{"id":17132,"date":"2021-03-09T09:22:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T09:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=17132"},"modified":"2022-02-26T00:18:38","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T00:18:38","slug":"are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new (blue) UK passport is <\/b>produced by Thales Group<\/b><\/a> (headquartered in France). However, passports will be <\/b>personalised with the holder\u2019s details in the UK<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a Facebook posting<\/a>, it was claimed that several elements of the production of UK passports are done by non-UK companies. The image also claims that a company based in Durham, England, was unsuccessful in a tender for an element of this work and is facing bankruptcy. The posting shows an image of a blue-covered UK passport, with the following description: \u201cMade by a Franco-Dutch company in Poland using Italian software to print Spanish ink on to Finnish paper in a tender that beat the company in Durham which is now facing bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contract tender<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2017, the UK Government put out to tender a contract to print UK passports, under existing UK law, EU law, and World Trade Organisation rules at the time. The contract was awarded<\/a> to Franco-Dutch firm, Gemalto<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Gemalto became part of the multi-national Thales Group<\/a> and is now part of the DIS section<\/a> of the company.
During 2020\/21, UK passport production transitioned away from De La Rue<\/a> who made UK passports at its Gateshead factory<\/a> and did not win the new contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UK passport manufacture<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We contacted Thales to learn more about where UK passports will be produced<\/a>. Thales replied that all such queries are being handled by the UK Home Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Home Office spokesperson replied:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll British passports will continue to be personalised with the holder\u2019s personal details and photograph in the United Kingdom, so that no personal data will leave the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHM Passport Office works with all of its suppliers to ensure that services are delivered in line with its robust contractual demands and strict governance regime. There are multiple sites for both manufacture and personalisation of passports to ensure an uninterrupted service to meet the expectations of our approximately seven million customers each year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither Thales nor the Home Office confirmed the exact country in which the new blank passports are manufactured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fate of De La Rue<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim said that De La Rue (\u201cthe company in Durham\u201d) was \u201cfacing bankruptcy\u201d as a consequence of losing its bid for the passport contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of 170 skilled printing job losses<\/a> (June 2019) were followed by another 80<\/a> (June 2020) when passport production ceased at its factory in Gateshead. In January 2021, De La Rue announced it had won a 65% share<\/a> of the total volume of polymer substrate material used in \u00a35, \u00a310, and \u00a350 notes, in the three years from July 2021. It had a sevenfold increase in first-half adjusted operating profits<\/a> for 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK Government put the contract for the manufacture of UK passports out to tender under existing laws at the time. The contract was awarded to a Franco-Dutch firm that is now part of the Thales Group, based in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspects of the physical manufacture of the UK passports were not confirmed to FactCheckNI, but the UK Home Office stated that the passports will be personalised in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The previous producer, De La Rue, closed most of its factory in Gateshead, by December 2020, but in the new year it won a majority share of a contract to supply polymer for UK current notes and has reported that it is operating profitably.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new (blue) UK passport is produced by Thales Group (headquartered in France). However, passports will be personalised with the holder\u2019s details in the UK. In a Facebook posting, it was claimed that several elements of the production of UK passports are done by non-UK companies. The image also claims that a company based in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[45,48,170],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The new (blue) UK passport is produced by Thales Group (headquartered in France). However, passports will be personalised with the holder\u2019s details in the UK. In a Facebook posting, it was claimed that several elements of the production of UK passports are done by non-UK companies. The image also claims that a company based in...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcheckni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"FactCheckNI\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"FactCheckNI\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/85d1ea0fa0159339bdadca79e73ec7fa\"},\"headline\":\"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":551,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Brexit\",\"passport\",\"travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Europe\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\",\"name\":\"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/\",\"name\":\"FactCheckNI\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"FactCheckNI\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Logo-FactCheckNI-JPG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Logo-FactCheckNI-JPG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1472,\"height\":361,\"caption\":\"FactCheckNI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcheckni\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/FactCheckNI\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factcheckni_\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/factcheckni\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/85d1ea0fa0159339bdadca79e73ec7fa\",\"name\":\"FactCheckNI\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32bb816d3f7c31c3cbc856bd695b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32bb816d3f7c31c3cbc856bd695b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"FactCheckNI\"},\"description\":\"Northern Ireland's first and only dedicated fact checking service.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/factcheckni.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/author\/factcheckni\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI","og_description":"The new (blue) UK passport is produced by Thales Group (headquartered in France). However, passports will be personalised with the holder\u2019s details in the UK. In a Facebook posting, it was claimed that several elements of the production of UK passports are done by non-UK companies. The image also claims that a company based in...","og_url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/","og_site_name":"FactCheckNI","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcheckni","article_published_time":"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"http:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"FactCheckNI","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FactCheckNI","twitter_site":"@FactCheckNI","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"FactCheckNI","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/"},"author":{"name":"FactCheckNI","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/85d1ea0fa0159339bdadca79e73ec7fa"},"headline":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies?","datePublished":"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/"},"wordCount":551,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png","keywords":["Brexit","passport","travel"],"articleSection":["Europe"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/","url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/","name":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies? - FactCheckNI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png","datePublished":"2021-03-09T09:22:18+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-26T00:18:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/passport.png","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/europe\/are-uk-passports-produced-by-non-uk-companies-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are UK passports produced by non-UK companies?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/","name":"FactCheckNI","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#organization","name":"FactCheckNI","url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Logo-FactCheckNI-JPG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Logo-FactCheckNI-JPG-1.jpg","width":1472,"height":361,"caption":"FactCheckNI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/factcheckni","https:\/\/x.com\/FactCheckNI","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factcheckni_","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/factcheckni"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/85d1ea0fa0159339bdadca79e73ec7fa","name":"FactCheckNI","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32bb816d3f7c31c3cbc856bd695b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4dd32bb816d3f7c31c3cbc856bd695b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"FactCheckNI"},"description":"Northern Ireland's first and only dedicated fact checking service.","sameAs":["http:\/\/factcheckni.org"],"url":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/author\/factcheckni\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21801,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17132\/revisions\/21801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}