h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As reported in my journal, I have just renewed my British passport. The old one would have expired mid-Feb. I filled in the online form on 27 December, and already hold the new passport in hands - and today is only 9 Jan! It took a record 5 working days for the old one to get to Liverpool, be approved, the new one made and returned to me in Germany. (I am assuming they didn't work on New Year's Eve)

Apart from the streamlined application procedure, I have noticed many differences between my 10-year-old passport and the new one.

The coat of arms on the front is a shinier, brighter gold. It may be that the old one has just faded with age and use, but I have always kept it in a case, and I don't think it has faded to quite this extent

The pictures on the inner pages are of "Iconic British Innovators". Well, these are changed regularly. Some of my friends' passports have flowers, my last passport had birds.

I have to sign this passport in black ballpoint.. The old one has my signature scanned, printed and sealed under the laminated photo page.

The important page with all the data (date of birth, name, photo, date of issue, passport number) is now at the front, and not at the back. This is good. People were forever leafing right through it to find the actual ID bit. Does any other country have this in the back?

There was a little sticker on the last page, above the "emergency contacts" which said "please remove this label", which I did, assuming that it was protecting the chip. But there was nothing underneath. On the old passport I could see the chip, under the laminate on the reverse of the last page, on the back of the printed data. I hope it is a result of the advances in technology of the past 10 years that mean that it is now completely invisible and undetectable. I just hope it doesn't mean they forgot the chip in the rush to break all records or I'm going to be stuck in the queue with all the foreigners at Stansted when I visit my mother in a few weeks' time.

I've held all the pages up to the light but can't find the chip.

Does anyone else have a brand new passport and can you see the chip?

I misunderstood the subject line. I thought you had ordered fish and chips, but were denied the chips.

We all did.

No new passport.... but, worse, no fish n chips either I'm hungry now...

The pun was intentional!

I think I may have found the hidden chip now - on page 5 there is a list of the security features, and the chip symbol is, apparently slightly raised. I ran my finger over it - it appears so.

Therefore, if the chip is sealed under the symbol, according to Moore's Law, the chip should be 1/32 of the size of the one in my last passport, so this is plausible. Will let you know when I next cross a border with an automatic passport control.

And if anyone can tell me where I can get nice greasy fish and chips in Germany, within 30 km of where I live, I will kiss their feet.

The 'automatic' passport control always makes me laugh. Maybe because it's because I only travel a couple of times a year at most, but they seem to change their technology every time I use is. So it's not so 'automatic' when I don't know how to use it and have to be shown every time

I hope I get to use my passport this year. But the Great Cheeto is ing up my plans.

I use the automatic gates at Stansted every few weeks. Next trip will be after my granddaughter's birthday, hubbie's birthday and the birth of said granddaughter's little sister. And hopefully also not coincide with the presentation of the certificate for German Nationality which is usually quite a posh ceremony at the Town Hall. In about 4 weeks' time.

I have geographical features and meteorological symbols on my pages. The raised chip seems to be on the inside back cover, at the top under the Emergencies heading.

At present, coming home from Dublin to Manchester doesn't need presenting a passport. I once legally made the return journey with my bus pass, having left the passport on my dressing table as all that Dublin required about five years ago was a photo ID, but things have tightened up since.
My current password is the first one issued in the UK in 40 years and features modes of transport interspersed with townscapes and pictures of inventors, The birds were much more restful.

Things are tightening up in the land of the Great Cheeto as well. Drivers' licenses require more stuff now, if you want to fly on domestic flights. Your passport is still good enough, if you remember to bring it with you.