Express passport service suspended for at least six weeks

The express five-day passport service is currently taking about eight days to deliver

The Isle of Man's express five-day passport service is set to be suspended for at least six weeks due to a sharp rise in the number of applications.

From 18 August residents will only be able to use the 35-day standard service or a one-working-day emergency service.

Diane Kelsey MLC said the express service has become "undeliverable due to combination of factors".

They included changes to the delivery service to the island, staff changes, and the increase in applications.

Applications for the express service prior to the suspension are expected to take at least eight days to deliver, and applicants would be refunded in those cases, a government spokeswoman said.

Anyone due to travel in the next month has been urged to check the validity of their passport early.

A review will be undertaken by 30 September.

'Significant increase'

Ms Kelsey, who is the member of the Cabinet Office with responsibility for immigration, said the passport office now needed to "focus our limited resources on standard applications".

"The team is working hard to solve the current issues," she said.

A government spokeswoman said while the number of applications for an Isle of Man Variant British Passport reduced during the coronavirus pandemic, there has since been a "significant increase in demand".

While about 12,900 Isle of Man passports were issued over the two-year period between April 2020 and March 2022, more than 12,100 were issued in the year April 2022 to March 2023.

A further 2,983 passports have already been issued from April to June.

The emergency travel document service, which issues what are also known as temporary passports, will not be affected and will be delivered within one working day.