Home Office Convention Travel Document (CTD) after becoming a British citizen

[1stGenMEBrit]

Hello

I spent a good few hours trying to find the answer to the following two question on this forum as well as search engines however having not come to a post that addresses this matter I decided to share my findings

The two questions are:

1- What happens to a Home Office Convention Travel Document (CDT) when the holder become a British citizen?

2- what is the outcome of a national passport was retained by the HO as part of the said CTD application


The two questions are answered in one paragraph found on page 50 in the following PDF:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://as ... dA9IZHBlys

I quote:

"Returning and exchanging HOTDs and national passports

Holders of HOTDs who have become British citizens
When a person becomes a British citizen they no longer qualify for an HOTD. TDS must destroy the HOTD and, on request, must return any national passport previously kept by TDS to the holder by recorded delivery post."

I tried to find the address to which the HOTD needs to be sent back to but I only came across the following information found in the guidance notes accompanying a CTD application in section 18 page 7 found in this link:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://as ... imLXVmhkXP

I quote:
"18. Contacting us after you have applied
To contact us after you have applied, do not use the address to which you posted your application and supporting documents. Please only write using the address below:
Travel Documents Section
UK Visas and Immigration
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road Croydon
CR9 2BY
Email: traveldocumentenquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk "

I will write to the email address here confirming the address of return and will update this post once a clear answer is given

I hope someone finds this information useful. I can see that there are quite a free questions posted in the matter of CTD travel, national passport request etc. The first document highlights quite clearly the procedure

[CULLINAN]

Please update this thread if you get your home country passport returned by HO after you become a BC and return your HOTD.

Thanks

[Springie]

Hello,

I submitted my TD with my British passport application and the Home Office retained it, saying that was their policy.

I then wrote them an email requesting my old (expired) passport back stating that the reason I wanted it was access to old visas (I needed to give details of previous visas on a new third country visa application). They returned it within a couple of weeks, no problems

[CULLINAN]

Hello,

I submitted my TD with my British passport application and the Home Office retained it, saying that was their policy.

I then wrote them an email requesting my old (expired) passport back stating that the reason I wanted it was access to old visas (I needed to give details of previous visas on a new third country visa application). They returned it within a couple of weeks, no problems

Thank you for your reply. With the new system, you retain the TD till your BC application is processed. So I think the approval letter will tell what to do next.
As the OP said, I dont think you need to provide any reason for why you need the expired home country passport back. I would think, all you have to is request them to return the expired home country passport and give them the TD.

Would you please share the email address you used?

Thanks

[Springie]

Just to point out, I said PASSPORT application, not BC application. You'll need to submit your TD original then and they will keep it!

I used the Travel Document section email address to request the old passport back:
TravelDocumentEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

It worked

[CULLINAN]

Just to point out, I said PASSPORT application, not BC application. You'll need to submit your TD original then and they will keep it!

I used the Travel Document section email address to request the old passport back:
TravelDocumentEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

It worked

Thanks for the clarification got it now.

[1stGenMEBrit]

Just to point out, I said PASSPORT application, not BC application. You'll need to submit your TD original then and they will keep it!

I used the Travel Document section email address to request the old passport back:
TravelDocumentEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

It worked

Thanks for the clarification got it now.

Excellent .. glad to see further clarification on this matter.

I wonder though, would it make more sense to send back the TD, and therefore request the return of the national passport, separately and before applying for the British passport. Just to ringfence the matter and have no reason (other than becoming British) to request the national passport back?

[CULLINAN]

Just to point out, I said PASSPORT application, not BC application. You'll need to submit your TD original then and they will keep it!

I used the Travel Document section email address to request the old passport back:
TravelDocumentEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

It worked

Thanks for the clarification got it now.

Excellent .. glad to see further clarification on this matter.

I wonder though, would it make more sense to send back the TD, and therefore request the return of the national passport, separately and before applying for the British passport. Just to ringfence the matter and have no reason (other than becoming British) to request the national passport back?

I think it would not matter as long you request after becoming BC or after acquiring the BC passport. I think you have to legally send the TD back after you acquire any of the above I suppose. Thats just my perception. The guidance you posted mentioned that you have to simply request. I dont think any reason is required after you acquire BC and are requesting your national passport back and returning your TD?

[1stGenMEBrit]

Just to point out, I said PASSPORT application, not BC application. You'll need to submit your TD original then and they will keep it!

I used the Travel Document section email address to request the old passport back:
TravelDocumentEnquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

It worked

Would you kindly share the context of the communication you made through that email? Did you give them any detail of your natrulisation?

[Springie]

1stGenMEBrit, I gave them basic information of who I am (name, birth date, British passport no), basic details of the documents I was requesting (name on the passport, their numbers, country), and a postal address.

I only a short 2-sentence description of the circumstances, e.g. 'passports were retained in YEAR in the process of application' and 'now naturalised, applying for a visa and need details of previous visas'.

Hope this helps.

[Olax88]

This thread is simply amazing and sooo helpful. I just submitted my British citizenship application and hopefully waiting to get approval. I've literally been so worried if my current home office travel document is enough to apply for a British passport and how to go about getting my national passport back.

[Olax88]

May I ask how long your naturalisation applications took to process pls? Cos I saw a thread saying refugee naturalisation applications tend to take longer than usual to process and get approval. I submitted mine 15th of July last month.

[Springie]

May I ask how long your naturalisation applications took to process pls? Cos I saw a thread saying refugee naturalisation applications tend to take longer than usual to process and get approval. I submitted mine 15th of July last month.

I waited 2.5 months or thereabouts but that was just before the new UKCVAS system. It's all here in the timeline thread.

Your CTD effectively replaces a passport for the HO for the purposes of ID, travel history and proof of residence, so it's not a problem.

[Olax88]

Thanks so much! Can't wait for the journey to finally come to an end on a good note.