He has been one of the UK’s favourite and most prominent refugees for two-thirds of a century. Now Paddington Bear – official name Paddington Brown – has been granted a British passport.

The co-producer of the latest Paddington film said the Home Office had issued the document to the fictional Peruvian-born character – listing for completeness the official observation that he is, in fact, a bear.

“We wrote to the Home Office asking if we could get a replica, and they actually issued Paddington with an official passport – there’s only one of these,” Rob Silva told Radio Times.

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He produced the document, complete with Paddington’s photo inside, adding: “You wouldn’t think the Home Office would have a sense of humour, but under official observations, they’ve just listed him as Bear.”