From 17 August 2009 full passports will no longer be issued at this British High Commission.  

All full passport applications will continue to be accepted by the British High Commission. Consular staff at the British High Commission in Lusaka will continue to assess applications and where necessary carry out interviews. However, passport production will take place at the British High Commission in Pretoria. This will result in an increase in the average delivery time of a new passport for successful applicants from 10 to 18 working days. It will also require an additional cost of 20,000 Kwacha to meet the courier costs to Pretoria.

The British High Commission will continue to issue Emergency Passports for people who need to travel quickly.  

Customers are advised to keep their passports in a safe place at all times and to check the validity.  Passports can be renewed up to 9 months in advance; the additional time will be added to the period of validity of their new passport.    

Why change the Passport Operation  

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Passport Network Rationalisation Project was set up in May 2008 to deliver a more streamlined and efficient passport operation for British Nationals abroad, to achieve immediate financial benefits to the FCO and establish a sustainable operating platform for the future.    

The UK is alone among major partners in retaining a large overseas passport network.  In order to keep costs covered, the UK Government is committed to looking for opportunities to reduce administration, centralise excellence and deliver beneficial economies of scale.  These are the parameters we have set ourselves as we introduce more sophisticated measures to protect personal identity, reduce passport fraud and prevent illegal entry into the UK.  

Passport fraud and identity theft are on the increase. The way we issue passports and the document itself must change to safeguard personal identity and to ensure UK passports continue to meet international quality and security standards.  

Where the FCO have introduced changes already, it is working well e.g. in Europe and North America.  Improved efficiency means the FCO should be able to maintain current service delivery times and in some cases improve levels of customer service and experience.  

Consistency, as a result of improved governance, training and communication across the network, means fairer decision making, better service delivery and reduced fraud.

In their 2006 report on consular services, the National Audit Office recommended limiting passport production to fewer locations to increase security and reduce expenditure on new passport issuing systems and processes. The total repatriation of book production to the UK was encouraged – this will happen in 2010.  

The FCO is committed to supporting the UK National Identity Scheme which aims to:  

- Secure our borders and tackle illegal immigration;
- Prevent identity fraud;
- Become a key defence in the fight against crime and terrorism;
- Enhance checks as part of safeguarding the vulnerable;
- Improve customer services.  

For further information please check the British High Commission website in Pretoria. See also our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section.