Five Nations Passport Group

The Five Nations Passport Group is an international forum between the passport issuing authorities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to share best practices in the issuance, development, and management of passports.[1][2] The annual Five Nations Passport Conference is a largely informal in-person meeting between officials of the participating agencies, with some additional invited guests such as the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2011. It has taken place since at least as far back as 2004.[3]

Five Nations Passport Group
Five Nations shown in dark blue
Members	Australia  Canada  New Zealand  United Kingdom  United States

The member states' issuing authorities are comparable to each other: their passport issuance systems are mostly centralised and their service channels are similar to each other.[4] None of the Five Nation countries have a compulsory identity management system, which means that citizens' personal information is not available in a central citizenship database or registry.[4]

Participating issuing authorities

The agencies that participate in the Five Nations Passport Group for each state is their relevant passport issuing authority.

•  Australia: Australian Passport Office
•  Canada: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
•  New Zealand: Department of Internal Affairs
•  United Kingdom: Her Majesty's Passport Office
•  United States: Department of State

Passport specifications

Unlike EU passports, which follow a common format, Five Nations passports develop through the sharing of best practices and information relating to the development of passports. However, all Five Nations passports are biometric and machine-readable, and B7 sized (ISO/IEC 7810 ID-3, 88 mm × 125 mm).

Generally, Five Nations passport holders have access to each other's automated border control systems. Currently, all Five Nations passport holders have access to Australia and New Zealand's SmartGate system[5] and the UK's ePassport gates.[6] Similarly, Canadian and some British passport holders[lower-alpha 1] have access to the US' Global Entry programme.[7] Australia is also planning to participate in Global Entry.[8]

Passport circulation

The number of Five Nations passports in circulation is:

Passport		Circulating Passports
Australia[9]		14,597,927 (2019)
Canada[10]		23,790,000 (2018)
New Zealand[11]		2,900,000
United Kingdom[12]	British	51,116,513 (2019)
	Gibraltar	2,240 (2019)
	Other	421,828 (2019)
United States[13]		137,588,631[lower-alpha 2] (2018 fiscal year)

Participating Issuing Authorities

The agencies that participate in the Five Nations Passport Group for each state is their relevant passport issuing authority.

•  Australia: Australian Passport Office
•  Canada: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
•  New Zealand: Department of Internal Affairs
•  United Kingdom: Her Majesty's Passport Office
  • Gibraltar: Civil Status and Registration Office
  • Other Overseas Territories: HMPO
•  United States: Department of State

Current Five Nations Passports

Passport		Passport Cover	Validity	Series and Issue
Australian Passport		Series 'P' Australian passport	Adult 10 years 75 or older 10 or 5 years^A Under 16 5 years[14]	P series June 2014
		Link to image		N series May 2009 to June 2014^B
Canadian Passport		Link to image	Adult 5 or 10 years^C Under 16 5 years[15]	July 2013
New Zealand Passport		New Zealand passport	Adult 10 years Under 16 5 years	January 2016
British Passport	The UK Falkland Islands^H	Link to image	Adult 10 years[16] Under 16 5 years[17]	Series C March 2020
		Series B British biometric passport issued from March 2019 to 2020		Series B October 2015 to March 2020^G
	Gibraltar	British (Gibraltar) Series B biometric passport		Series B October 2015
	All other Overseas Territories^I	British Bermuda series B biometric passport. This is the passport format issued by all other British Overseas Territories
	Crown Dependencies^J	Series B Isle of Mann biometric passport. This is the passport format issued by all other Crown Dependencies
US Passport	Booklet	United States passport	Adult 10 years Under 16 5 years[18]	August 2006

^ Prices in local currencies. Different fees apply for expedited service that are not shown

^A Optional validity period for applicants aged 75 or over

^B No longer issued. In circulation until 2024

^C Optional validity period for all applicants

^D Fees are for applications made in New Zealand only. Different prices apply for applications made in Australia and the UK

^E Fees are for online applications only

^F In the UK and on behalf of individual Overseas Territories[19]

^G No longer issued. In circulation until 2030

^H Falkland Islanders were granted full British citizenship in 1983 after the Argentine invasion and occupation

^I Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Saint Helena (including Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha),   Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands. The name of each Overseas Territory appears beneath the coat of arms. Bermudian passport used as an example

^J Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey. The name of each Crown Dependency appears immediately above the coat of arms. Manx passport used as an example

See also

• Anglosphere
• Border Five
• Five Country Conference
• Five Eyes
• Australian Passport
• British Passport
• Canadian Passport
• New Zealand Passport
• United States Passport
  • United States Passport Card

Notes

1. Restricted to citizens of the United Kingdom only
2. Includes United States Passport Cards

References

1. Passport Canada: International comparison of passport-issuing authorities Archived September 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
2. Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Accountant profile – Adeel Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
3. "Five Nations Passport Group meetings - a Freedom of Information request to HM Passport Office". 26 November 2013.
4. "International Comparison of Passport-Issuing Authorities" (PDF). Canada.ca. March 2012. p. 7. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
5. "Smartgates". www.abf.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
6. "ePassport gates to ease travel for passengers from more countries". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
7. "Eligibility for Global Entry | U.S. Customs and Border Protection". www.cbp.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
8. "US Global Entry trial for Australian citizens to start in 2019". Executive Traveller. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
9. Office, Australian Passport (2018-03-02). "2018-19 Passport Facts". Australian Passport Office. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
10. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2020-02-04). "Passport Program Annual Report for 2017 to 2018". aem. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
11. Observatory of Public Sector Innovation: "Online Passport Renewal Service (ORS)". OECD. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
12. "FOICR 57241 Luke Lo final response" (PDF). 11 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
13. Passport Statistics. U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
14. Office, Australian Passport (2018-03-05). "Children's passports". Australian Passport Office. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
15. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (28 May 2015). "Passports in general". Canada.ca. Government of Canada.
16. "Getting your first adult passport". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
17. "Get a passport for your child". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
18. "Frequently Asked Questions". U.S. Passports & International Travel. United States Department of State. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
19. "Overseas Territories Passports To Be Printed In The UK From July 15 | Government of the Virgin Islands". www.bvi.gov.vg. Retrieved 2020-05-10.