Last week, the UK Passport Service (0870 521 0410, www.ukpa.gov.uk) came in for criticism when it rejected pictures of seven-month-old Lewis Barnes of Claverham, Somerset, because he was posing barechested. His parents were told the image might cause offence to Muslims.
But you could fall foul of requirements for lesser sins. The Home Office warns: “We will introduce biometric passports this year. This involves scanning facial information from passports, so photographs need to comply with the stricter guidelines that we announced last August.”
These stipulate that the applicant’s face must occupy between 70% and 80% of the photograph, which should be taken against a white, cream, or light-grey background, and must show the full face looking straight to camera with a neutral expression.
The high-street chain Snappy Snaps — which charges £9.99 for its passport service — says: “Our offices have reported quite an increase in people coming to us after their photographs have been rejected for British passports.”
The Home Office adds: “You don’t have to pay any further application fees if replacement pictures are requested. We have publicised the changes as much as possible. The neutral expression does not mean people can’t smile, they just can’t sport a big cheesey grin.”