Immigration Corner | How to correct a UK citizenship certificate

Dear Mr Bassie,

I have recently noticed an error on my United Kingdom citizenship certificate. Please let me know how I can have this corrected.

DD

Dear DD,

It is possible to replace or correct a United Kingdom (UK) citizenship certificate.

Persons must pay a fee to order a replacement registration or naturalisation certificate or to correct mistakes on a certificate. Please be aware that how a person orders a certificate depends on when that person becomes a citizen.

Persons who became a citizen after September 30, 1986, and needed to replace a lost or damaged certificate should note that it costs £400 to replace a lost or damaged certificate.

Persons should go online and fill in the form. Applicants will usually be able to keep their documents while the application is being processed. Please be aware that persons can get help with completing the online form if they do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device and/or they do not have Internet access. However, this service is only available when applying from within the United Kingdom.

Those persons who live in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or a British overseas territory will have to apply in person or by post instead. It is advisable to check what is permissible with the governor’s office. Persons who live elsewhere can apply in other ways. It is important to note that a report to the police must be made if the certificate has been stolen.

To correct mistakes on a certificate, persons must first download and complete an application for a correction of a registration or naturalisation certificate. After completion, they should send the form and the original certificate to:

Department 201

UKVI

The Capital

New Hall Place

Liverpool

L3 9PP

Persons will need to pay a £400 fee if the mistake on the certificate was the fault of the applicant. UKVI will send a letter advising whether the fee needs to be paid.

Please be aware that those persons who became citizens on or before September 30, 1986, can search the National Archives and order a certified copy for a:

• Registration certificate issued between January 1, 1949, and September 30, 1986;

• Naturalisation certificate issued between January 1, 1844, and September 30, 1986

Please note that a person cannot get a replacement certificate from United Kingdom Visitors and Immigration (UKVI) if he/she became a British citizen before October 1986. Those persons can contact UKVI for help.

All the best.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, the past global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com