The UK’s newly redesigned passport has officially come into circulation, marking the most significant update to the document in a quarter of a century.
The refreshed passport features a new cover, updated interior artwork and a suite of advanced security enhancements aimed at strengthening protection against fraud and counterfeiting.
For the first time, the passport now displays the coat of arms of King Charles III, replacing the late Queen Elizabeth II’s insignia. The first 300 passports featuring the new design have already been issued.
Inside, the pages have been completely reimagined. The new edition showcases photographs of four UNESCO‑protected natural landscapes—Ben Nevis, the Lake District, Three Cliffs Bay and the Giant’s Causeway and reflects a shift toward celebrating the country’s natural heritage.
Security has been a major focus of the overhaul. The Home Office describes the new passport as the most secure ever produced, incorporating intricate design elements, UV‑only features and cutting‑edge anti‑counterfeiting technology.
The redesign coincides with the completion of a four‑year project to migrate more than one billion passport records—including names, birth dates and facial images—to a secure cloud‑based system. This new infrastructure has already processed over 350 million queries, enabling HM Passport Office to issue four million passports more efficiently and with significantly reduced carbon emissions.
Migration and Citizenship Minister Mike Tapp said the new design “celebrates our heritage while delivering enhanced security.”
The rollout marks a new chapter for British travel documentation—one that blends tradition, national identity and state‑of‑the‑art security in a single, strikingly redesigned passport.