
countries in the world to agree."
He said the current omissions were further evidence that the home
secretary had not got a grip on the problem.
The countries that will accept extended British passports or travel
documents are: Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus,
Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central
African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Gabon,
Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Kosovo, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique,
New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, San Marino,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia,
Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/20/extended-passports-accepted-by-fifty-countries-to-aid-crisis