All those applying for a passport for the first time in England, will now have to 'pass' a test to make sure they are who they say they really are. The answers to the questions I suppose will be included on the passport chip. The price of a passport will go up a staggering 30% (at time of writing).
Below is a list of a few of the possible questions that may be asked, published in the Telly the other day. I cannot answer questions 4, 5 and 8. I am English and haven't lived in England for 25 years - I had a NI number once upon a time - does it still exist, am I entitled to it (doubtful), how do I go about inquiring. Car registration number - we have so manys goddamn numbers to remember that are more important. Bank sort code - ?
1 What was your mother's maiden name?
2 When is her birthday?
3 In which town was your father born?
4 What is your National Insurance number?
5 What is the registration number of your family car?
6 What is the occupation of the person who countersigned your application?
7 How long have you known him/her?
8 What is the sort code of your bank?
9 How long have you lived at your current address?
10 Where did you live before that?
Say, for example, I am applying now for my first passport. I am asked for the registration number of my car. Okay, I learn this by heart for Question Time. Within the following ten years, say I change my car three times ... is my passport chip updated or am I supposed to remember the registration number of the 2007 car. I arrive at JFK, and my car registration number doesn't correspond, what next - thrown into prison, put back on the next 'plane?
Since the increase on security checks in London's airports, I have missed two 'planes - simply by being stuck in a queue. Hundreds of flights leave within minutes of each other, but there are only four security checks open, dealing with hundreds and hundreds of people. Despite doing exactly as one is told, one handbag, no sharp instruments, liquids in plastic bags etc. etc. etc. one still has to take off your coat, take off your shoes, empty your pockets, be frisked and risk having your bag rifled through, even if it has been through the Xray machine. On my last but one trip through Gatwick security wanted to confiscate my fountain pen (yes, one of those old-fashioned things that leak ink everywhere) as I could have stabbed someone in the eye. A bit of a hoo-ha ensued and I think the handcuffs were not far away - fortunately there was the beginning of a riot behind me as people waited so security decided it was easier to let me through...
On my last trip London to Geneva I checked in three hours before the flight and still found myself doing a sprint for the 'plane (everyone clapped as I boarded - how many hours did they check in in advance?).
So now we have to add Question Time to the check in times - soon going across the Pond will be quicker on the QM2, and a damned sight more civilised!
And finally, a super grump about the countersigning of passport photos - it is IMPOSSIBLE to fit all the information required on the back of a passport photo. Fortunately I am not classed as someone who can countersign a photo, otherwise the person applying would have to have an A4 size photo in order for me, with my big, round handwriting to be able to fit in that so and so has been known to me for x years and that the photo is a likeness and my name, full address, qualifications etc. etc.
There we are, that feels better!
7 comments:
I was thinking of getting a British passport for my youngest, but my goodness, isn't it expensive? Still, if I don't want them to have to go through hell when they hit 16, I suppose it may be a good investment.
Go for it, Sarah. My son had a French passport. When it needed renewing last summer, it meant going with him to the French embassy in Geneva to hand in the application form personally, plus fingerprints etc. and then going back with him to collect it. This would have entailed 8 hours on the road plus queuing time, and taking son out of school as we wouldn't have been able to get there on time during opening hours on his half day.
So applied for English passport at British embassy in Geneva, downloaded file off internet, filled it in, sent it off with photos, birth certificates etc. and ten days later it appeared - brilliant.
I think your nearest consulate is either Marseille or Lyon.
I can't answer question 3 either. It's like that Britishness test - I can't answer a lot of those questions.
Why does everything these days seem to lean perilously towards the ridiculous?
My father was born in Cairo - that goes down like a ton of bricks! At one point when I was considering taking out French nationality (only because it appeared easier when running your own business) the lady in the Préfecture told me there was little chance of my application going through as my father was Arab! Try telling them my grandparents were just passing through!
And, Sarah - if the children travel by themselves to England for example, they cannot go as unaccompanied minors unless they have a passport - une carte d'identité is not enough, as I found out once when putting my son on a 'plane in Geneva for France and they refused at the last minute to let him board...
Talking about being refused permission to board...my recent trip to England nearly didn't happen. My children and I do not share the same surname so I was asked for an 'autorisation de sortie du territoire' for them. As I'm the one who signs this document for when they go off on school trips, I didn't think I'd need it as I was travelling with them.
Wrong. I was told that I should have signed the document myself and brought it with me...
Luckily, I had thought to bring their birth certificates with me (why?? I've never done that before) and the Custom's Officer allowed us through...exceptionnellement.
And they say the French are logical!
I went through Heathrow twice in January. It literally is Hell on Earth, worse even than enduring U.S. customs and immigration -- which, if you're flying to the States from here, you usually go through in the Canadian airport before you leave rather than down there when you arrive. Getting into China, if your documentation is in order, is easier than getting into the U.S. But getting through Heathrow's red tape is an utterly miserable experience. I travel on a Canadian passport but I don't think it would've been any easier with my British one. Which, come to think, I need to dig out and renew. It's always nice to have two.
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