Isle of Man passport

The Isle of Man passport is a British passport issued by the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man on behalf of the British sovereign under the Royal Prerogative, at the request of the Isle of Man Government, one of the Crown Dependencies associated with the United Kingdom, to British citizens and certain British subjects (only for those with the right of abode in the United Kingdom) resident in the Isle of Man, or who have certain qualifying important connections to the Isle of Man but are currently resident in the United Kingdom.[1]

Isle of Man passport
The front cover of a pre-2020 Manx biometric passport
The biodata page of the Manx biometric passport
TypePassport
Issued by Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man,
on behalf of
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
(on the advice of the
 Lord Chancellor being also British Secretary of State for Justice),
at the request of the
Isle of Man Government
EligibilitySee below

British passports pursuant to applications received in, from or through the Isle of Man are printed centrally by HM Passport Office of the Home Office in the United Kingdom, and are dispatched by post directly from one of their printing centres to applicants.

Appearance

British passports issued for the Isle of Man are slightly different from regular United Kingdom passports. Passports printed from 5 April 2019 do not include the words 'European Union' on the front cover.[2]

Because the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, its passports do not carry the words United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the front cover and on the biodata page. In their place, they have the words British Islands: Isle of Man. The request inside the passport's front cover "to allow the bearer to pass freely" and to give "such assistance and protection as may be necessary" is made by the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. In United Kingdom passports, this request is issued in the name of "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State".

Unusually, therefore, the words European Union and Isle of Man appeared together on Isle of Man British citizen passports, even though the territory of the Isle of Man was not part of the European Union. This is because the bearer was perhaps a full British and European Union citizen, although an endorsement may have applied in the case of some citizens.

The illustration shows the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, instead of The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man will transition to issuing the new blue-covered passports in 2020.[2]

Eligibility

HM Passport Office of the British Home Office allows the Isle of Man Government to accept and process applications for the Isle of Man variant of the British passport from:

  • British citizens or British subjects with the right of abode in the United Kingdom living in the Isle of Man or
  • British citizens born in the Isle of Man but resident in the UK

or

  • Naturalised / Registered in the Isle of Man but resident in the UK

or

  • Naturalised / Registered in the UK and living in the Isle of Man

Endorsements

Prior to the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, some passports issued by the Isle of Man Government had an endorsement included to the following effect:

holder is not entitled to benefit from European Community Provisions relating to employment or establishment

This appeared when a British citizen passport holder was born or naturalised in either the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands and had no connection through residency (defined as five consecutive years) or descent (a UK-born parent or grandparent) to the United Kingdom. This endorsement results from Protocol 3 to the UK's Act of Accession to the European Community, which defined the relationship between the Isle of Man and what became the European Union.[3] The Protocol defined the term "Manxman" specifically to mean a person connected by birth or naturalisation with the Isle of Man who has no connection to the UK, which is different from the term's usual, wider meaning. The Protocol meant that those defined as Manxmen did not have a direct right to live and work freely in EU member states other than the UK, where they have a right to live and work freely under UK domestic law in common with other British citizens.

Previous designs

Prior to 2020, the passports, in common with other British passports, were red and adorned with the words European Union.

References
  1. "What is an Isle of Man variant British Passport?". Isle of Man Government. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. "Isle of Man Government - Introduction of Blue Passports". www.gov.im. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  3. "What is Islander status?". States of Guernsey. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 23 October 2013.

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