Retrieving Passports: Home Office Returns

If you have submitted your UK visa or settlement application to the Home Office, you will likely have to provide supporting documentation, such as your passport. After a decision has been made on your application, the Home Office will return your documents to you. However, if you need your documents back urgently, you may be able to ask for them to be returned. The process depends on whether you applied from inside or outside the UK, and the type of application you have made. In some cases, asking for your documents back may mean you need to cancel your application. You will have three months to collect your passport or travel document once you've been told it's ready. If you don't collect your passport within the given timeframe, it will be returned to the issuing authority.

Asking for your passport back from the Home Office

When you submit a UK visa or settlement application to the Home Office, you will likely need to provide supporting documents such as your passport. After a decision has been made on your application, the Home Office will return your documents to you. However, if you need your documents back urgently before a decision has been made, you may be able to ask for them to be returned.

How you do this depends on whether you submitted your application from inside or outside the UK, and the type of application you have made. In some cases, asking for your documents back may mean you need to cancel your application. You will be told if you have to do this when you make the request.

If you applied outside the UK:

Contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to request your documents back. You will not receive a refund if your application has already been processed. You will then have three months to collect your passport or travel document once you have been notified that it is ready for collection. If you do not collect your passport within the given timeframe, it will be returned to the issuing authority.

If you applied in the UK:

You may be able to use the online return of documents form. If you are eligible to use the form, you will usually receive your documents back within 10 working days. However, you cannot use the online form if:

• You no longer have permission to stay in the UK.
• Your application to stay in the UK has been refused or rejected.
• You want to cancel your application to extend your stay in the UK because you now plan to leave.
• You have applied for asylum.

If your application has been refused and you do not have permission to stay in the UK, you can contact the Voluntary Returns Service if you want to leave voluntarily or if you cannot use the online form. You will receive your documents back at the airport.

Applying from inside or outside the UK

Applying from Inside the UK

If you applied for your passport from inside the UK, you might be able to use the online return of documents form. However, you cannot use the online form if:

• You no longer have permission to stay in the UK.
• You want to cancel your application to extend your stay in the UK because you now plan to leave.
• Your application to stay in the UK has been refused or rejected.
• You’ve applied for asylum.

If you’re eligible, you’ll usually get your documents back within 10 working days.

Applying from Outside the UK

If you applied for your passport from outside the UK, contact UK Visas and Immigration. You will not get a refund if your application has been processed. You’ll have 3 months to collect your passport or travel document once you’ve been told it’s ready. If you don’t collect your passport or travel document within 3 months, it’ll be returned to the issuing authority.

Applying for a Passport from Outside the UK

If you are a British citizen applying for a passport from outside the UK, you can use the overseas tool to find specific advice about how to renew or apply for your passport from the country you are in. It is taking longer than usual to process applications due to coronavirus (COVID-19). If you need to travel urgently, you may be able to get an emergency travel document.

To apply for a passport from outside the UK, you will need to fill in the OS application form. You will need to provide two suitable photos, the correct documents, and pay the passport fee and courier fee. You can find out how long it will take for your passport to arrive at www.gov.uk/overseas-passports.

Using the online return of documents form

If you applied for your passport in the UK, you may be able to use the online return of documents form to get your passport back from the Home Office. This form explains who can use it and how to get your documents back.

You cannot use the online form if:

• You no longer have permission to stay in the UK (your 'valid leave to enter or remain' has expired)
• You want to cancel your application to extend your stay in the UK because you now plan to leave
• Your application to stay in the UK ('leave to remain') has been refused or rejected
• You've applied for asylum

If you are eligible, you will usually get your documents back within 10 working days.

Getting a refund if your application has been processed

If your passport application has been processed, you may not be eligible for a refund. However, there are certain circumstances in which you can request a refund.

In the UK, if your application has been processed and you have received your passport, you will have three months to collect it. If you do not collect your passport within this time frame, it will be returned to the issuing authority.

In the US, if you applied for an expedited service and your passport application was not processed within 15 business days, you can request a refund of the $60 expedited service fee. You can submit your request online or by mail. However, it is important to note that not all fees are refundable, and each request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

In Canada, if your application processing time was outside their service standards, you may be eligible for a partial refund. The amount of the refund is based on how long it took to process your application beyond their service standards. For example, if your application was processed 1 to 10 business days outside of their service standards, you will be refunded 25% of the service fee. If it was processed more than 10 business days outside of their standards, you will be refunded 50% of the service fee.

Contacting the Voluntary Returns Service

If you do not have permission to stay in the UK and want to leave the country voluntarily, you can contact the Voluntary Returns Service to get your passport back.

The Voluntary Returns Service can be reached by telephone on 0300 004 0202 from Monday to Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm. You can find out about call charges on the UK government website. If you cannot apply online, you can contact the service via the same telephone number. The Home Office will then get in touch with you within three working days to confirm that they have received your application.

You may need to provide additional information to support your application. Your application may be cancelled if you do not provide this information. If your passport is being held by the Home Office, it will be returned to you at the airport when you leave the UK.

You will have three months to collect your passport once you have been told it is ready for collection. If you do not collect your passport within three months, it will be returned to the issuing authority.

Frequently asked questions