Travel Documents – Certificates of Travel
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) was established as an Executive Agency of the Home Office on 1st April 2006. The Agency builds on the strong foundations of the UK Passport Service to provide passport services and in the future, as part of the National Identity Scheme, ID cards for British and Irish nationals and foreign nationals resident in the UK.
The passport is a uniquely important document. It provides universally acceptable evidence of a person’s nationality. Holding a passport allows UK citizens to exercise one of their fundamental rights: to leave and re-enter the country. The development of the National Identity Scheme builds on the changes being made to passports to provide a secure and straightforward way to safeguard personal identities from misuse. The IPS works closely with the Border and Immigration Agency, UK visas and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to deliver consistent service standards for identity documents across these organisations. The Agency has a key role in transforming the way government interacts with UK citizens and businesses by developing common standards in identity management.
Times for applications to be processed vary depending on which service you choose. First-time adult passport applicants will require an interview at a passport office as part of your application process. Therefore the premium service offered would not be an option for you [ie: fast track service or same day premium service].
The IPS aims to return postal applications within three weeks of receiving them [again this service is no longer available to first-time adult applicants as an interview is required as part of the application process. The IPS recommends you allow six weeks for the completion of your passport].
Travel Documents – Certificates of Travel
You can apply to the UK Border Agency for a travel document in certain special circumstances. The UK Border Agency issue different four types of travel document depending on those circumstances and also on your status in the United Kingdom. There are four types of travel document listed below. You should apply for the relevant document depending on your circumstances.
- if you are a refugee you can apply for a convention travel document
- if you are stateless you can apply for a stateless person’s document
- if you are a citizen of any country and currently in the United Kingdom you can apply for a one-way document (known as an IS137); and
- if you have been refused a passport by your own country you can apply for a Certificate of Travel Document.
If you were granted outside the rules of immigration, you will need to apply for a Certificate of Travel Document which is a black coloured travel document. If you have not been given refugee status in the United Kingdom or have not been recognised as a stateless person, you may be able to apply for a Certificate of Travel to enable you to travel.
You must first prove that you have been formally and unreasonably refused a passport by the authorities of the country of which you are a national. There are some circumstances which you do not need this requirement.
You must be legally resident in the United Kingdom and have permission to stay here for at least six months from the date when you apply for a Home Office travel document. This is because other countries may not accept your travel document if you have less than six months’ permission to return to the United Kingdom. If you have less than this, you should apply for an extension to your permission to stay before you apply for a travel document. A certificate of travel issued to an adult will usually be valid for five years if you have permission to stay in the United Kingdom permanently (we call this ‘indefinite leave to remain’). If you have temporary permission to stay in the United Kingdom (we call this ‘limited leave to remain’), your certificate of travel will usually be valid for the same period as your permission to stay here.
If you can apply for a passport from the Authorities from your Country of Original, then you will be allowed to travel with that passport and allowed to return to the United Kingdom with an endorsement confirming your current status in the United Kingdom.
Our lawyers are available 24 hours a day, providing immediate legal assistance during proceedings. Please contact the Head of the Immigration Department Richard Harold on 020 7388 8333 or email harroldr@tuckerssolicitors.com