Guidance

Right of Abode certificates: caseworker guidance

Published 21 March 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-of-abode-certificates-caseworker-guidance/right-of-abode-certificates-caseworker-guidance

Version 3.0

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to revoke Certificates of Entitlement to Right of Abode in foreign passports or travel documents.

About: Right of Abode certificates

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about Certificates of Entitlement to Right of Abode and how to revoke them. We do this when we issue the holder a British passport that shows they have Right of Abode in the UK.

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 team.

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 team.

Publication

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

  • version 3.0
  • published for Home Office staff on 12 February 2024

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to tell examiners they must contact United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) when they have revoked a Certificate of Entitlement.

Related content

British citizenship

British subject status

Revoking Right of Abode certificates

This page tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff how to revoke a Certificate of Entitlement to Right of Abode, and how to tell United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) when you have done this.

Certificates of Entitlement to Right of Abode (ROA) are no longer valid if:

  • issued before 21 December 2006
  • the passport or travel document it is attached to has expired
  • the holder has a British passport that shows they have the Right of Abode (ROA) in the UK

The certificate can be revoked by any Home Office official, including HM Passport Office staff, immigration officers, consular officers, or entry clearance officers.

Information on the features of Certificates of Entitlement to Right of Abode can be found in the UK Knowledge Base.

You, the examiner must check the customer’s foreign passport or travel document for a ROA certificate. You must revoke the certificate if you issue the customer with a British passport showing they have ROA in the UK. For example, they will have ROA if they are issued with a British citizen or British subject with Right of Abode passport.

If the certificate was issued:

  • on or after 21 December 2006 the certificate must be revoked when we issue the British passport showing the customer has ROA in the UK
  • before 21 December 2006 it will no longer be valid and does not need to be revoked

You must not revoke a certificate that was issued before 21 December 2006.

How to revoke a Right of Abode certificate

If you are processing on DAP (Digital Application Processing), to revoke a Certificate of Entitlement you must:

1. Complete all tasks on DAP, but do not Submit the application.

2. Use the Item validation and Request revalidation option to ask the DHU (Document Handling Unit) to revoke the Certificate (see: DHU: how to ask for document revalidation).

3. In the free text note box:

  • record a note showing ‘Cert of Entitlement granted on (date) in ppt no xxxxxxx/xx revoked on the issue of British [insert ‘citizen’ or ‘subject’ here] passport’
  • tell the DHU to revoke the Certificate of Entitlement

4. Put the application on hold while you wait for the DHU to revoke the Certificate. The Embedded Civil Servant team (ECST) in the DHU will revoke the Certificate by writing the word ‘REVOKED’ in black ink across the face of the certificate, diagonally from bottom left to top right.

5. Complete the application in line with current guidance when the DHU have completed the revalidation task and revoked the Certificate.

6. Return the foreign passport to the customer (with their other supporting documents) when you complete the application.

If you are processing on AMS (Application Management System), to revoke a Certificate of Entitlement you must:

1. Find the page in the passport or travel document that has the Certificate of Entitlement to Right of Abode.

2. Write the word ‘REVOKED’ in black ink across the face of the certificate, diagonally from bottom left to top right.

3. Add a case note to the application to show:

‘Cert of Entitlement granted on (date) in ppt no xxxxxxx/00 revoked on the issue of British [insert ‘citizen’ or ‘subject’ here] passport’

4. Return the foreign passport to the customer (with their other supporting documents) when you have completed their application.

How to tell UKVI you have revoked a Right of Abode certificate

When you revoke a Certificate of Entitlement to ROA you, the examiner, must contact United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) to tell them so they can update their records.

You must email UKVI and tell them:

  • you have revoked a Right of Abode certificate
  • the customers:
    • surname and forename(s)
    • date of birth
    • nationality
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