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If your ancestors often travelled outside the UK, follow Richard Holt’s advice to…
Our modern-style passports, with a photo and signature, were first issued in 1915 as a response to World War 1 and the urgent need to identify people, including potential spies. Before that, you didn’t need a passport to travel abroad, though merchants and diplomats typically used them. The Home Office outlines the history of the British passport at www.snipca.com/56330.
Browse passport applications from 1851 to 1903
The National Archives holds several records on passport applications, including registers, indexes and a small number of actual passports. Findmypast has digitised indexes from 1851 to 1903, covering 360,000 names. Not every year survives though – only 1851 to 1856, 1858 to 1862 and 1874 to 1903. The 1858 index is incomplete, missing surnames beginning A to G. Later indexes (1904 to 1916) do exist, but can only be viewed in person at the National Archives.