Guidance

UK immigration permission

Published 15 February 2024

His Majesty’s Passport Office guidance about UK immigration permission and what to do when we identify a customer (or someone linked to an application) is living in the UK without the correct immigration permission.

About: UK immigration permission

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about the immigration permissions customers need to live in the UK. It includes what to do when we identify a customer (or someone linked to an application) living in the UK without the correct immigration permission.  

If you find we issued a passport in error because the customer does not have a claim to British nationality, you must refer to Withdrawing passports and passport facilities.

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 email the Guidance team.

Publication

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

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 27 October 2023

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to tell examiners that applications, where the customer has the correct immigration permission and is entitled to a passport, can be processed on AMS (Application Management System) and DAP (Digital Application Processing).

Immigration permission: living in the UK

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about the immigration permissions customers need to live in the United Kingdom.

Someone with the automatic right to reside in the United Kingdom (UK) means they can live in the UK without permission. These are:

• British citizens
• Irish citizens
• someone who has right of abode

Others who do not have an automatic right to reside can live in the UK if they have been granted permission. This includes those who:

• are exempt from immigration control
• were granted (but not lost) any of the following:
  • indefinite leave to enter (ILE)
  • indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
  • no time limit (NTL)
  • limited leave to remain
  • pre-settled status (limited leave to remain) or settled status (ILR) under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

You must be aware, someone with the right to reside in the UK may not hold a British passport as their residence status is not reliant on them being a British national.

A customer’s immigration status in the UK does not affect their own claim to a British passport providing they have a claim to British nationality (in line with the British Nationality Act 1981 and our guidance).  

A customer may have been issued with a British citizen passport because of their parent’s immigration status in the UK (for example, if at the time they were born, their parent held ILR). If their parent has since lost their status (or it was taken away from them), it will not affect the customer’s claim to British nationality and we will:

• allow the customer to keep their passport
• continue to renew the customer’s passport

This is because we do not hold customers responsible for the actions of their parents.

Customers who need permission to live in the UK

People who do not have a right to reside in the UK need to get the correct immigration permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to live lawfully in the UK. If they are overseas, they’ll need the correct permission to come to the UK to study, visit, work or join family and this can depend on:

• where the person comes from
• the person’s nationality
• why the person wants to come to the UK
• how long the person wants to stay in the UK
• the person’s personal circumstances and skills

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals

In most cases, European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals (including their family members) can no longer rely on a right of permanent residence or exercising Treaty rights after 30 June 2021 (see EU Settlement Scheme guidance).  

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals (and their family members) living in the UK by 31 December 2020 (the end of the EU exit transition period) had to apply to the EUSS if they wanted to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021.

The deadline to apply to the EUSS was 30 June 2021. Those who missed the deadline can still apply if they either:

• meet one of the criteria for a later deadline to apply
• have reasonable grounds for not applying by 30 June 2021

Customers who do not have immigration permission to live in the UK

This section tells HM Passport Office staff how to support customers who do not have the correct immigration permissions to live in the UK.

It’s up to individuals to:

• check what immigration permission they need to visit or live in the UK
• apply for the correct immigration permission (if they need it) at the right time (for example, before they enter the UK)

Some customers (or someone linked to their passport application, for example, their parent) could be living in the UK without the correct immigration permission. They will be non-British or non-Irish citizens or someone without right of abode who may:

• be living in the UK beyond the date their permission (such as a visa) allows
• be living in the UK because they were previously granted permission to stay but have since lost it, for example, because:
  • they had limited leave to remain (LTR) (also known as pre-settled status) through the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) but lost it as they have been outside of the UK for more than 2 years
  • they had indefinite leave to remain (ILR) (also known as settled status) through the EUSS and have been out of the UK for more than 5 years
  • they had ILR other than through the EUSS, indefinite leave to enter (ILE) or no time limit (NTL) and have been out of the UK for more than 2 consecutive years
  • UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) cancelled or nullified it (cancelled it as though it never existed)
• have come to the UK illegally because they did not apply for immigration permission (such as a visa) before they came

When we identify someone living in the UK who does not have the correct immigration permission, we’ll take appropriate steps to help resolve their status in the UK. We already have guidance in place:

• to decide what UK immigration observations to add to a UK customer’s non-British citizen passport, as we’ll:
  • check if they’re settled
  • ask UKVI to contact them to discuss what they’ll need to do about their status in the UK (if they do not appear to be settled)
• for customers who meet the Windrush criteria
• for European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals parents who did not make an application to the EUSS but applied for a passport for a child born on, or after 1 July 2021 as we tell them:
  • to make an application to the EUSS
  • where they can find out information about the EUSS, who must apply and how to apply

Supporting customers who do not have permission to be in the UK

When dealing with a customer who does not have the correct immigration permission to be in the UK, you must refer to the:

• Windrush criteria, if they meet the criteria to for a Windrush application
• British national (overseas) guidance, if they applied for a British national (overseas) passport (as this asks you to confirm their status in the UK and tells you what to do if they are not settled)
• British overseas citizen guidance, if they applied for a British overseas citizen passport (as this asks you to confirm their status in the UK and tells you what to do if they are not settled)
• British overseas territory citizen guidance, if they applied for a British overseas territory citizen passport (as this asks you to confirm their status in the UK and tells you what to do if they are not settled)
• British protected persons guidance, if they applied for a British protected persons passport (as this asks you to confirm their status in the UK and tells you what to do if they are not settled)
• British subjects guidance, if they applied for a British subject passport (as this asks you to confirm their status in the UK and tells you what to do if they are not settled)
• EU Settlement Scheme guidance, if an EU, EEA or Swiss national makes a passport application for their child but they have not made an application to the EUSS (as this tells you to send a letter to the parent to ask them to make an application to the EUSS)

For all other situations when you identify someone living in the UK without the correct permission, you must:

1. Deal with the passport application (and any connected applications) in line with current guidance and be aware the customer’s nationality claim may be dependent on the immigration status of a person you identify as not having the correct immigration permission.
2. Refer to:
   • If the customer is entitled to a passport (if you examined the application and decided the customer is entitled to a passport (based on their identity, nationality and entitlement))
   • If the customer is not entitled to a passport (if you examined the application and decided you need to refuse or withdraw it)

If the customer is entitled to a passport

If you, the examiner, decide the customer is entitled to a passport you can deal with the application using AMS (Application Management System) or DAP (Digital Application Processing). You must send a referral about the customer’s immigration permission to UKVI and wait for their response.

If the person who we identify is living in the UK without the correct permission is the intended passport holder or the person who made the passport application, we’ll send them a letter to explain the situation. We will not send the letter if the person is a third party (such as a parent who did not make the application), as this would breach the Data Protection Act.

You must:

1. Send system letter 139 to the customer if it is appropriate (on DAP, you must select Tell someone something – I’m not expecting a response radio button). This letter explains:
   • we’ve identified they appear to be living in the UK without the correct immigration permission and we’ve passed their details to UKVI
   • they should contact UKVI to apply for the correct immigration permission
   • you’ll continue to process the passport application and issue a passport if they’re entitled to one
2. Complete the UKVI referral – customer in the UK without the correct immigration permission referral form and attach it to an email.
3. Put Individual Case Referrals – urgent response needed as customer entitled to a passport in the Subject field of the email and send it to Casework Professionalisation and Intelligence Command (CPIC).
4. Keep the application on hold for 1 week while you wait for CPIC to respond to the referral. As CPIC may raise doubts about the customer’s claim to British nationality, you must not issue a passport until you have considered their reply.
5. Add a case note to show the actions and decisions you made.

When CPIC receive the referral, they will:

• decide what to do with the information you have given them, for example, they may:
  • contact the customer to discuss their situation and tell them what to do to get the correct immigration permission
  • consider if immigration enforcement action is appropriate (as a last resort)
• reply to your email within 1 week and let you know if they have (or have not) identified something that raises doubts about the customer’s nationality claim (for example, fraudulent activity)

When you get a response from CPIC, you must deal with the outcome in line with current guidance. For example, you must:

• issue a passport to the customer if CPIC did not identify anything that raised doubts about the customer’s nationality claim
• refer the application to the Counter Fraud team if you suspect fraudulent activity

If the customer is not entitled to a passport

Under the Data Protection Act, you must not discuss the UK immigration status of a third party (for example, a parent who did not apply for the passport) with the customer. If you examine the application and decide to refuse or withdraw it, you must:

1. Refuse or withdraw the passport application (in line with current guidance).
2. Add the correct phrases to the refusal or withdrawal letter if the person you identified as living in the UK without the correct immigration permission is the intended passport holder or the person making the application (S021A and S021B on AMS). These phrases tell the customer:
   • we’ve identified they are living in the UK without the correct immigration permission and we’ve passed their details to UKVI
   • they should contact UKVI to apply for the correct immigration permission to live in the UK
3. Complete the UKVI referral – customer in the UK without the correct immigration permission referral form and attach it to an email.
4. Put ‘Individual Case Referrals’ in the Subject field of the email and send it to CPIC.
5. Add a case note to show the actions and decisions you made.

When CPIC receive the referral, they will:

• decide what to do with the information you’ve given them, for example, they may:
  • contact the customer to discuss their situation and tell them how to get the correct immigration permission
  • consider if immigration enforcement action is appropriate (as a last resort)
• not provide a response to you, so you must not wait for one in order to refuse or withdraw the application