The Ministry of Border Control and Employment is pleased to announce that as of today, Thursday April 14, 2016 passport applications for a Turks and Caicos Islands passport will be transferred to the United Kingdom through electronic means. The implications of this is that persons who qualify and submit applications in accordance with published guidance will experience shorter processing times and by extension a swifter return of their printed Turks and Caicos Islands passport.
The decision to transfer the printing of passports followed recommendations made by UK Parliamentary Committees and the National Audit Office in 2007, that production of British passports be repatriated to Her Majesty’s passport Office (then the Identity and Passport Service) in the UK.
A Working Group, consisting of senior officials from each of the UK Overseas Territories was set up in 2011 to identify potential issues and to ensure that the revised processes were workable and sustainable.
The transfer of passport applications from the Turks and Caicos Islands commenced in July 2015 and we are pleased that less than a year later, a time related element of the process has been introduced which will result in faster turn-around times. In addition to this, British Overseas Territory Citizens of Turks and Caicos Islands are now bearing new style passports containing more sophisticated security features which meets international quality and security standards.
Having now entered the final phase of this project, passports can now be returned within 10 days.
For further information or questions, please refer to the following:
Website: http://www.gov.tc/passports/
Telephone number: (649) 338-2940
Email address: