Right of Abode

The right of abode is the right to live in the United Kingdom free of immigration control. Someone who holds it can enter, live, work and leave the UK without needing permission to do so, and does not require a visa or electronic travel authorisation to come to the UK; there is also no limit on how long they can stay. The right is set out in section 1 of the Immigration Act 1971, which provides that all those expressed in the Act to have the right of abode shall be free to live in, and to come and go into and from, the United Kingdom without let or hindrance, subject only to what is required to establish that right.

All British citizens automatically have the right of abode. Certain Commonwealth citizens can also hold it, most commonly through a parent: a person has the right of abode if one of their parents was born in the UK and was a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies when the applicant was born or adopted, provided the applicant was a Commonwealth citizen on 31 December 1982 and has not since lost that status. A more limited route also exists for some women who were married to a man with the right of abode before 1 January 1983.

A person can prove their right of abode with a UK passport describing them as a British citizen or as a British subject with the right of abode; otherwise they need to apply for a certificate of entitlement, which is endorsed in a passport.