CONFITENTIAL
PART III
C. Validity of United Kingdom Entry Certificates
18.1. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1968 makes no provision
for the issue of entry certificates; this is an administrative
measure designed to assist a Commonwealth citizen (including a Colonial belonger) who wishes to ascertain in advance whether
he is eligible for admission to the U.K. on a temporary basis.
An entry certificate endorsed in a passport indicates to the
immigration officer at the United Kingdom port that the entry
certificate officer has examined the holder's application and
has been satisfied that he is eligible for admission to the
U.K. The entry certificate system is therefore intended to
help the control at the ports of entry in this country to run
smoothly but an entry certificate does not guarantee the holder
admission to the United Kingdom. He may be refused admission
on certain statutory grounds of health, criminal record or
security, etc.
11., An entry certificate is normally given a validity of
six months from the date of issue, during which time the holder
may make unlimited journeys to the U.K. and be admitted on a
temporary basis, provided he remains eligible for admission
under section 2(2) of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 196.
Furthermore, in the light of representations received from
various quarters, the Home Office have been considering this
question and have recently decided that the validity of entry
certificates may be increased to twelve months in certain specific categories, i.e. for "Visitor (B) (i.e. business
visitors) and "Official" endorsements.
CONFIDENTIAL
This concession is
/incorporated..........