Guidance

British overseas citizens: caseworker guidance

Tells HM Passport Office staff how to deal with passport applications from customers who hold British overseas citizenship.

• From: HM Passport Office
• Published: 13 September 2021
• Last updated: 24 March 2026 — See all updates

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British overseas citizens (accessible)

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British overseas citizens

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Details

This guidance tells HM Passport Office staff how to deal with passport applications for customers holding British overseas citizen (BOC) status.

Only examiners with the correct level of training must deal with BOC cases.

Published 13 September 2021

Last updated 24 March 2026 + show all updates

1. 24 March 2026

   Updated the guidance to remove reference to Application Management System (AMS) and to tell examiners when they must deal with a British overseas citizen case as a first time application.

2. 13 June 2025

   Guidance updated - a full list of changes is in the 'changes from the last version of this guidance' section.

3. 7 November 2022

   Updated the First BOC passport: customer is in the UK section and references to the sovereign.

4. 23 September 2022

   Accessible version added.

5. 13 September 2021

   First published.