Passport office facing 'unprecedented demand'

Island residents still seeing delays in processing

The Passport Office says it still cannot currently guarantee the standard 20-day delivery of the Isle of Man variant of British passports because of 'unprecedented demand'.

Back in April, Island residents were warned to get their applications in as early as possible due to pressure on the service.

And it appears this demand has not eased.

On Monday, Manx Radio received an email into its Mannin Line programme from a father who sent an application in for his newborn baby over 30 days previously.

He claims he was told last Friday that the Passport Office didn't have any passports available, and additional charges will now be incurred on top of the original cost to sort out the issue.

Manx Radio put these queries to the passport office and received this response from Government:

"During this time, customers are encouraged to submit passport applications as early as possible as the express and emergency travel document applications will take priority over the standard service. 

"All applications for Isle of Man variant British passports are processed on Island and are printed and dispatched by commercial suppliers from the United Kingdom. 

• Emergency Travel Documents will continue to be delivered within 24 Hours (working day)
• Express Service will continue to be processed by the Isle of Man Passport Office within 5 working days
• Standard Service has seen the highest increase in applications resulting in this service taking longer than 20 working days."