Chapter 4 Annex 2 - Travel documents issued by the United Kingdom to refugee or stateless persons

Refugee Travel Document (1951 Convention)
The 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which came into force in the UK on 9 June 1954, provides in Article 28 for the issue of travel documents to refugees lawfully staying in the territories of contracting governments. The Convention defines a refugee as a person who, "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country".

The current version of the refugee travel document is in book form, has a blue-grey cover and contains 40 pages. There are two black lines across the top left hand corner of the front cover, each 1/2 cm wide and 1/2 cm apart, and the title ‘Travel Document (Convention of 28 July 1951)’, the official crest and ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’.

Special attention is drawn to the following points about the refugees travel document issued in the UK:

• It is normally made valid for travel to all countries except the country from which the holder is a refugee.
• The period of validity varies with the holder’s immigration position in the UK. (It may be as short as 1 year for a holder on time conditions or as long as 10 years for one who has achieved settlement). The holder’s immigration position will be apparent from the Home Office endorsements on the visa pages.
• While valid, it is good for return to the UK without a visa.

The holder of an expired refugee travel document who has taken up permanent residence in another country should be advised to apply to the authorities of that country for a replacement travel document (note 2 on inside front cover of document). Similarly, if he/she has obtained a national passport, by re-availing himself/herself of the protection of the country from which he/she sought refuge or by acquiring another nationality, his/her travel document will not be extended further (note 3 on inside back cover of document). In either case it should be explained that withdrawal of the UK travel documentation would not in itself affect the outcome of any application he/she may make for a visa to re-enter the UK.

Extending the validity of a Refugee Travel Document
The validity of a Refugee Travel Document may be extended abroad once without reference to Home Office provided that the holder was ‘settled’ (see interpretation of ‘settled’ in the Rules) in the UK prior to last embarkation, whose country of principal residence is still the UK and last embarked less than 2 years previously.

The extension should be either for a period of 6 months or to a date 2 years from the holder’s last embarkation from the UK, whichever is the shorter. The extension should be reported to the Home Office using the format below and adding further item "(j) Date to which document extended".

Any application for a second extension abroad, and all first applications from document holders who were not settled or who embarked from the UK more than 2 years previously, should be referred to the Home Office.

Referring or reporting an application should be made using the following format (there is no official application form) and sent to Travel Document Section, Home Office:-

• Home Office reference number (which is marked in manuscript inside the front cover of the document and consists of an initial letter and several digits).
• The number of the document.
• Surname and all forenames.
• Date and place of birth.
• Date of last embarkation from the UK.
• Precise terms of foreign residence permit.
• Circumstances of stay abroad.
• Purpose for which renewal/extension of document is being sought.
• Ties with the UK (e.g. marriage, dependants, relatives, employment etc).

NB: A proforma should be prepared locally for this purpose. Posts should not write to the Home Office asking for application forms.

Stateless Persons’ Travel Documents (1954 Convention)
Under the terms of the 1954 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which came into force on 6 June 1960, the Home Office issues a Stateless Person’s Travel Document similar to the refugee document but having a pink cover and valid for travel to all countries. The rules regarding periods of validity, return to the UK without a visa and extensions abroad are the same as for the refugee document.

Certificates of Identity (Book Form)
This travel document, which is in the form of a 32-page booklet with a dark brown cover, is issued to resident foreign and Commonwealth nationals who need to travel abroad and can show that they have unreasonably been denied passport facilities by their own national authorities. It is normally made valid for travel to all countries except the holder’s country of origin. A holder of this document may return to the UK without a visa during the period of its validity.

Its validity, upon issue or extension in the UK, varies with the holder’s immigration position. For a holder who is settled, it would normally be made valid for up to 5 years; for one on time conditions it would normally be in line with that leave.

The holder’s immigration position should be apparent from the Home Office endorsements on the visa pages. The rules regarding extensions abroad are the same as for the refugee document.

Document of Identity (1S 137)
The 1S 137 is a single journey document issued solely to facilitate repatriation or deportation from the UK. It is not a renewable document.

Extending the validity of Home Office documents issued to stateless seamen
Stateless seamen resident in the UK who hold Discharge Books (Continuous Certificates of Discharge) issued by the Home Office and which are endorsed as valid for return to the UK without a visa may be granted an extension of the document if he fulfils all the following conditions:

• When last given leave to enter the UK he was given indefinite leave to enter.
• He has remained continuously in sea employment since last leaving the UK.
• He has not been granted permission to take up residence in any other country.
• He is not on the Warning Index or otherwise known to be undesirable.
• He has not been in sea employment outside the UK for a period longer than four years.

Any case where extensions are granted without reference should be reported to Travel Document Section, Home Office.

Extensions may be granted at any time after the document has been in use for 12 months, and the period of the extension should be limited to that necessary to cover the holder’s requirements until his anticipated return to the UK. A document should not normally be extended for more than one year beyond the date it is due to expire, unless it has already nearly expired.

Seamen sailing in ships not calling at UK ports may be granted extensions for a year at a time, provided the conditions of (a) to (d) above are met, until the limit specified in (e) above has been reached, when the case should be referred to Travel Document Section, Home Office.

Seamen arriving at United States ports should always be in possession of documents carrying a period of validity extending at least six months beyond the expected date of departure from the United States.

If an extension is granted which would give the document a total validity from the date of issue of more than five years, a new photograph should be affixed if the existing photograph is no longer a true likeness.

If a seaman applies for the renewal of an expired document, he should be asked why he was unable to obtain its extension before expiry. If his explanation is satisfactory e.g. that he did not have sufficient time when last in the UK to obtain this, or that he has not been in a port in which there was a British representative since the document was issued, the document may be renewed if the conditions set out in (a) to (e) above are met. In all other circumstances the application should be referred to the Home Office.

Loss of Home Office travel documents
Persons who claim to have lost their travel documents issued by the Home Office should be treated as applicants for visas to be issued on Declarations of Identity. All such applications should be referred, giving details of the applicant as in the earlier paragraph on referral to the Home Office, the applicant’s address in the UK, the circumstances of the loss of the document and any available document or information which would help in identification.

Issue of Home Office travel documents abroad
On no account should applications for Home Office travel documents be accepted from persons outside the UK, unless instructions to do so have been received from the Home Office. Only in very exceptional cases, by prior arrangement, will the Home Office issue a replacement document to such a person overseas and where this is agreed, the new document will be sent to the nearest Entry Clearance Officer.

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