Right of Abode Certificate in Expired Passport - the truth??

Hi all,

I have two previous and now expired Malaysian passports, both with the ROA entitlement certificate in them issued by my local British High Comission. My current passport does not have the certificate in it.

Years ago, getting a new cert for a new passport was pretty cheap and easy, but nowadays they are making a killing by charging the equivalent of an extortionate £300 per transfer.

In the past, I have always been able to show up at UK immigration, present my previous passport with my COE-to-ROA, even though it is expired and the certificate clearly states that it is valid only as long as the passport that contains it, but they have always let me in on this basis without any fuss. I have done this about three times at Heathrow and Manchester airports over the last five years or so.

I need to travel to the UK again in a couple of weeks, and since it has been a while since my last trip, I was wondering whether this practice was still in place.

Does anyone know for certain what the current guidelines are?

Of course I could always enter on my Malaysian passport as a tourist (I'm only there to visit for a couple of weeks), but I'd like to avoid the long queues at immigration...

Thanks!

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... /ecg/roa1/
A certificate of entitlement (whether issued before or after 21 december 2006) will otherwise cease to have effect on the expiry of the passport or travel document to which is affixed.

Thanks.

I was always aware of this technicality, but in practice, the immigration officers ignore it and recognise expired certificates as sufficient evidence.

I am just wondering whether this common practice is still in use (I understand I cannot rely on it, but if it is still in common use, then I can reasonably expect it).

As previously stated, a certificate of entitlement is only valid for the duration of the passport. But the first section of the same linked document states that the right of abode is something a person either has or does not have, and the right can only be taken away in very limited circumstances. A certificate is just that, a document certifying that a right exists, and because its validity has lapsed doesn't mean the right has lapsed.
There was a thread on here some time back about an Australian who had lost his job in the UK because his passport with CoE had expired and his employer had been told by a UKBA "helpline"(!) that he was no longer entitled to work in the UK - quite outrageous.
So the OP has the right of abode, but he is no different from a Brit Cit seeking to travel with an expired passport. He may still be lucky and be admitted as a Brit, but the odds against this have probably increased in recent years. There is one small quotation from IDI's in this document which may assist him:-
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... schapter1/
"The fact that a passport is out of date does not in itself render it invalid as evidence of nationality and identity...."

A fortiori he could try and argue that the IO should be prepared to accept that he has the right of abode, but of course he might be subjected to a considerable wait whilst they check up that it hasn't been revoked.

He has little to lose by presenting himself at the EU passport control and seeing what happens. Alternatively, he could apply for a British passport, which is also an extortionate price but not as much as £300.

It does seem a bit strange that a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode should expire with an expired passport, unlike an ILR. In the old days, this didn't matter much because an initial application costs £20 and transferring it to a new passport was free.

Mr Rusty wrote: Alternatively, he could apply for a British passport, which is also an extortionate price but not as much as £300.

Some people with the right of abode may not be British citizens.

vinny wrote:It does seem a bit strange that a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode should expire with an expired passport, unlike an ILR. In the old days, this didn't matter much because an initial application costs £20 and transferring it to a new passport was free.

Unfortunately the C of E was in the past subjected to much abuse. A certain breed of dual nationals were quite happy to travel on their British passport, having sold their other passport containing a C of E, or vice versa. A C of E with validity independent of the document in which it is endorsed could be subject to similar nefarious practices.

I suspect the Powers that Be don't like the Certificate of Entitlement very much any more, which may be the reason for the draconian charge. A few years down the line when everyone has taken the same line as the OP and preferred to do without, they can then say there is no demand for it and it is withdrawn. Thus as in so many other matters the innocent suffer because of the guilty.

Unfortunately,

vinny wrote:Some people with the right of abode may not be British citizens.

If you are not British, then you should first register.

Thank you Vinny, and also for merging the threads.

It would appear that I quality for registration, and subsequently citizenship, however the rules are a bit of a minefield.

Based purely on the synopsis of my situation above (because there really is nothing more to it than that), would you tend to agree that I quality for registration for citizenship by descent?

Thanks again!

If your mother was born in the United Kingdom, then you would normally be eligible for registration as a British citizen under UKM, subject to good character etc.

Have you looked at the Home Office/UKBA website?

However, if you register as a British citizen you (as far as I know) will normally lose your Malaysian citizenship. If you are intending to remain in Malaysia, this may well be a problem. Speak further with a Malaysian lawyer.

Assuming your mother is U.K. born then your Right of Abode is based on being a Commonwealth country citizen (Malaysian, in this case) born before 1983. The ROA stamp is evidence of Right of Abode, not right of abode itself.

However, ROA can be removed in exceptional cases (like national security). More commonly, you could lose ROA if you ceased to be a Commonwealth country citizen. For example, if you moved to the United States and became a U.S. citizen, and lost Malaysian citizenship, your ROA would be lost at the same time.