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BDM/DIA(P) Passport Eligibility Programme
Annual Report
Purpose: To verify, by comparing details with the births, deaths and marriages registers, if a person is eligible for a passport, and to detect fraudulent applications.
Year commenced: 2003
Features: Data is transferred on request via an online connection.
BDM disclosure to Passports (DIA): Possible matches from the Births, Deaths and Marriages (relationships) databases are displayed to Passports staff as they process each application. The details displayed include full name, gender and date of birth.
2010/11 activity:
| Passport applications | 596,672 |
| Possible matches: Births | 1,239,834 |
| Possible matches: Marriage/Relationships | 211,773 |
| Possible matches: Deaths | 2,337,341 |
| Notice of adverse action | 6,287 |
| Successful challenges | 6,141 |
| Passports issued (diplomatic, official and standard) | 603,669 |
An audit on the operation of this programme found there were effective controls in place and no significant issues were identified.
Commentary: Notices of adverse action are sent when Passports cannot satisfactorily match the information supplied to the appropriate birth, death, marriage or relationship record. Almost all of these are resolved by contacting the applicant for clarification.
The difference between the number of applications and the number of passports issued primarily reflects applications that are still being processed at the start of the period.
Compliance: Compliant.
Technical Information
| Information matching provision | Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995, s.78A |
| Year authorised/commenced | 2001/2003 |
| Programme type | Confirming eligibility Detecting illegal behaviour |
| On-line transfers | Yes |
System description
Passports staff enter information provided on application forms into the passports processing system. They then log onto the On-line Life Event Verification (OLEV) system and, by entering the unique passport application number, use the identity information from the passports processing system as the basis for a search of the information in the registers.
For searches of the births and marriages entries, confirmation allows application processing to proceed. Where there is doubt, cases can be referred to BDM staff for resolution. If there appears to be a match with an entry from the register of deaths, the processing of the passport application is halted and the application referred for investigation of possible fraud.
Historical activity
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | |
| Passports issued (diplomatic, official and standard) | 411,397 | 387,523 | 432,889 |