The Isle of Man’s same-day passport service will be scrapped later than planned when printing moves to the UK.
The printing of Manx variant British Passports at a central secure facility in the UK was due to start on February 19.
But that has been deferred for two weeks, while software is fully tested, and will now begin on Wednesday, March 4.
During the transition to the new system, applications for standard and five-day express passport services received on Tuesday, March 3, will not be processed until Friday, March 6.
The Passport Office will continue to deliver the same-day passport service up until Thursday, March 19.
The Isle of Man Passport Office in Douglas has printed the documents locally since 1967.
The Isle of Man office will retain its issuing authority status and continue to accept and process applications, with passports returned via special postal delivery.
The cost of the documents will remain in line with UK fees, with the standard service for adults costing £72.50 with a turnaround time of around four weeks and a five working day express service costing £103.
The Manx office will also retain the ability to issue emergency passports, which are valid for 12 months but only cover specified journeys, at a cost of £128.
The move was announced in October 2014 in response to the increased costs of producing modern passports with enhanced security features.
A new design was introduced in the UK in 2010 and is now being rolled out to British Crown Dependencies and overseas territories.
Annie Taylor, senior passport, immigration and nationality officer, said: ‘Printing in the UK will ensure the security and integrity of the Isle of Man variant British passport and the benefits that go with it for international travel.
‘From this implementation date, Isle of Man applicants will receive a New Generation British passport with enhanced security features, making it one of the most secure documents for travel in the world.’
Mrs Taylor has given assurances that waiting times will not be affected by the new system, and Manx passport holders will not be subject to the severe delays that have affected some recentUK applications.