As resiak wrote a while ago, the new identity checks (associated with the new biometric passports and identity cards) are going to be rolling out soon, so I decided to renew my passport early. See Renew For Freedom for some more details. Fancy being fingerprinted and interviewed in person when you want to renew your passport the next time?
If you renew within 9 months of your current expiry date, all the extra ‘unused’ time gets added to the validity time of your new passport, so mine will expire in early 2017. Which is at least two elections away and probably at least one change of government away too.
Renew yours now, too.
Just renewed Passports the the entire family. 3/4 got the new biometric passports and 1 of us didn’t. Seems the bio passports are being given out randomly.
This is a major PITA ‘cos as from Jan 2007 you’ll either need a bio passport OR a visa to get into the USA. So should we decide to ‘vacation’ in the USA poor old Sam will have to go to the US embassy and get a visa, while the rest of us will be excempt from this bureaucracy.
Of course better people than me can comment
on all this.
SO I guess we’ll go elsewhere then!
PermalinkI don’t understand, Martin: how did you manage to get a Biometric passport without giving them any biometric information to work from?? Or *did* you?
Permalinkit’s got the photo in there – which is all the USA require ATM.
Well that’s what the blurb that comes with the passport tells you anyhow. I think the SAS came in through the window one night and sampled by DNA 😉
http://www.passport.gov.uk/general_biometrics.asp
PermalinkI don’t know if you even like, never mind listen to pop music, but I have a
Permalinksong called ‘Your Papers Please’ you may be interested in.
It can be found at http://www.captainpop.com/listen.html it’s the 2nd song.
This is a protest against the introduction of ID cards in the UK, but is
relevant elsewhere I think.
Thanks for keeping the ID card nonsense in the public domain.
Interesting: I’m just preparing a review of the current Pet Shop Boys album ‘Fundamental’, which includes the track ‘Integral’ which is also about this very topic.
PermalinkThe more the merrier I say 🙂
PermalinkI was in The Cavern pub on Mathew Street last bank holiday n saw three lads play a song about this subject,i spoke to a local lad with a very curly mop who played violin in the group and id like to know if hes seen the Stones Rock n Roll Circus yet,i was the drunk jock,does anyone know who im on about???
PermalinkIt was this song that we played. Robbie is the curly haired lad. Will ask him if he’s seen the rocknroll circus yet. I saw it on tv a year or so ago and thought The Who were amazing on it.
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