<P> British citizen passports have been issued by Her Majesty's Passport Office in the UK since 2006 . British citizens can use their passport as evidence of right of abode in the United Kingdom and EU citizenship . All passports issued in the UK since 2006 have been biometric . </P> <P> In 2018, British citizens had visa - free or visa - on - arrival access to 175 countries and territories, ranking the British citizen passport 3rd in terms of travel freedom (tied with Danish, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian and Swedish passports) according to the Visa Restrictions Index for travel . </P> <P> In 1988, the UK Government voluntarily changed the colour of the passport to burgundy red, in line with all EU passports . The UK Government announced plans in December 2017 to return to the dark blue cover passport after Brexit . </P> <P> Owing to the many different categories in British nationality law, there are different types of passports for each class of British nationality . All categories of British passports are issued by Her Majesty's Government under royal prerogative . Since all British passports are issued in the name of the Crown, the reigning monarch does not require a passport . The following table shows the number of valid British passports on the last day of 2016 and shows the different categories eligible to hold a British passport: </P>

When did the uk last have a blue passport