What Documents Do You Need for a UK Passport?
Once you become an adult, you don’t automatically receive a passport. Instead, you’ll need to successfully apply for one, which will require you to provide a range of supporting documents.
Contact Manchester Immigration Lawyers at 0161 826 9783 for help applying for your passport and compiling documentation. You may also visit us online to learn about our immigration services.
Essential Documents for a UK Passport Application
When making a UK passport application, you will always need to provide the following, regardless of your circumstances:
- A completed application. Fill in the form truthfully and in its entirety.
- Passport-style photographs. They must be taken in the last month and be against a plain background. You must also remove your glasses, have a neutral expression, and not have hair covering your face.
- Any passport you currently have. Further proof of identity, such as a driver’s licence, may also be needed.
- Payment of the application fee.
The sections below cover the specific documents you need to provide based on your circumstances:
Page Content
- Essential Documents for a UK Passport Application
- Documents for UK-Born or Adopted Individuals
- Documents for Individuals Born Outside the UK
- Getting your First Adult Passport
- Application Cost for your First Adult Passport
- Reasons to get a British Passport
- Required Documents to Renew UK Passport
- How Can Manchester Immigration Lawyers Help?
- FAQs
Documents for UK-Born or Adopted Individuals
If you were born or adopted in the UK, the documents that you will need to provide depend on when you were born or adopted. If you were born before 1 January 1983, you will only need to provide your birth certificate or adoption certificate. This must confirm that the UK was the country of your birth or adoption.
A birth or adoption certificate is also needed if you were born on or after 1 January 1983. However, you will also need to provide your mother’s or father’s full birth certificate, their Home Office certificate of naturalisation or registration, one of their British passport that was valid when you were born, or one of their British passport numbers.
If your parents were not British citizens at the time of their birth, provide evidence of their immigration status. This could include a copy of one of their passport.
Documents for Individuals Born Outside the UK
Overview
The documentation that you need to provide if you were born outside the UK will vary greatly depending on your circumstances, and will often be more complex.
The relevant circumstances are if you are a naturalised or registered British citizen, are a citizen of a British overseas territory who was born before 1 January 1983, have a British father and were born before 1 January 1983, or if you were born on or after 1 January 1983. The documentation required in each instance is detailed below:
Individuals Born or Adopted in the UK
You will be able to get a UK passport if you are a naturalised British citizen. In this case, you will need to provide your certificate of naturalisation or registration. Your naturalisation certificate is issued after you have attended your citizenship ceremony. It will be dated from the day that you officially became a British citizen. If this document has been lost or stolen, you must pay for a re-issue, which will cost £456. Alternatively, children born to non-British parents but with specific and direct connections to the UK, such as through a British overseas territory, will have a registration certificate.
British Overseas Territory Citizens
Citizens of a British overseas territory who were born before 1 January 1983 can also get a British passport. You will need to provide your birth certificate and your current passport. You will also need to provide the passport that you used to come into the UK. In some circumstances, a foreign passport that includes you will also be suitable.
Individuals with a British Father
Having a British father could make you eligible for a UK passport. You will need to provide a full birth certificate showing both of your parents’ details. Your parents’ marriage certificate will also be essential, along with your father’s birth certificate.
The final piece of required documentation will be the passport that you used to come to the UK. Alternatively, you can show a foreign passport that you are included on.
Individuals Born On or After 1 January 1983
The final circumstance that could allow you to get a British passport is if you were born on or after 1 January 1983 and at least one of your parents is a British national. The documents you need include the following:
- Your full birth certificate.
- The passport you used to come to the UK.
- A foreign passport you are included on.
- Proof that one of your parents has British nationality. You may show their UK birth or adoption certificate, or their naturalisation or registration certificate.
Further documents are needed if you will be showing that your father was a British citizen. You will need to provide his marriage certificate showing the date he married your mother.
Getting your First Adult Passport
Overview
Not everyone living in Britain can apply for a British passport. You will need to be a British national who is aged 16 or within three weeks of their 16th birthday. You will also need to have never had an adult UK passport before. If you have had a UK passport, you will need to go through the renewal process.
It is not essential to get an adult passport as soon as you turn 16 or 18. You may continue using your valid child passport until it expires. A standard adult passport has a validity period of ten years.
A standard passport application will take three weeks. However, processing can take longer if the Home Office has a backlog, you are a complex case, or you make errors during the application.
There are three types of adult passport applications: online, postal (paper form), and applications from overseas. The first two types are explored in the sub-sections below, with the overseas application process depending on where you are:
Online
Apply online through the UK Government website. You will need to upload a passport-style photograph of yourself, along with your supporting documents.
Once your application is submitted, you will need to ask somebody to confirm your identity. HM Passport Office will send you an email to explain how you can do this, with the entire process being done online.
Finally, you’ll be told what supporting documents you need to provide and how to send them. You may also be asked to attend an interview.
Postal
If you don’t want to submit an online application, you will need to obtain a paper form. You can obtain the form from your local Post Office if it offers the Passport Check and Send service or through the Passport AdviceLine.
Once you receive the application form, fill in sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9. You will then need someone to confirm your identity by filling in section 10. They will also need to sign and date one of the passport-style photographs that you provide alongside the application.
The final stage of your postal application will be to post your completed application form, photographs, and supporting documents. Either use the pre-printed envelope that comes with the application or take everything to the Post Office. You will also need to pay the application fee. The booklet that comes with your application form will explain how this is done.
As with an online application, you may also be asked to attend a passport application interview.
Application Cost for your First Adult Passport
Before the Home Office processes your passport application, you will need to pay the application fee in full. The exact fee you pay will depend on your circumstances, how you apply, and the size of the passport that you need.
The standard fees are detailed below:
- Adult passport (online application): £102.
- Adult passport (postal application): £115.50.
- Adult 54-page frequent traveller passport (online application): £116.
- Adult 54-page frequent traveller passport (postal application): £129.50.
Adults can also pay extra for a fast-track application process. This method is ideal if you need your passport quickly. A one-day application for a standard passport costs £239.50 , while a one-week application costs £192. The cost increases to £206 for a frequent traveller passport with a one-week application time.
You will also need a fee to apply for your child’s passport application. The cost will range from £66.50 to £94 depending on how you apply and the passport size your child needs.
Reasons to get a British Passport
Not everybody who is eligible for a passport has one. For many, the application process seems not worth the effort, particularly if they do not have immediate plans to travel outside of the UK. Regardless of your plans, it is worth getting a British passport, because you can use it for the following:
- Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 180 nations. This includes countries in the European Union, the US, and Japan.
- Prove your right to live and work in the UK indefinitely without having to worry about immigration controls.
- Access consular support if there is an emergency while you are abroad.
- ID, such as to vote and prove your age. The latter is often necessary to purchase age-restricted items in the UK, including alcohol or tobacco.
There are also some benefits you can get as a British citizen without needing your passport, although, as with voting, it can be useful to have this form of personal ID available. Examples include accessing British education and healthcare, and passing your British citizenship on to your children.
Required Documents to Renew UK Passport
After you have made a successful application, you will receive your passport, which will be valid for ten years. Once this time elapses, you will lose the perks of having a passport, such as the ability to travel outside of the UK. You will need to apply for a renewal to get a new passport and another ten years of validity. You must also apply for a replacement if your passport is lost, stolen, damaged, or has inaccurate information on it, such as if your name changes.
Before you apply to renew your passport, you will need to gather the following documents:
- A passport-style photograph.
- A completed online application form, which you can get from the UK Government website.
- A credit or debit card to pay the application fee.
- Your old passport. This will need to be posted to HM Passport Office via the Post Office.
After your application has been processed, your old passport and any other supporting documents will also be mailed back to your address. You will then receive your new passport if the application was successful.
You may also renew your passport while you are abroad. The process of doing so will vary depending on your local consulate’s procedures.
How Can Manchester Immigration Lawyers Help?
With so many different types of individuals being eligible for a UK passport, it can be difficult to understand what documents you need to provide when you apply for your first adult passport. Furthermore, you will need to ensure that any documents you provide are clear and valid. They also usually need to be in English or Welsh, with foreign documentation requiring a certified translation.
These documentary requirements make a UK passport application a time-consuming and challenging process. Get help from a leading immigration adviser or lawyer, such as our team at Manchester Immigration Lawyers, to speed up your application and ensure you can successfully get a passport. We can help you to know what documents are needed for your unique circumstances before taking you through the entire application process.
If you want assistance from North England’s best immigration providers, contact us at 0161 826 9783. You can also visit us online to learn about the range of other immigration services we offer.
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FAQs
Once your application has been processed, any supporting documentation that you provided will be returned separately to your new passport. The Home Office will send them to the address that you provide in your application. Meanwhile, any personal information that you provided will be destroyed.
It is worth considering paying extra for a secure delivery option. That will allow you to track the delivery and ensure it arrives safely.
Postal applications require a suitable countersignatory to confirm your identity. The countersignatory must be the following:
- A UK or Irish citizen who is currently living in the UK.
- Be recognised as “a person of good standing in their community.”
- Not in a relationship with you.
- Not related to you by birth or marriage.
- Not be living with you.
- Not currently employed by the Home Office.
There are some rare cases through which you can get a British passport if none of the circumstances explained in this article apply to you. Read the guidance booklet provided with your application form carefully to understand how you can prove that you are eligible for a British passport and what documents you need to provide.
When applying for your first passport, you might be asked to attend an interview. This is not a sign that there are issues with your application or documents, but you must make sure to prepare for it adequately to avoid jeopardising your application.
The purpose of your passport interview is to confirm your identity and prevent fraud. It will be held with a Home Office official and take 20-30 minutes. You can attend the interview in person or virtually.
You can expect to be asked the following during the interview:
- Personal details such as your name and date of birth.
- Your address and how long you have lived there.
- Where you work.
- Information about your parents, spouse, partner, children, and other UK-based family members.
- Who your countersignatory is and how you know them.
- Your utility bill provider.
For individuals who have provided accurate information in their passport application, the interview should be straightforward.
