No passports applicants rejected under new scheme

No applications for British passports have been rejected since the introduction of personal interviews, according to reports.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that out of 38,391 interviews held before the issuance of a passport, not a single case had been declined for citizenship.

Home Office statistics show that 222 of the applications received had been recommended for investigation and were being looked into. But an application has never been rejected.

Speaking to the Press Association about the reasons interviews were required, a spokesman for the Identity and Passport service said they helped reduce the incentive for people to provide false information.

"Face-to-face interviews are a major tool in deterring and preventing fraudsters set on hijacking other people's identities. They are there to stop such people from making a passport application in the first place.

"Fraudulent applications are usually detected at earlier stages in the application process meaning an interview will not be arranged. IPS prevented some 6,500 fraudulent passport applications last year, and is committed to reducing this even further."

Personal interviews began being conducted in May 2007 for first-time applicants aged 16 years or over.

Speaking at the time, the Home Office said 50 per cent of fraudulent applications for passports came through first-time applicants, adding that the scheme would help curb this problem.