Interviews for passports 'vital'

[Dawie]

Interviews for first-time passport applicants will be "vital" in helping crack identity fraud, officials say.

The Identity and Passport Service has defended changes which mean that from April first-time adult applicants will be called to a face-to-face interview.

Read the BBC news article here

[mon]

By the time I can apply for a passport the home office will have had four photographs and countless documents, financial statements, letters of reference, over at least five years. If they haven't picked up that I'm not the person i claim to be by then, what is an interview going to achieve?

And where do they get the information to be able to tell if I'm lying or not? surely it can't be from the application forms. And with all the concern over identity fraud, why would I give the passport service any bank details anyway?

What if (like me) you have a terrible memory and can't remember stuff like bank details or previous addresses?

Also, since I understand it is possible to apply for a passport (even a first one) at a high commission in another country (may be only commonwealth, not sure) - are these interviews going to be introduced there as well?

will be interesting to see if it pans out...

[Dawie]

I thought about this as well! Imagine if you found yourself in the ridiculous position of going to a passport interview and them not being convinced you are who you say you are because you can't remember a few details of your life!

In the future we'll have an entire underclass of people who cannot get passports because the government will have such onerous checks on identity that the burden of proof will become too much for some people.

[British]

How is the HO / IPS going to guarentee the British Citizens that the person who is conducting the passport interview, would not abuse the critical identity information that he is picking up from the passport applicant.

And we all know already that civil servants can do all sorts of mistakes and legally get away with it, letting the innocent victims pay the price.

What if these interviewing people themselves become a channel for helping identity abuse?

Why would I, as a British citizen, trust that interviewer with my identity details, when they do not believe me, in the first place? Of course, i know this a moral question though , but neveretheless, a good question.

I think this new process is only going to create chaos and increse in abusing the identity information about the innocent applicants.

[JAJ]

Also, since I understand it is possible to apply for a passport (even a first one) at a high commission in another country (may be only commonwealth, not sure) - are these interviews going to be introduced there as well?

Of course it's possible to apply for a first passport at a British mission overseas.

Australia has had passport interviews for a long time.

[lemess]

I see no problems with that. A passport is the internationally recognised 'gold-standard' document for proving your identity. It seems only fair that identity checks are carried out before it is issued.

As JAJ pointed out, it isn't unusual at all . I remember when I first got my Indian passport ( way back when !), a policeman visited and conducted an interview to establish my bona fides.

The interviews are not meant to be designed as an inquisition of immigration status but merely meant to establish that the person whose photograph goes on the passport is really who they say they are ie. proving identity. Since most other immigration documents do not contain pictures, an interview is the best way to establish the veracity of the identity being claimed.

The fact is that there is no better way of doing this and this isn't unusual. Identity fraud is widespread so before issuing the ultimate identity document, some questioning is hardly disproportionate. With regard to not remembering personal details, this is going to be an issue every time you are asked to prove your identity. Besides, interviews will have to be designed to cater for a certain proportion of incorrect answers as it is natural. However, it is entirely sensible that the onus should be on a person applying for a passport to demonstrate their identity beyond reasonable doubt.

Why would I, as a British citizen, trust that interviewer with my identity details, when they do not believe me, in the first place? Of course, i know this a moral question though , but neveretheless, a good question.

You currently trust all staff processing your passport ( immigration, banking , employer, passport agencyetc) with your identity details and nothing has changed. Exactly the same issues apply when you fll in your details and send your application off by mail. The data on your passport (i.e identity details) theory could be compromised by rogue staff. Nothing changes just because one more person from the same agency is involved in issuing you a passport. All that is different is that instead on relying on the not very secure countersignature mechanism for identity and photo verification, they will use a personal interview.

[Christophe]

I don't see a problem with interviews per se. The trick will be for the passport agency to ensure that:

• - people are seen quickly (don't know exactly what the acceptable time frame would be, but - for example - a 3-month waiting period would not be acceptable)
  - people are seen promptly when they turn up on time for their interview (for example, it won't be acceptable if people have to sit around for two hours waiting to be seen); to this end, I hope that there is an appointment system that works and that is easy for people to use
  - times available for interviews are suitable - ideally it would be good to have Saturday and evening slots, although I don't suppose that that will happen
  - people can be seen reasonably close to their homes or places of work
  - people are dealt with politely by the interviewers and by other staff
  - mechanisms are in place to deal with those admittedly rare but real cases where a person would genuinely find it extremely difficult to attend a centre for an interview, perhaps because of illness

If these sorts of things can be taken care of, then I think that most people will be happy enough to be interviewed. If they're not taken care of, then the process will become extremely unpopular.