How to obtain emergency douments for travel
Dear Mr Bassie,
I AM presently unable to use my British passport to travel back. Would you please advise under what circumstances I could obtain an emergency document for travel.
NN
Dear NN,
It is possible under certain circumstances to travel urgently from abroad without a United Kingdom (UK) passport.
An emergency travel document allows persons to travel from abroad if they need to travel urgently and cannot use their UK passport. It is usually only valid for one single or return journey. Please note that persons will be able to use it to travel through a maximum of five countries.
Please be aware that persons can apply for an emergency travel document if all the following apply:
• They are a British national;
• They are outside the UK;
• They need to travel within six weeks;
• Their UK passport has been lost, stolen, damaged, is full, has recently expired or is with HM Passport Office or a foreign embassy;
• They cannot renew or replace their UK passport from abroad before travel; and
• They have had a valid UK passport in the last 10 years.
Persons who have not had a UK passport before or have had one that expired more than 10 years ago, will usually need to apply for a UK passport instead of an emergency travel document.
Those persons might be able to get an emergency travel document if all the following apply:
• They have, or are eligible for, British nationality;
• They are outside the UK;
• They need to travel within six weeks; and
• They have an urgent and unplanned reason to travel due to exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional circumstances may include, if:
• Their child was born unexpectedly;
• They need urgent medical treatment that they cannot access without travel to another country; or
• They wish to attend the funeral of a close relative.
If persons have never held a UK passport, or not held one in the previous 10 years, they cannot get emergency travel documents for activities such as holidays, weddings, family events and job interviews.
Persons will have to explain and also provide evidence to show why their journey is urgent and essential. It is important to note that all applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
I hope this helps.
John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com