Dundee’s passport office in Nethergate, where initial interviews for passports are conducted, is to close in the autumn.
The office, which opened in 2007, is earmarked for closure along with the Aberdeen branch.
However, fears that Taysiders would have to travel to the nearest passport office in Edinburgh have been allayed after the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) confirmed it would continue to interview new applicants at other government or council premises in the city.
The Nethergate office was due to close last month but the IPS decided to maintain a presence there until alternative premises could be found. The announcement came after The Courier took up the case of Dundee man David Shepherd, who had been told by staff of the impending closure.
The production controller from Craigie Drive had been trying to arrange an interview at the office after filling in an application form at the post office.
“I have never bothered with a passport before because I have never been bothered about going abroad before,” the 64-year-old said. “But with me coming up to retirement my wife and I decided to get passports in plenty of time because we plan to do some travelling in September.
“I telephoned them to arrange an appointment and was told I couldn’t have one because the office in Dundee and Aberdeen offices were closing. The guy said he didn’t know when probably in the autumn but he said he couldn’t give out appointments because it was still under debate.
“This means I now have to make my way to Haymarket in Edinburgh for this interview.”
However, a spokesman for the IPS said interviews will continue to be available in Dundee, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with Video Interview Service locations in Kingussie and Elgin.
He added, “We are continuing to provide a service to customers in Dundee. The current premises is scheduled to close but IPS will continue to provide interview appointments in Dundee by making better use of other government and local authority offices.”
On the planned closure of the Dundee office last month he said, “It was scheduled to close but it’s one of four offices that we’ve kept open to ensure continuity of service.”
The passport office is seen as a vital link in the chain of Scottish centres designed as a bulwark against terrorism and fraud. Dundee is part of the 11-strong Scottish network of centres designed specifically to interview first-time passport applicants, after a sharp rise in passport thefts and frauds.
Photo by Flickr user nedrichards.