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Welcome to our comprehensive guide on applying for your first British passport from within the UK. Acquiring British citizenship marks a significant milestone, but obtaining your passport.
United Kingdom Immigration
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on applying for your first British passport from within the UK. Acquiring British citizenship marks a significant milestone, but obtaining your passport solidifies your status as a citizen of the United Kingdom. In this article we'll walk you through each essential step of the British passport application process, from understanding eligibility criteria to gathering required documents, confirming your identity, and managing processing times and fees, we'll ensure that you have all the necessary information to navigate the British passport application process with confidence.
We have discussed in our previous post here the steps after the British Citizenship application has been granted. There are different ways to acquire British Citizenship and these can be by Naturalisation, Registration or Automatic Acquisition.
Before you can apply for a British passport, you must have British nationality. The Home Office lists the types of British nationality as:
You must be aged 16 or over (or will be 16 in 3 weeks) and never have had a UK passport before.
We have previously provided an Update on British Citizenship for Children of EEA Nationals and also looked at How to Register for British Citizenship With Another British Nationality.
If you meet the eligibility requirements for a British passports, you will be eligible to apply for a British passport. However, there may be circumstances where your application could be refused or your existing passport could be retained.
It is therefore important to check your eligibility and the relevant information required prior to applying for a British passport.
There are different ways to apply for a British passport from within the UK. You can select to use an online application form, use a paper application form and send your passport application by post or attend at your local post office to use their Check and Send Service.
There is a different procedure if you are applying for a British passport from overseas.
Depending on your circumstances (such as when and where you were born), you may be asked to provide the details of your parents, for example, their immigration status. If you were born outside the UK and have naturalised or registered as a British citizen, you will be asked to include your Certificate of Naturalisation or Registration as well as your passport used to come to the UK.
You must send original documents as photocopies will not be accepted. Any documents not in English will need to be accompanied by a certified translation.
If you hold a passport from another country, the name and gender must match the name and gender you want on your British passport. If it is different, you must change the details on your non-British passport before you apply for your British passport.
When applying online, you can provide digital photographs and the person who will be confirming your identity will receive an email from HM Passport Office to confirm your identity online.
For paper applications, you will need to provide 2 identical printed passport photos and one of the photographs will need to be certified by the countersignatory.
If you have changed your name by marriage or civil partnership, you will also need to provide your marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.
The Home Office published processing time for a British passport application submitted from within the UK is 3 weeks from the date the application documents are received. It may take longer if more information is needed. If you are over 16 years old or likely to become 16 before the passport can be issued, an interview is expected so that your identity can be confirmed. An adult British passport will be valid for 10 years.
If you need to obtain a passport urgently, you can select:
The application fee for an adult standard 34 page passport is £88.50 for an online application and £100 for a paper application. If you decide to use the Post Office Check and Send Service, there is an additional fee for this service.
If you select an online application, only a debit or credit card will be accepted. If you wish to use other payment methods, you can select to apply by post or use the Post Office Passport Check and Send service.
When applying for a passport for a child, you will need to provide the details of both parents. The adult must have parental responsibility for the child to apply for the passport. If you are unable to provide the other parent's details, you will need to explain why.
If your child is over 16 or will be 16 in 3 weeks and has never had a British passport, your child should apply for a first adult British passport.
For a child passport, the application fee is £57.50 for an online application and £69 for a paper application. A child passport will be valid for 5 years.
If there is a court order or parental responsibility order in place, these must be included in the application.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
