Do I have to register with the police?

Dear Mr Bassie

I have been living in the United Kingdom for the last few months and I have interviewed for a job that I am hopeful I may get. My spouse tells me that I will have to register with the police if I am successful.

Please, let me know if I will have to report to the police.

Thanks for your advice.

Regards,

- C.H.

Dear C.H.,

Thank you for your question. The information that you have supplied me with does not speak to your immigration status or your nationality. However, you have inferred that you are married. In light of this information, I will answer your query.

Usually, you will normally be required to register with the police in the area where you live if you are a citizen of a country on the list at Annex A to Chapter 10 of the United Kingdom Immigration Directorate Instructions (IDI), if you are over 16 years of age and if you have been given permission to stay in the United Kingdom for more than six months.

In addition, you may need to register if you are stateless or if you hold a particular type of passport.

I am not sure what job you have applied for but there are certain categories of people that, if they have been given temporary permission to go to the United Kingdom, will not need to register with the police. These include those who are employed as seasonal agricultural workers, private servants in a diplomatic household, minister of religion, missionary or member of a religious order, or if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a person settled in the United Kingdom. Also, if you are a person exercising access rights to a child that is resident in the United Kingdom or as a parent of a child at school in the United Kingdom.

You will not have to register with the police if you have been given a grant of asylum.

Also, you will not need to register if you live permanently in the United Kingdom or you are a family member of a citizen of the European Economic Area; or you have citizenship or nationality of more than one country, and unless all of those countries are listed countries in Annex A referred to above.

If you do need to register with the police, then the visa in your passport will clearly indicate this. In addition, you will need to register at a specified police station within seven days of the requirement being made. However, if you live in the area of London that is covered by the Metroplitan Police, then you must register at:

Overseas Visitors Registration Office

Brandon House

180 Borough High Street

London

I hope that this helps.

Yours truly,

John S. Bassie

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-Law, who practises law in Jamaica. He is a Supreme Court-appointed mediator and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com