Sincerely confused by mixed messages over UK passport
Dear Sir,
Most Bermudians have at least two passports: one from the Government of Bermuda (Bermuda passport) and the other from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I will refer to the latter as the UK passport.
In both passports, near the front there is a page titled in capital letters: “This page is reserved for official observations“. The page bears the passport holder’s photograph and signature.
On this page in the Bermuda passport it states, “The holder is not entitled to benefit from EU provisions relating to employment or establishments. The holder is registered as Bermudian.”
In the UK passport, there are no official observations. It bears the passport holder’s photograph and signature. However, I hasten to point out that on the last page of this passport there is a Department of Immigration Bermuda stamp dated April 23, 2025 stating that the holder is registered as a Bermudian.
About a week or two ago on returning to Bermuda, the UK passport was proffered to the immigration officer at LF Wade International Airport. The immigration/customs officer looked at the passport and went searching through the pages only to find near the end the said stamp stating that the passport holder is a registered Bermudian, and he kindly and politely stated that this is on the wrong page, and that we should visit the immigration department and have it rectified.
So, being an obedient, law-abiding subject, we duly visited the immigration department on the first working day and duly brought this matter to the person at the window desk whose response was: “Oh, that’s OK. It does not matter.”
Who is right? What is right? The immigration/customs officer at the airport? The person in the Department of Immigration or the statement in the passport which clearly states, “This page is reserved for official observations”?
Should the information stating the passport holder is a registered Bermudian be on the page reserved for official observations and not at the back of the passport?
Sincerely confused.
LEIGHTON ROCHESTER
Hamilton Parish
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