Certificate of entitlement to the right of abode meaning

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Business, investment and non-sponsored work Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Preventing illegal working Citizenship applications Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar and Immigration White Paper Our Immigration calendar highlights the principal forthcoming changes of interest to business immigration advisers. In addition, our Practice Note: Immigration White Paper 2025—summary, tracker and resources offers a refreshed, wide-angled overview of activity around the May 2025 White Paper, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’, including the ‘Earned settlement’ plans. It sets out the headline reforms for business immigration practitioners, comments on their potential effects, and continuously monitors progress on delivery. You will also find links to supporting materials. UK immigration control: how it works House of Commons Library publishes research briefing on history of asylum appeals in the UK The House of Commons Library has released a...

In this issue: Key developments UK immigration control: how it works Students EU law rights and EU Settlement Scheme Challenging immigration decisions and enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Latest Q&As Key developments Future developments—Immigration calendar Note that our Immigration calendar highlights key upcoming changes of interest to business immigration advisers. UK immigration control: how it works Home Office clarifies guidance on ETA rules for dual citizens On 29 May 2025 the Home Office released guidance explaining how the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme applies to people who hold dual nationality of the UK/Ireland and of countries whose citizens need an ETA to visit the UK (where they do not otherwise possess a UK visa). The guidance confirms that such individuals are not eligible to obtain an ETA. Instead, they must evidence their right to travel to the UK by presenting a valid British or Irish passport, or...

The right of abode—status The right of abode in the UK is an immigration status. It lets a person reside here and to enter and depart the UK freely, save for steps needed to confirm the right or any other lawfully imposed limits. Such limits may include: being required to present a passport when seeking entry to the UK refusal of entry if unable to produce a relevant UK passport refusal of entry if unable to show a certificate of entitlement on arrival being made subject to a temporary exclusion order, whether or not a permit to return has been issued Someone with the right of abode is not subject to immigration control in the UK. Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 grants this right to all British citizens. Certain Commonwealth citizens who possessed the right of abode in the UK before 1983 retain it on and after that date, provided they have not ceased to be Commonwealth...

Naturalisation Naturalisation is the leading route by which adults obtain British citizenship. It allows those who do not meet the criteria for automatic registration, but who have resided in the UK for defined periods, to apply to become British citizens. Anyone naturalised becomes a British citizen otherwise than by descent. The legal basis for applications is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981). Section 6 and Schedule 1 of the BNA 1981 prescribe a set of conditions, some mandatory and others capable of being disregarded at the discretion of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD). The requirements vary for an applicant who: is married to, or in a civil partnership with, a British citizen; or serves in Crown service overseas, or is married to a British citizen in such service. Unlike registration, naturalisation is not an automatic entitlement. The decision to grant a certificate of naturalisation rests with the SSHD and is exercised on a...

This Practice Note is no longer updated This guidance concerns the position that applied before simplified Immigration Rules and procedures were brought in, culminating at the end of the Brexit transition period. It sets out and illustrates the various immigration stamps and vignettes (stickers) placed in non-EEA nationals' passports, and highlights frequent issues associated with them. It also provides practical examples to help with identification and understanding of these endorsements. Since the completion of the rollout of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Short Stay Permits (SSPs) across all categories of entry clearance and leave to remain (see Practice Note: Biometric Immigration Documents), the only passport endorsements given to non-EEA nationals by UK immigration authorities that actually confer leave to enter or remain are the leave to enter stamps an Immigration Officer may issue at a port of entry. No other passport endorsement confers leave in its own right. By contrast, rectangular landing stamps applied on arrival merely record entry during the validity of a person's existing leave. A...

I am pleased to enclose a letter from the Home Office confirming that your application for naturalisation to British citizenship has been approved. I am also enclosing your citizenship invitation letter; please read the invitation with care. Citizenship ceremony Unless you have applied under the Windrush Scheme and do not wish to attend a citizenship ceremony, arrange your citizenship ceremony date with the local authority listed on your invitation as soon as you can. You must attend your citizenship ceremony within three months of the date of receiving your citizenship invitation. If you fail to do so, and have not agreed an extension with the Home Office, you will be required to submit a fresh application for naturalisation...