To apply for a UK Home Office travel document, you complete an online application on GOV.UK, post your supporting documents to the Home Office, and wait up to 14 weeks for a decision. The document type you can apply for, the fee, and the evidence required all depend on your immigration status in the UK, so the first task is working out which document fits your situation.
Which Travel Document You Qualify For
Your permission to stay decides the document, not your preference. There are four types:
- A Convention Travel Document is for people with refugee status, issued under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
- A Stateless Person’s Travel Document is for people the UK has formally recognised as stateless under the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.
- A Certificate of Travel is for people with leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who cannot get a passport from their own country. This covers refusals by your national embassy, expired passports that cannot be renewed, and humanitarian protection cases where you have an accepted fear of your country’s authorities.
- A One-Way Travel Document is for people leaving the UK permanently who cannot obtain a national passport to do so.
Before You Start: Eligibility and Your eVisa
You must be living in the UK to apply, and you need at least six months of permission to stay remaining. If you have less than six months left, extend your leave to remain first.
Physical Biometric Residence Permits have all expired and been replaced by eVisas, which are digital records of your identity and immigration status. You need an eVisa and a linked UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to apply. The online system reads your immigration status from your eVisa and uses it to determine which travel document you can apply for.
If you still have an expired BRP and have not set up your UKVI account, do that first. You can use an expired BRP for up to 18 months after the printed expiry date to create the account and access your eVisa. Once the account is live, you can also generate a share code, a temporary code that proves your immigration status. Share codes last 90 days and can be regenerated whenever you need one; creating one requires access to the email or phone number linked to your account plus one identity document such as a passport, national identity card, or expired BRP.
What to Gather Before You Open the Form
Have everything ready before you start. The online system asks for details that are awkward to look up mid-application.
- Your eVisa and UKVI account, both mandatory.
- Any current or expired passports you hold or have held from your country of origin.
- Your Home Office grant letter confirming refugee status, humanitarian protection, or other leave to remain.
- Passport-sized photographs meeting GOV.UK standards: taken within the last month, in colour, plain light-coloured background, neutral expression with mouth closed. Digital photos must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall.
- A full address history for your time in the UK, with dates and postcodes.
Extra Evidence for a Certificate of Travel
If you are applying for a Certificate of Travel because your embassy refused you a passport, you may need to prove that refusal was unreasonable. You do not need to prove this if you have humanitarian protection with an accepted fear of your national authorities, if you would need to be physically present in your home country to apply for a passport, or if your country’s authorities simply cannot issue passports from within the UK.
A refusal is not treated as unreasonable if your application failed because you applied incorrectly, submitted insufficient evidence, have a criminal record in your home country, have outstanding military service obligations, or did not comply with your home country’s tax rules. In those situations the Home Office expects you to resolve the issue with your national authorities.
If Your Name Has Changed
If your name has changed since your immigration status was granted, through marriage, divorce, or deed poll, you need documentary evidence linking the old name to the new one. A marriage certificate or enrolled deed poll is usually enough. Update your UKVI account details before generating a share code or starting the application so your records line up throughout.
Completing the Online Application
Start at the GOV.UK travel document page and select “Start now” to reach the online form on the visas and immigration service portal. The system walks you through a series of screens rather than a single paper form, though the underlying form is still designated TD112 BRP.
Your full legal name, date of birth, and nationality must match what appears on your eVisa exactly. Discrepancies trigger enquiries and slow the case down. Enter your address history covering every place you have lived since arriving in the UK, with full postcodes and move-in and move-out dates.
The system asks you to select the type of travel document you need, though in practice your eVisa status narrows the options. You will explain why you cannot use a national passport and briefly describe your reason for travelling. Answer plainly and specifically: “visiting family in France” is more useful to the caseworker than “personal reasons.”
At the end of the form the system tells you exactly which supporting documents to send by post and where to send them. Send only what is asked for; extra documents will not be returned. Use a tracked postal service so you have proof of delivery for your originals.
Fees
Cost depends on document type and age:
- Convention Travel Document: £94.50 for adults, £61.50 for children aged 15 and under. Adults born before 1 September 1929 pay nothing.
- Certificate of Travel: £320 for adults, £161 for children aged 15 and under.
- One-Way Travel Document: £102 for adults, £66.50 for children aged 15 and under.
Payment is taken during the online application. The Certificate of Travel is more expensive because it involves additional verification with your national authorities. Check the current fee on GOV.UK before applying, as the Home Office updates its schedule periodically.
Biometrics and What Happens After You Apply
Once the Home Office has both your online application and your posted documents, processing can take up to 14 weeks. That is the maximum; straightforward cases with complete documentation are often resolved sooner.
You may be asked to attend a biometric enrolment appointment for fingerprints and a digital photograph, usually at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point. If you are in the UK with an expired BRP and have already given biometrics for a previous application, you may not need a new appointment. The Home Office will email you to say whether an appointment is required or whether you can submit a photo and documents remotely.
The decision comes by post. If approved, the travel document is delivered by secure courier. The originals you sent in, including any passports, are returned separately.
Validity and What the Document Does Not Do
How long your travel document lasts depends on your immigration status. Convention Travel Documents for refugees with settled status are typically issued for longer periods, while those with temporary refugee permission receive documents valid only for the duration of their leave. One-Way Travel Documents are valid for 12 months.
A Home Office travel document is not a passport and is not accepted everywhere. Check the entry requirements of your destination before booking. If you hold a Convention Travel Document, travelling to your country of origin can raise serious questions about whether you still need refugee protection; the Home Office may review your status if it learns you have returned to the country you claimed to fear.
Applying for a Child
A child who is not a British citizen can apply for their own travel document if they hold the same type of permission to stay as their parents and meet the eligibility rules for the relevant document. Each child needs a separate application; children cannot be added to a parent’s application or travel document. Set up the child’s eVisa and UKVI account before starting the form. Reduced fees apply for children aged 15 and under across all document types.