Check your passport signature!!

At Luton airport while boarding an Easyjet flight, my Wife was asked to sign her passport at the gate. Now, she has had her passport 6 years, has been around the World with it and to several different Schengen countries, including Spain, twice!! Not sure how a passport would be issued without a signature in place, not sure why it hasn't been picked up before and not sure how legal/ valis it is to sign the document with a biro?? Apparently the airline was fined recently for passengers travelling with no signature, so it is a check to be made before you travel maybe?

Recently received new passport. Documentation sent with the passport tells you to sign the passport straight away with a biro in black ink.

Must be different to mine then as my signature is under the clear film applied to the picture page. Starnge how the wife's hasn't been picked up over the previous years though.

Who owns a British passport? The person who it was issued to or the government that issued it.

The passport remains the property of the government which issued it. Without looking, I think it says that on one of the pages in the passport.

Thank you mariedav. Do establishments like hotels in Spain still insist you surrender the UK governments passport to them?

I think most countries ask you to hand in the passport to start with and then return it next day. Certainly ships do as they have so many to deal with at one go.

However, residents in Spain with a TIE don't need a passport at hotels anymore, simply take a swipe of the TIE card and that's it. Just spent a few days at a hotel in Altea and they just recorded the NIE number. As those renting out short term have to record those staying with the Guardia then I imagine hotels have to do the same.

Certainly had to hand in our passports in the US and Italy recently but got them back the next day. 

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's definitely important to double-check your passport signature before traveling. As for signing it with a biro, I'm not entirely sure about the legal aspect, but if the airline requested it, it's likely a valid solution. Thanks for the heads up about the fine too, I'll definitely make sure my passport is signed properly before my next trip.

for signing it with a biro, I'm not entirely sure about the legal aspect,...What else would you sign it with then? I know of no one who uses an ink filled pen, even authorities don't it seems now.

How to sign your passport

Sign your new passport as soon as you get it. You can’t use it until you do.

Sign on the ‘holder’s signature’ line using a black ballpoint pen.

You don’t need to sign your new passport if:

• You’re aged 11 or under
• You can’t sign because of a disability

The passport will show ‘the holder is not required to sign’ on the page with your name and photo on it.

It's important for a passport to have a valid signature as it is one of the required elements for identification purposes and travel documentation.

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