When it comes to making your way through passport control, you might think Border Control are just checking that the person in the photo is the same person that’s standing in front of them - but you’d be wrong.
While you may not have given it much thought - with your thoughts firmly on your all inclusive in Malaga - but it turns out there’s actually quite a lot more going on with your passport than you may have realised. Check it out:
During an episode of BBC documentary The Secret Genius of Modern Life, Border Force officer Malcolm revealed exactly what he and his colleagues are looking for when you hand your passport over.
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He explained: “There are many things that we would look at.”
Before sharing the ‘secret patterns’ that are only revealed under a UV light - including the national flower of each country in the UK: a thistle for Scotland, shamrock for Northern Ireland, rose for England and a daffodil for Wales. Cute.
“Really pretty features of the national flower symbols,” Malcolm continued.
He then turned the page and there were even more designs spread right across it.
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“And even on this page there are many intricate geometric patterns,” he added.
BBC’s Peter Hannah Fry noted that under a UV light the passport ‘completely comes alives’ and she’s not wrong, is she? It looks very disco, with its intricate web of patterns light up in greens, reds and blues. Who knew all that was going on inside your passport, eh?
According to the UK Government: “The first security feature, a special watermark, was introduced in passports in 1972.
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“Since then, a large number of security features have been incorporated into British passports, from watermarks, holograms, elaborately printed patterns, to the polycarbonate page; meaning British nationals can have confidence that there is only one issue of their unique document.”
Good to know.
Earlier this year, the Government announced that for the first time in 70 years, British passports will be issued in the name of His Majesty King Charles III after he took to the throne last year.
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The passports bearing the title ‘His Majesty’ began to roll out in July this year.
Speaking at the time Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “For 70 years, Her Majesty has appeared on British passports and many of us will not remember a time when she did not feature. Today marks a significant moment in UK history, as the first British passports since 1952 start featuring the title of His Majesty, the King.”
Topics: Travel, UK News, BBC, Documentaries
Claire Reid