Registering in the UK

Dear Mr Bassie,

I am a lay minister living in Jamaica and intend to visit the United Kingdom (UK) in my pastoral capacity.

I have been informed that while visiting the UK, I may need to register and report to the police. Would you please shed some light on this for me.

F.E.

Dear F.E.,

There are citizens from countries who require to register with the police in the UK.

A list of these countries can be found in Appendix 2 of the UK Immigration Rules. Jamaica is not listed in this appendix. Furthermore, if by a 'lay minister' you mean you can prove you fall within the category of either 'minister of religion, missionary or member of a religious order', then you would not need to register or report to the police.

As stated above, normally a person visiting the UK will be required to register with the police in the area that they are residing if they are a citizen of a country listed in Appendix 2. In addition, that person would have to be over the age of 16 and have been given permission to stay in the UK for more than six months. It should also be noted, you may have to register if the person is deemed by the authorities to be stateless, or if that person holds a passport from certain countries.

Conversely, a person will not need to register if he/she has been granted temporary permission to go to the UK within a certain category. The various categories that a person would need to be classified in would be as follows: a seasonal agricultural worker; a private servant in a diplomatic household; because you are married to or in a civil partnership with a person settled in the UK; a person exercising access rights to a child resident in the UK; the parent of a child at school; following the grant of asylum; or as previously mentioned, as a minister of religion, missionary or member of a religious order;

In addition, a person would not need to register if he or she has permission to live permanently in the UK; or if he or she is a family member of a citizen of the European Economic Area; or if he or she has citizenship or nationality of more than one country, unless all of those countries are on the list of countries in Annex A of the UK Immigration Rules.

If a person needs to register with the police, then the visa in his or her passport will state this. As a condition, that person will need to register at a specified police station, within seven days of the requirement being made. If the individual is required to register and lives in the area of London covered by the Metropolitan Police, then he/she must register at:

Overseas Visitors Registration Office

Brandon House

180 Borough High Street

London

SE1 1LH.

All other persons will be told to which police station he/she should report. It should be further noted that when registering, persons will need to take with them their passports or identification documents; any letter they may have received from the border agency about this; and two passport-sized photographs. The person will also need to pay a registration fee, and the police station will record the following information: his/her full name; sex; marital status; date and country of birth; nationality; address in the UK; the address of the last place he/she lived outside the UK; date, place and method of arrival in the UK; passport details; place of study, if he or she is a student; employment details, if he or she will be working; and how long the visa allows he or she to stay in the UK, and any conditions it makes on that person's stay.

It is very important to note that if any of the information mentioned above changes, then that person must report it to the same police station, however, it does not have to be done by that particular person.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a Supreme Court-appointed mediator and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com or editor@gleanerjm.com.