Immigration Corner | Application for first adult UK passport

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am eligible for a British passport and I am planning to apply. Any guidance would be appreciated.

– GN

Dear GN,

Persons can apply for their first adult passport if all of the following apply:

• They are British nationals;

• They are 16 years old or over (or will be in three weeks);

• They have never had a UK passport before.

Please be aware that persons are required to apply if their last UK passport was issued before January 1, 1994. Persons can use their child passport until it expires, even if they are over 18 years old. An adult passport is valid for 10 years.

LENGTH OF PROCESS TIME

Persons should check how long it will take to get a passport before they apply. Persons who may need a passport to travel urgently for medical treatment, or because a friend or family member is seriously ill or has died, should call the Passport Adviceline. They should not book their travel until they get their passport.

WAYS TO APPLY

Applicants who are in the United Kingdom can either apply online – it costs £75.50 – or apply with a paper form – it costs £85. Please note that there is a separate way to apply if they are overseas. Those persons should use the online process titled ‘Overseas British Passport applications’.

PERSONS WITH A NON-BRITISH PASSPORT

Persons who have dual citizenship (‘dual nationality’) and have a non-British passport, should ensure that the name and gender on the non-British passport match the name and gender on the British passport.

If they are different, persons should change the details on their non-British passport before they apply for a new British passport.

WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE NEEDED TO APPLY

When applying, persons must send the original documents as photocopies are not accepted. If they do not have the original certificates (for example, a birth certificate), they will need to get an official copy.

If the documents are not in English or Welsh, they will need to send a certified translation. Persons can send laminated documents if that is the only format in which they are issued.

PERSONS BORN OR ADOPTED IN THE UK

What documents persons will need depends on when they were born.

Before January 1, 1983

Those persons will need their full birth certificate or adoption certificate.

On or after January 1, 1983

Those persons will need their full birth certificate or adoption certificate, and either:

• Their mother’s or father’s full UK birth certificate, or the Home Office certificate of registration or naturalisation, or a British passport belonging to one of their parents that was valid when they were born, or a British passport number for either parent; or

• Evidence of one of their parents’ immigration statuses in the UK at the time of your birth, for example, a foreign passport belonging to one of their parents that was valid when they were born.

Please note that if applicants send documents relating to their father, they must also send their parents’ marriage certificates.

PERSONS BORN OUTSIDE THE UK

What documents are needed will depend on their circumstances.

Persons who have a certificate of naturalisation or registration

They will need both:

• Their naturalisation or registration certificate;

• The passport used when arriving in the UK or the foreign passport they were included on.

Citizen of a British overseas territory and born before January 1, 1983

They will need all of the following:

• Their birth certificates;

• Their current passport;

• The passport you used to arrive in the UK or the foreign passport they were included on.

Born before January 1, 1983 and their father was born in the UK

They will need all of the following:

•Their full birth certificate showing their parents’ details;

• Their father’s birth certificate;

• Their parents’ marriage certificate;

• The passport they used on arriving in the UK or foreign passport they were included on.

Born on or after January 1, 1983

Persons will need all of the following:

• Their full birth certificate showing their parents’ details;

• The passport they used to go into the UK or any foreign passport that they were included on;

• Evidence of one parent’s British nationality, for example, their UK birth or adoption, naturalisation or registration certificate.

If these documents relate to your father, persons must include the marriage certificate showing when he married the applicant’s mother.

WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES ARE DIFFERENT

If the applicant’s circumstances are not listed, those persons should read the guidance booklet to find out what documents they will need. If they apply online, they will be told what documents are needed as part of their application.

HOW DOCUMENTS WILL BE SENT BACK

The supporting documents will be returned separately from the passport. How the applicant receives them will depend on the delivery option chosen when filling in the application.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, deputy global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com