Guidance

Knowledge Base

Updated 6 June 2023

Version 8.0

This guidance is for His Majesty’s Passport Office staff, it explains what Knowledge Base is, how it is structured and how it can be used.

About: Knowledge Base

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff what Knowledge Base is and how to use it.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email the Guidance & Quality, Operating Standards.

If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance & Quality, Operating Standards.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published:

• version 8.0

• published for Home Office staff on 24 May 2023

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to show we do not hold information about all countries or territories.

Knowledge Base

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about Knowledge Base, when to use it and how we update it.

Knowledge Base is an information resource to support HM Passport Office staff process passport application.

The information in Knowledge Base has been developed with input from:

• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

• Public Protection and Standards (including Counter Fraud)

• other government departments in the UK or overseas (for example, life event registration authorities)

• Migration and Borders group (MBG) policy teams

• Guidance and Quality, Operating Standards

• operational staff (for example, when they receive information during application processing)

• open sources (for example, official information accessible on the internet)

HM Passport Office use the information held in Knowledge Base to support with decision making, for example when:

• a customer provides a foreign document showing a different name to their passport application, we can check to see if naming conventions exist in the issuing country to explain the difference

• we consider if the customer has a claim to British nationality, under nationality legislation

• we check to see who has parental responsibility, in a child application

The information in Knowledge Base is periodically reviewed, therefore:

• it must not be used:

  • to give the customer advice on other countries processes, information, or conventions

  • as a substitute for customers contacting the relevant overseas authorities for advice

• it is the customer’s responsibility to make sure they follow the laws and regulations of the relevant countries

Guidance and Quality, Operating Standards maintains the information held in Knowledge Base. You must tell us if changes need to be made. We will only include information that is:

• factually correct and evidence-based (for example, it needs to come from an official source)

• necessary for Casework staff to process applications

• unavailable elsewhere (for example, we will not replicate information available in FCDO’s foreign travel advice, or on external internet sources such as foreign countries’ own official websites)

When to use Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base is structured by country or territory (including the UK and foreign countries and territories). It holds information for most countries and territories including, for example:

• naming conventions (for example, how many names may be shown in foreign documents or passports)

• name changes (for example, whether name change is possible in another country)

• official documents (for example, whether a country issues birth certificates or marriage certificates)

• registration of life events

• laws and practices about parental responsibility, adoption, surrogacy, polygamy, gender changes, dual nationality, civil partnerships, or legitimacy

• historical information about HM Passport Office, for example:

  • the types of passports we have issued

  • when services have changed, such as the repatriation of overseas passport applications

Knowledge Base does not:

• include operational guidance

• hold information for all countries or territories (for example, if you do not need additional information to apply guidance)

• contain information in every category for each country or territory (for example, because information may be available elsewhere

You must follow operational guidance, and some guidance will tell you when you must use Knowledge Base.

For example, you must use the information in Knowledge Base when you:

• are processing an application using Names - aligning names on foreign document guidance, to check name change conventions in foreign countries or territories

• get a foreign document from a customer as part of confirming identity checks

• are dealing with an application where the customer cannot provide all the required documents, for example, if you need to know about other evidence a customer can provide when supporting documents are not available

You must check Knowledge Base every time you need to use information it contains, because Guidance and Quality, Operating Standards regularly update it.