Parliamentary Correspondence Unit 2nd Floor, Peel, NE SW1P 4DF

Email [email protected] Website www.gov.uk/hm-passport- office

Ms Sarah Wilson Email: [email protected]

Reference: FOICR 35621/15

Date: 1 July 2015

Dear Ms Wilson

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your e-mail of 3 June 2015, in which you ask for information on the number of applications submitted to Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HM Passport Office) through UK embassies worldwide. Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I am able to disclose the information set out in the enclosed Annex.

In keeping with the Freedom of Information Act, we assume that all information can be released to the public unless it is exempt. In line with normal practice we are therefore releasing the information which you requested via the www.gov.uk website.

I hope that this information meets your requirements. I would like to assure you that we have provided you with all relevant information that the HM Passport Office holds.

Yours sincerely

Y Ahmed Parliamentary Correspondence Unit

Passport Adviceline: 0300 222 0000 Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at www.gov.uk

Freedom of Information request from Sarah Wilson (reference FOICR 35621/15)

Request

I was wondering if you could provide me with a full list of the number of passports applications submitted to the HM passport Office through UK Embassies worldwide in the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and to-date in 2015.

We do not hold information on the number of applications submitted through UK embassies to HM Passport Office and are therefore unable to provide information on applications from individual countries.

Responsibility for processing overseas UK passport applications was transitioned from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to HM Passport Office, starting in 2012 and completed in early 2014. Prior to the transition overseas applications were processed at one of seven Regional Passport Processing Centres (RPPCs) operated by the FCO.

We do not hold data on the exact number of applications that were received by the RPPCs (and the sub-office). However, the table below provides information on the number of passports issued by each of the RPPCs (and the Dublin sub-office) between 2012 and 2014:

RPPC 2012 2013 2014 Dublin 7907 7733 739 Dusseldorf 31768 3490 0 Hong Kong 60763 64494 191 24799 10515 0 39206 23880 0 Pretoria 25671 25018 22 Washington 75042 60277 0 Wellington 82207 86621 5058

Also if an applications decides to have their passport applications processed through an UK Embassy what percentage of the applications fee is for that particular Embassy to cover their costs and what percentage is returned to the Passport office in the UK

All UK passport applications must be submitted to HM Passport Office in the UK for processing, the vast majority through the online passport application process with a small minority using local services administered through visa application centres. All passport fees are received by HM Passport Office in order to cover the full cost of providing the service to the customer. Fees are set in line with HM Treasury’s managing public money guidance.

Passport Adviceline: 0300 222 0000 Email us at [email protected] Visit our website at www.gov.uk