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Guidance

Treaty rights: caseworker guidance

Tells HM Passport Office staff how to deal with a passport application for a customer whose claim is through a European Economic Area national who exercised Treaty rights.

Updates to this page

From:
HM Passport Office
Published:
7 February 2012
Last updated:
5 August 2026
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  1. We have updated this guidance in the following sections: Who are direct family members, to make it clear the reference to being aged 21 relates to the direct descendant, not the EU national; and Student: customer born on, or after 30 April 2006 and Student: customer born on, or before 30 September 2004, to include a link to the Students and self-declaration section.

  2. Updated the section Before you process a first time Treaty rights passport application.

  3. The guidance has been updated to version 23.0 to explain that we must send system letter 683 for customers born on or after 1 July 2021.

  4. Guidance updated to include another example of when a child born after 1 July 2021 can have a claim using Treaty rights; and how to deal with applications where the customer is born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 but the EEA national was a worker or self-employed person who had ceased activity. Also removed instructions that told examiners to manually create system letter 591 if the application is on Digital Application Processing.

  5. This guidance has been updated to remove references to applications being on hold for customers born before 30 September 2004.

  6. Guidance updated throughout to include dates for exercising Treaty rights in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man.

  7. Version 16.0 uploaded of guidance which includes a new section on Comprehensive sickness insurance: refunds and compensation requests and updates to About: Treaty rights passport applications section as HM Passport Office has suspended first time applications for people born in the UK to EEA parents between January 1983 and October 2000 whilst the Home Office assesses a recently identified legal issue.

  8. Updated guidance published.

  9. Updated guidance.

  10. Updated guidance throughout.

  11. First published.

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Treaty rights (accessible)

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This guidance tells HM Passport Office staff how to deal with a passport application for a customer whose claim is through a European Economic Area national who exercised Treaty rights.

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