Immigration Corner | Documents needed for a first-time UK passport

Dear Mr Bassie,

I will be applying for my first British passport. Please tell me what documents I will need to apply.

TK,

Dear TK,

Please be aware that persons will need to only send original documents, as photocopies are not accepted. Those persons who do not have original certificates (for example, a birth certificate), will need to get an official copy. If the documents are not in English or Welsh, a certified translation will be needed. Laminated documents are acceptable if that is the only format the document is issued in.

BORN OR ADOPTED IN THE UK

For those persons who were born or adopted in the United Kingdom (UK), the documents needed will depend on when those persons were born.

Those persons who were born before January 1, 1983 will need to provide the full birth certificate or adoption certificate.

Those persons who were born on or after January 1, 1983 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

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

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

BORN OUTSIDE THE UK

For those persons who were born outside of the UK, the documents needed will depend on the circumstances.

PERSONS WITH CERTIFICATE OF NATURALISATION OR REGISTRATION

Persons will need both:

• Their naturalisation or registration certificate; and

• The passport used to enter into the UK or the foreign passport they are included on.

CITIZEN OF A BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORY AND BORN BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1983

Persons will need all of the following:

• Their birth certificate

• Their current passport

• The passport they used to come into the UK or the foreign passport they are included on.

BORN BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1983 AND THE FATHER WAS BORN IN THE UK

Persons 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 used to enter the UK or foreign passport they are 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 enter the UK or any foreign passport that they are 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 the applicant’s father, he/she must include the marriage certificate showing when he married that person’s mother.

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

Please note that the supporting documents will be returned separately from the passport. How they are returned will depend on the delivery option chosen when the application was made.

Good luck.

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, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com