Do foreign passports have to be current?‎

[tramanun]

Hello everybody

I have a simple question. I hold a non-EU passport, and I have applied for a job at a ‎British university. My passport is valid for one year only, which I think will be enough ‎for the travel and initial residency procedures. The problem is that (for reasons that ‎are hard to explain here) it will be very difficult for me to renew my passport when it ‎expires a year from now. It may take a year or even more. So my question is, can a ‎foreign resident (provided of course that he/she is a legal resident) remain in the UK ‎on an expired passport, or does the foreign passport have to be current at all times ‎‎(as is the case in the US for example)?
I would appreciate your help. ‎

[Christophe]

There is as far as I know no requirement for a foreign national who is legally resident in the UK to have a current passport. What is your immigration status? Stamps in passports that have ceased to be valid generally remain valid for residence purposes - some of them (e.g. certificates of entitlement) cease to be valid for purposes of re-entry to the UK (which is a different thing).

[Dawie]

That is correct. As long you hold valid leave to remain in the UK you do not require a valid passport. Many refugees and asylum seekers are issued with valid leave to remain without official travel documents even.

In your case you would be perfectly fine with an expired passport as long as your leave is current. Of course once your passport is expired you will be unable to reenter the UK, although, according to these guidance notes issued by the Home Office, you cannot be prevented from leaving the UK with an expired passport.

[tramanun]

Thanks a lot.