Guidance

Right of Abode certificates: caseworker guidance

Updated 12 August 2025

Version 7.0

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about the immigration status Right of Abode (in the UK) and certificates of entitlement to the Right of Abode and how to revoke them in foreign passports or travel documents.

About: Right of Abode certificates

This guidance tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff about Right of Abode in the UK and how this contributes to claims to British nationality.

It also includes:

• information about certificates of entitlement to Right of Abode which can be added to foreign passports if the holder is entitled to Right of Abode in the UK

• how and when examiners need to revoke these certificates when they are no longer valid

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 then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

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

• version 7.0

• published for Home Office staff on 6 May 2025

Changes from last version of this guidance

This guidance has been updated to tell examiners:

• they must contact United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) when they have revoked a Certificate of Entitlement

• what a certificate of entitlement to Right of Abode is, and important information about the certificate when examining applications

• they must check if a customer still has ROA before refusing any application if the ROA certificate was issued before 2006

• a Right of Abode certificate must only be revoked when all other actions have been completed on an application

• they do not need to revoke a Right of Abode (ROA) certificate, issued after 21 December 2006, attached to a passport or travel document that has already expired

• they must check the timeline immediately before completing an application, to make sure a ROA certificate is revoked (if required)

Right of Abode in the UK

This section tells HM Passport Office staff what Right of Abode in the UK is and who will hold it

Right of Abode is an immigration status that allows the person with Right of Abode (ROA) to live and work in the UK free from any immigration restrictions.

The law covering the right of abode in the UK is contained in the:

• Immigration Act 1971

• British Nationality Act 1981

• Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002

See British citizenship guidance and Knowledge base for more information.

All British citizens have ROA in the UK. Right of Abode can also be held by some British subjects and Commonwealth citizens who had ROA before 1 January 1983 (unless they ceased to be a Commonwealth citizen at any time).

A Commonwealth citizen who held ROA before 1 January 1983 in accordance with the Immigration Act 1971 can apply for British citizenship under section 2 of the British Nationality Act 1981. Their ROA certificate of entitlement will show which section of the British Nationality Act 1981 they qualify for, but this document must not be used as evidence of British nationality when determining a nationality claim.

Born in the UK to parents with Right of Abode

A child born on or after 1 January 1983 in the UK will have a claim under section 1(1)(a) of the British Nationality Act 1981, if their parent was a British citizen under section 2 of the same Act.

A child born on or after 1 January 1983 in the UK to a Commonwealth citizen or British subject (who held ROA at the time of birth), would have a claim to British citizenship under section 1(1)(b) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

You, the examiner, must follow British citizenship guidance.

Born outside the UK to parents with Right of Abode

A child born outside the UK to someone who holds ROA in the UK will not have an automatic claim to British citizenship. Their claim to British citizenship will be dependent on their parents’ status.

If their parent was a British citizen (otherwise than by descent) at the time of their birth they will be entitled to British citizenship by descent under:

• section 2 of the British Nationality Act 1981 or,

• section 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (by registration with UKVI)

If their parent was a British citizen by descent or a Commonwealth citizen the child would not have a claim to British Citizenship.

Right of Abode certificates

This section tells His Majesty’s Passport Office staff what certificates of entitlement to Right of Abode are, how to revoke a certificate and how to tell United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) so they can update their records.

Certificates of entitlement to Right of Abode are issued by United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI). They are added to foreign passports held by some Commonwealth citizens to show the holder can live and work in the UK free from any immigration restrictions.

As the holder of a certificate of entitlement to Right of Abode (ROA) is free from immigration control in the UK their passports will not be stamped at the UK border.

Information on the features of certificates of entitlement to Right of Abode can be found in the UK Knowledge Base.

Validity of Right of Abode certificates

Certificates of entitlement to Right of Abode (ROA) are no longer valid if:

• they were issued before 21 December 2006 (the holder may still hold ROA even though the certificate has expired and you must check with UKVI before refusing any application)

• the passport or travel document it is attached to has expired

• the holder has a British passport that shows they have ROA in the UK (for example, a British citizen or British subject with a ROA passport)

The certificate can be revoked by any Home Office official, including HM Passport Office staff, immigration officers, consular officers, or entry clearance officers.

When to revoke a Right of Abode certificate

You must revoke the certificate of ROA if you issue the customer with a British passport showing they have ROA in the UK. For example, they will have ROA if they are issued with a British citizen or British subject with Right of Abode passport.

If the certificate was issued:

• on or after 21 December 2006 the certificate must be revoked in any passport or travel document. You do not have to revoke a certificate issued after 21 December 2006 if the passport or travel document it is attached to, has already expired

• before 21 December 2006 it will no longer be valid and does not need to be revoked

If a customer’s passport or travel document has either been cancelled (for example for early renewal) or expired, you do not need to revoke the certificate of entitlement.

DAP: how to revoke a Right of Abode certificate

You, the examiner, must check the customer’s foreign passport or travel document for a ROA certificate if you issue a British citizen or British subject with ROA passport.

Revoking a ROA certificate must be the last action taken on an application after all DAP tasks have been completed and the application is ready to be passed for issue.

You must check the timeline immediately before you are ready to complete the application, to make sure the revoking of the ROA certificate (if required) has been done.

To revoke a certificate of entitlement to ROA, if you are processing an application on DAP (Digital Application Processing), you must:

1. Complete all tasks on DAP, but do not Submit the application.

2. In the DAP born abroad task, add a case note in the free text box:

‘Cert of entitlement to ROA (number) on page (number) in ppt no xxxxxxx/xx revoked on the issue of British [insert ‘citizen’ or ‘subject’ here] passport’

3. Use the Item validation and Request revalidation option to ask the DHU (Document Handling Unit) to revoke the certificate of entitlement to ROA (see: DHU: how to ask for document revalidation). You must check the timeline and validation notes before you ask to revoke the certificate, to check this has not already been done.

4. Add a case note in the free text box:

‘For DHU – please cancel the Certificate of Entitlement of ROA on page XX of passport XXXXXXXXX’

5. Put the application on hold while you wait for the DHU to revoke the certificate. The Embedded Civil Servant team (ECST) in the DHU will revoke the certificate by writing the word ‘REVOKED’ in black ink across the face of the certificate, diagonally from bottom left to top right.

6. Tell UKVI you have revoked the ROA certificate.

7. Complete the application in line with current guidance when the DHU have completed the revalidation task and revoked the certificate.

8. Return the foreign passport to the customer (with their other supporting documents) when you complete the application.

How to tell UKVI you have revoked a Right of Abode certificate

When you revoke a certificate of entitlement to ROA you, the examiner, must tell UKVI so they can update their records.

You must email UKVI and tell them:

• you have revoked a Right of Abode certificate

• the customer’s:

  • surname and forename(s)

  • date of birth

  • nationality