Water damaged passport photo page & more issues!

[thomas24]

Hi,

I'm currently outside the UK on a 4 month business trip flying back to UK from Australia 3rd Feb. Now I'm in a dilemma, I've got a Uk ancestry visa, I've booked my Life in UK test on my current passport (which is now water damaged on the passport photo page), the visa is fine and not damaged at all. I'm also booking a PEO same day appointment too, and now I'm confused on what to do. The image of my face is slightly discoloured, so I'm worried I'd be turned away at border other than that the passport is fine. My questions are this)

1) Is it okay to get a replacement passport, travel with both and apply for ILR same day peo with my new passport and my one with my UK ancestry in it?
2) Will I have any issue re-entering the UK with both passports? One with the visa and the other a renewed one?

Since having done this today, I will need to apply for an emergency passport tomorrow as I am due to be leaving back very soon.

This won't have any impact on my ILR will it? All the stamps are in tact and there's very minimal smudging on certain pages.

[meb4ne1]

You should get a new passport as it can be deemed invalid. I just travelled back in the UK a couple of months ago with two passports, one expired with Visa and one new valid one. It is perfectly fine as long as you keep both the passport with you and present them together to the officer.

Where an applicant's passport expires during the validity of a multi-entry visa, the visa (or leave) may be transferred to the new passport at their request. Applicants may be advised that any visa (or leave) endorsed in the expired passport remains valid so applicants can, if they wish, keep their expired passport with the new passport and therefore do not need to request any transfer.

Source: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... ecb/ecb17/

[thomas24]

When filling in for a PEO which I need to pay today or tomorrow it'll cost £1470 (or round that). Now can I use my current passport number with my UK ancestry or does it have to be the new passport number (which I don't even have yet!). Surely it shouldn't matter using my current passport as it has my uk ancestry and all my stamps right?

[meb4ne1]

If you take both passports (new and current damaged) one to PEO, I do not see a problem with that. But I'd wait for a guru to answer that as they know much better.

You will need to apply for a new passport because UKBA and airlines have very strict rules about travelling on damaged passports, specially damage on photo page:

We will charge a carrier if a passenger arrives in the United Kingdom:

with a mutilated document (this means, for example, the document is damaged so badly that it affects security features or the ability to see the photograph of the document holder);

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/busin ... ocharging/