The Minister for Immigration (Brandon Lewis)
I am writing to advise you that Her Majesty’s Passport Office is introducing changes to its interviewing processes.
HM Passport Office reserves the right to call any passport applicant for an identity interview. However, where the identity of a newly naturalised British citizen can be confirmed using records already held by UK Visas and Immigration, they will not be routinely required to attend an interview as part of their first UK passport application.
The new process maintains our high standards of identity assurance but removes an unnecessary burden on newly naturalised citizens by no longer requiring them to confirm their identity twice to the Home Office before being issued with a UK passport.
[HCWS97]