Travel Document Project

If you are appeal rights exhausted, the UK Border Agency will expect you to leave the United Kingdom.  Depending on your nationality, you will normally need to have a passport or some other travel document to be able to leave the UK and enter your country of origin.  If you do not have a valid passport the UK Border Agency will expect you to provide them with information about your identity to help them obtain travel documents for you.

If you want to obtain travel documents to leave the UK there are steps you can take - such as writing letters - to try to obtain them from your Embassy or High Commission in the UK.

Taking these steps will help you prove to the UK Border Agency that you are co-operating with their attempts to get your travel documents so that you can be removed from the UK.  If you have no legal advisor you can take these simple steps yourself.  If you have a solicitor they should advise you as to what steps they or you may need to take.

The purpose of writing letters to your embassy or high commission in the UK is to try to make progress in your immigration case.  

Copies of all letters that you send to your embassy or high commission asking about your travel documents should be sent to the UKBA.

Copies of all letters that you send to your embassy or high commission asking about your travel documents should be sent to the Tribunal when you next apply for bail. 

The aim of this approach is to show that you are co-operating, which serves as evidence that you will not abscond if released from detention.  That combined with any further delay in obtaining a travel document  may help in obtaining an assessment in the future as to whether your detention has become unlawful. 

PRACTICAL TIPS

1. KEEP A RECORD OF ALL PHONE CALLS WITH YOUR EMBASSY OR HIGH COMMISSION

Every time you have a telephone conversation with someone from your Embassy or High Commission you should write down on paper what you talked about, the questions that were asked and the answers that were given. 

Try to get the name and job of the person you spoke to and write that down too, and put the day of the week, the date and the time as well.  You should ask for their name at the start of the conversation.

If the telephone conversation does not go well or the embassy official is rude to you, then you should keep calm, try not to get angry, and write down as much as you can remember of what was said afterwards.  This is important, because UKBA may try to say that you have not cooperated with your embassy if your discussions with them do not finish properly.

You will then have a record of discussions that will help you to remember what was said, and which can be used as evidence in court.

2. KEEP ALL NOTES YOU SEND TO AND RECEIVE FROM YOUR CASEOWNER ABOUT TRAVEL DOCUMENTS 

Every time you send a request to your UKBA caseowner to ask what is happening about your travel documents, make sure that you keep all your notes and their written responses.  If they don't respond to one of your requests you should make a note of that somewhere.

You will then have a record of your requests for information and help with your travel documents.  This will help you to remember what was said, and which can be used as evidence in court.

3. GET PROOF OF POSTING WHEN SENDING LETTERS AND FAXES 

If you write letters to a family member or someone else in your home country or another country to try to obtain information about your identity you should:

Keep a copy of the letter you sent

Try to get ‘proof of posting' from the Post Office so that you can prove to UKBA or the court that you have written the letter and are taking steps to obtain your travel documents.  If you have a visitor from the visitors' group at your removal centre you could ask them if they will help you with this.

Keep the envelopes of all letters that are sent to you, especially letters or documents from abroad, as this may prove date of posting.

TEMPLATE LETTERS THAT YOU CAN USE TO GET INFORMATION

You can download the following letters from the right hand side column of this page. When you have printed them off you can fill in your personal details by hand.

If you know how to use Microsoft Word, then once you have downloaded any of the letters, you can change some of the details by taking out words or adding words in. 

Don't forget to take a photocopy of the letters before you send them, and keep the photocopy with all your documents.

If you send the letters by fax, try to get the confirmation slip from the fax machine.  You may need to go back to the office where it was sent from later on.

Letter to your Embassy or High Commission in the UK asking for an interview with a consular official to establish your identity and get a new passport or travel document - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

Reminder letter to your Embassy or High Commission in the UK to say tht you have written to ask for an interview with a consular official to establish your identity, but you have had no response - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

Letter to your Embassy or High Commission asking for a progress report on your passport application once you have had an interview with a consular official - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

You can send this letter once you have had your interview and you are waiting for a response.  You can send this letter many times if you wait for a long time after your interview but the embassy does not tell you what is happening with your passport application. 

Letter to your Embassy or High Commission asking them to confirm that they are unable to recognise you as a national or to issue you with a passport - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

If your embassy or high commission is unable or unwilling to confirm your nationality or issue identity or travel documents after they have made enquiries and interviewed you, you should write a letter asking them to confirm this to you in writing.   You should send this letter to your embassy or high commission on at least two separate occasions, and keep copies of these letters.  The purpose of trying to obtain such a letter is to get evidence that you have been refused a passport from your national authority.  

A letter to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area where your detention centre is located, asking him or her to help you confirm your identity and nationality, and obtain travel documents - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

To find the contact details for the Member of Parliament (MP) who represents the local area where your immigration removal centre is located refer to the MP contact list document - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

An application to the Red Cross for help to trace your relatives in your home country via the Red Cross International Tracing service

Your relatives may be able to provide evidence of your identity in your country of origin, which they can send to you in the UK or give to the British Embassy or High Commission in your home country.  

The Red Cross say "to find your missing relatives, we need as much information as possible. We will help you fill out a form and send this information to the Red Cross or Red Crescent National Society in the country you think your relative is in, or to the International Committee of the Red Cross who will try to find your family. Our ability to trace people depends on the information you can provide and local circumstances, including the security situation in the relevant country.

If you or someone you know is held in an immigration removal centre and want to use the services, please contact your local Red Cross office".

A form for you to fill in information about yourself, your family, and your life in your country of origin that might be required by UKBA in order to confirm your identity and nationality, and then get your travel documents.  This is called a Biodata Form - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

Address, telephone and fax numbers for your embassy or high commission in the UK

You can find contact details on The London Diplomatic List , maintained by the UK government Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) lists all Embassies and High Commissions with addresses, names of all senior staff, telephone and fax numbers, plus email and website addresses  - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN

A list produced by UK Border Agency that shows what evidence you need in order to prove your identity to your embassy or high commission in the UK. along with an estimate of how long it might take to get a travel document with this evidence  - DOWNLOAD FROM RIGHT HAND SIDE COLUMN