Chapter 4 - Travel documents acceptable for entry clearance

4.1	The need for a passport or travel document and what constitutes one
4.2	Reporting when a government or organisation issues a new form of travel document
4.3	Passports and travel documents in current use
4.4	National passports
4.5	Emergency travel documents
4.6	Collective passports
4.7	Identity cards of EEA and Swiss nationals
4.8	Visitors’ cards of certain European nationals
4.9	Hong Kong travel documents
4.10	Refugee or Stateless persons’ travel documents
4.11	European Union Laissez-Passer
4.12	ADB, OAS, OAU and Red Cross travel documents
4.13	United Nations travel documents
4.14	States not recognised by HMG
4.15	Passports not recognised by HMG
4.16	EU Uniform Format Form – For affixing a visa

Annexes

4.1	Travel documents issued by foreign countries to Refugee or Stateless persons
4.2	Travel documents issued by the United Kingdom to Refugee or Stateless persons
4.3	Travel documents issued by certain International Organisations to Refugee or Stateless persons
4.4	EU Uniform Format Form - for affixing a visa
	Collective passports

Chapter 4 – Travel documents acceptable for entry clearance

4.1 - The need for a passport or travel document and what constitutes one
The Rules state that persons seeking entry to the UK who fail to produce a valid national passport or other document satisfactorily establishing their identity and nationality to an Immigration Officer are to be refused entry ( Rules Paragraph 320(3) ). This applies equally to persons requesting entry clearance from an ECO.

A bona fide passport or travel document should:

• contain photograph, name and date of birth of holder;
• state the holder’s nationality (or disclaimer if holder is stateless or of undetermined nationality);
• be valid for travel to the UK.

Please note, people seeking entry to the UK will need to have a visa page, which is blank on both sides, so the visa can be placed in the passport.

A traveller who produces a passport or travel document issued by a government which is either not recognised by HMG or is not dealt with as a government may be refused entry clearance on those grounds alone ( Rules Paragraph 320(10) ). Examples of these governments are shown at 4.14 .

4.2 - Reporting when a government or organisation issues a new form of travel document
When a new type of passport/travel document is first issued by a foreign or Commonwealth government, or an International Organisation decides to issue a travel document, the Post should request four specimens as a priority and send them to the Forgery Office Risk Assessment UK Border Agency, Visa Services Directorate. These examples are required so that they can be formally recognised by the Home Office and notified to the Immigration Service.

4.3 - Passports and travel documents in current use
Listed below are passports and travel documents in current use. Although most are acceptable for entry to the UK, some are not. Each type is described in a separate section of this chapter.

• National passports.
• Emergency travel documents.
• Collective passports.
• Identity cards of EEA Nationals.
• Visitors’ cards of certain European nationals.
• Refugee or stateless persons travel documents.
• Travel documents issued by International Organisations.
• Travel documents issued by governments not recognised by HMG.
• Unofficial and self-styled ‘passports’.
• Declarations of Identity.

4.4 - National passports
National passports are issued by governments to persons who are accepted as their citizens.

Unless there are particular problems with a national passport (in which case Posts will be informed of special handling procedures to be taken) you should treat all such passports as bona fide for travel to the UK.

There are special arrangements for handling entry clearance applications from persons who hold national passports of countries not recognised by HMG (see section below).

4.5 - Emergency travel documents
As with national passports, emergency travel documents are issued by governments. They are usually for specific journeys and you should normally consider them satisfactory documents for travel to the United Kingdom.

4.6 - Collective passports
See Annex 4.5.

4.7 - Identity cards of EEA and Swiss Nationals
EEA and Swiss nationals may use identity cards as travel documents for travel to the United Kingdom.

4.8 - Visitors’ cards of certain European nationals
Nationals of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Switzerland may be admitted to the United Kingdom without passports for visits of up to six months provided they produce national identity cards and British Visitors’ Cards issued by the British Tourist Authority.

British Visitors’ Cards may be obtained free of charge from tourist agents, airline and railway offices, and offices of the British Tourist Authority in the above countries.

Visitors’ Cards are intended mainly for tourists, but they may also be used by:

• students attending courses of up to six months;
• business visitors;
• amateur sport teams;
• school and family exchanges;
• au pair visits not exceeding six months.

They may not be used for entry for employment or participation in agricultural or work camps, or archaeological digs.

4.9 - Hong Kong travel documents
Since July 1998 there have been four different types of Hong Kong travel documents:

• the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport;
• the British National (Overseas) passport;
• the British Overseas Citizen passport;
• the Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes.

The HKSAR passport is issued by the HKSAR Immigration Department on the authority of the Chinese Government, to all Chinese nationals who have right of abode in the HKSAR and hold the Hong Kong permanent identity card. BN(O) passport-holders who are eligible for the HKSAR passport can hold both passports simultaneously.

The BN(O) passport can be held and used as a travel document by Hong Kong residents. Some 3.4 million Hong Kong people (mostly Chinese nationals) are BN(O)s - a status held for life. BN(O) passports have a ten-year validity and are renewable at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong, at UK passport offices and at other British Consular Posts overseas. BN(O)s have visa-free access for visits to the UK.

The British Overseas Citizen passport is held by those people, who were formerly British Dependent Territories citizens and who failed to register for a BN(O) passport before 1 July 1997 and who would otherwise be stateless.

Hong Kong Documents of Identity for Visa Purposes are issued to residents of Hong Kong, who do not meet the residence criteria to qualify for the right of abode and thus the HKSAR passport and/or cannot obtain a national passport.

4.10 - Refugee or Stateless Persons’ travel documents
Most governments issue travel documents to stateless persons, refugees or others living within their borders who are not eligible for national passports. All countries which are known to issue these kinds of travel documents are listed at Annex 4.1 together with details of the documents themselves.

1951 Convention Travel Documents
1951 Convention Travel Documents (CTDs) are issued to refugees by states who are party to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees. All holders of 1951 CTDs, except those issued by the UK, are required to give a record of their fingerprints on arrival in the UK. Visas endorsed on 1951 CTDs do not confer leave to enter. Instead they are valid for presentation at a UK port for six months, where the holder can seek leave to enter.

Visas endorsed on 1951 CTDs should be restricted to six months validity, except for multiple-entry visit visas which can be valid for up to two years and EEA Family Permits which can be valid for 6 months.

Students, Work Permit holders and others entering for longer than six months will need to seek an extension from the Home Office after their arrival in the United Kingdom. Likewise, people granted settlement and family reunion (who would normally be granted indefinite leave to enter on the visa) are limited to six month visas and need to seek further leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain from the Home Office.

When assessing applications from 1951 CTD holders, ECOs need to consider the full duration of the intended stay. Appeal rights will be in line with the proposed length of stay, as will fee charges. ECOs should make applicants aware of their need to seek leave to enter on arrival in the UK and the limited validity of their visas. They should also advise applicants that failure to comply with the requirement to give fingerprints could result in refusal of leave to enter.

The UK (Home Office) issues documents for refugee or stateless persons. These documents are valid for entry to the UK (and may be extended overseas under certain circumstances). Annex 4.2 contains relevant information.

Visit visas issued should be valid for the standard 6 month period. Usual visa application charges apply.

4.11 - European Union Laissez-Passer
The European Union provides certain officials and their dependants with a laissez-passer, which is accepted in lieu of a passport or national identity card for entry to any of the member states. It has a dark blue cover, contains 18 pages and has a statement of nationality on page 2.

4.12 - ADB, OAS, OAU and Red Cross travel documents
The African Development Bank (ADB), the International Red Cross, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) issue travel documents to their officials. Only the Red Cross document may be considered acceptable for travel to the UK. Details of the documents are given in Annex 4.3.

4.13 - United Nations travel documents
There are two types of travel documents issued by the United Nations.

UN Certificate
This must not be endorsed with an entry clearance. Holders should be asked to obtain a national passport or other travel document.

UN Laissez-passer
This allows the holder to travel to the United Kingdom on official business without a national passport or entry clearance. However, when holders travel to the UK for any other reason, they should use their national passports (and visas will be required by visa nationals).

Exceptionally, the following may use UN laissez-passer when not on official business:

• Members of the staff of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and their families, based in London;
• Stateless persons genuinely unable to obtain any other form of travel document (in such cases visas should be attached to the UN laissez-passer);
• Spouses, civil partners and children of holders of UN laissez-passer must carry national passports or other suitable travel documents, and if they are visa nationals, they are not exempt from UK visa requirements. (The inclusion of their names in a laissez-passer merely indicates their right to claim immunities and privileges.) When accompanying the holder of a UN laissez-passer travelling on official business they may be granted a gratis visa.

An organisation calling itself ‘The United Nations Office Inc’ issues so-called ‘passports’ which are not acceptable.

4.14 - States not recognised by HMG
HMG does not recognise certain "states" and does not recognise the passports or travel documents issued by them. It follows that ECOs should not put entry clearances in such passports or documents.

This does not mean that ECOs may not issue entry clearances; it means only that if entry clearance is agreed, a visa or entry certificate must be issued on an EU Uniform Format Form (see section below and example at Annex 4.4).

The "states" are:-

• ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC)
• Yemen (Royalist authorities)*.

* passports which may be in circulation although they are being phased out.

HMG do not recognise Taiwan, but visas may be placed in ordinary Taiwanese passports (but not diplomatic or official passports, where an EU Uniform Format Form should be used).

4.15 - Passports not recognised by HMG
Please see DSP Entry Clearance, Volume 2, Chapter 1.

4.16 - EU Uniform Format Form – For affixing a visa
Council Regulation (EC) No 334/2002 of 18 February 2002 announced the proposal for a Uniform Visa Format Form (amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 which laid down a uniform format for visas). The EU Uniform Format Form for affixing a visa will be used by all EU Member States and incorporates security features that were not included on the previous Declaration of Identity form (GV3) which it replaces.

ECOs may issue an EU Uniform Format Form to a person who holds a travel document on which a visa cannot be placed because it is not recognised as a valid travel document by HMG. It is important to ensure that EU Uniform Format Forms are issued in conjunction with a travel document.

This form is only accepted for the purpose of establishing identity, not nationality, and therefore ECOs may only issue an EU Uniform Format Form without a travel document after referral to ECO Support for authority.

Unlike the previous GV3 form, the EU Uniform Format Form is simply a document where a visa can be placed. It does not confer nationality and neither does it confirm identity. ECOs should not issue one unless they intend to endorse a visa on it. ECOs may issue a multiple-entry, entry clearance on an EU Common Format Form where appropriate. As the form is personal to the holder, ECOs must issue a separate form and vignette for each person travelling.

Only one visa may be attached to an EU Uniform Format Form.

A specimen EU Uniform Format Form is shown at Annex 4.4. Forms come in pads of 10 and

UK Border Agency, Visa Services Directorate will provide initial supplies. Further supplies can be ordered from the dedicated vignette ordering mailbox at SPSL (fco.orders@spsl.uk.com). A box of each type of vignettes (900 to a box) are held in UK Border Agency, Visa Services Directorate for small orders where a box exceeds a years supply. Posts should ensure that the blank forms are stored securely in line with blank passport/vignette storage.

An EU Uniform Format Form is not a statutory declaration in the true sense and may be witnessed by an officer responsible for signing entry clearances.

There is no fee for the EU Uniform Format Form. The standard fees are payable for entry clearance as required (except in categories where the fee is not payable).