I know this is at the end of a long road and lots of people here are some way off but my wife had her interview for identification last Saturday.

She did hers at The Newport, Isle of Wight Passport Interview Office and I have to admit I am glad she did! The questioning was very detailed and specific but was done with great consideration and acceptance of the language differences.

My wife speaks good English but did struggle to understand what the interviewer was after. They questioned her on Immigration history, home and family circumstances, work, bank etc in great detail.

Unlike some of the offices they took their time and she is now waiting for her passport to arrive!

My advice is to do a lot more preparation than we did because not all interviews are done like this. Some can ,apparently be a real inquisition and inability to answer satisfactorily can lead to the need to re-apply.

It would be interesting to hear of others experiences as this was actually quite tough and if the interviewer had not been pleasant could have caused my wife to panic!

It was sometime ago, but if I remember correctly my wife's interview was even friendlier and simpler than the one you describe; all over in about 15 minutes!

I was even allowed to sit in; were you?

My step daughter wasn't interviewed as she was under 18 at the time.

As an aside, I would like to remind people that all adult first time passport applicants may be subject to this interview; whether born British or naturalised.

No, I had to stay outside and she was not allowed to refer to any of the paperwork she brought with her. All a bit over the top for a visa holder especially as they have all the biometric information on the system.

I suppose it is a different computer system anyway and all applicants are seen to be treated the same. As far as I am aware all over-18's need to be interviewed for the first passport and there is talk of them being introduced for renewals as well.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by bobrussell

I haven't heard anything about interviews being introduced for renewals; bit difficult for ex pats in Thailand who currently have to apply to Hong Kong!

As the reason for introducing these interviews was to help prevent identity fraud, I can't see why it would be needed for renewals; doesn't mean it wont happen, though!

At the moment applications for first passports done abroad state that you may need to have an interview so at least technically there must be some process already in place for interviews abroad!

BBC News article (a long time back!!) quoted the Home Office as saying "From 2009, interviews will also be compulsory for the millions more people who apply to renew lost, stolen or expired passports each year."

I suspect this will never happen:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/7823456/Face-to-face-passport-interviews-catch-only-eight-fraudsters.html

My wife did it about a year ago - they will mostly be cross checking what they already know from the applications you have made to the Home Office. Always best to keep a copy of your citizenship application and make sure you are au fait with the answers that you gave on the form - such as where was your mother born , what date were you married, what is your father's birth date type of questions.