** COVID-19 Update - registration services are currently suspended **
This will not affect your immigration status and no penalty will be given for missed or late registrations, or for being unable to tell us about a change in your circumstances during these unprecedented times. If you do need to register or report a change please email ovro@bedfordshire.pnn.police.uk as the online system is currently unavailable.
Please note
If you don’t register with the police when you're required to do so, that is an offence under Section 26(1) (f) of the Immigration Act 1971 (opens in new window). You could be fined up to £5,000 and/or put in prison for six months.
Your current or any further application for stay in the UK could also be affected.
At peak times, appointments may get booked up very quickly. As long as you complete the online form and make an appointment within seven days of arriving in the UK, it is acceptable to attend your appointment some time after that. This will satisfy the condition to register with the police, even if the appointment is longer than seven days in the future.
Do I need to register with the police?
If you are required to register, it should be written on your entry-visa vignette in your passport or on the Home Office letter/email if you were not required to register on entry into the UK. Without this, we cannot register you.
You’ll need to register with us if you’re 16 or older, and are from one of these countries, stateless or travelling on a non-national document (i.e. a travel document):
Countries that need to register
| Afghanistan |
Cuba |
Libya |
Syria |
| Algeria |
Egypt |
Moldova |
Tajikistan |
| Argentina |
Georgia |
Morocco |
Tunisia |
| Armenia |
Iran |
North Korea |
Turkey |
| Azerbaijan |
Iraq |
Oman |
Turkmenistan |
| Bahrain |
Israel |
Palestine |
UAE |
| Belarus |
Jordan |
Peru |
Ukraine |
| Bolivia |
Kazakhstan |
Qatar |
Uzbekistan |
| Brazil |
Kuwait |
Russia |
Yemen |
| China* |
Kyrgyzstan |
Saudi Arabia |
|
| Colombia |
Lebanon |
Sudan |
|
*Note: A person who holds a passport issued by the Special Administrative Region of either Hong Kong or Macao is classed as a Chinese national and needs to register.
Some 30-day visas require you to register with the police. Please refer to the vignette in your passport for instructions.
If this is the case it will be written on the visa. It may say:
- ‘Pol Reg’ or
- ‘Police Registration’ or
- ‘Register with Police in seven days of UK entry’
Please check to be sure.
If you are already registered but have moved to another area
If you go to live in another area in the UK you must report to the local police station in the new location within seven days of arriving. You must take with you:
- your police registration certificate
- your passport
- your BRP card
- evidence of your new school or university or place of work
- your address details
There is no charge, and you will continue to use the same certificate as long as you have not left the UK for one year or more.
Who doesn't need to register with the police?
If you have dual nationality with one country in the list above and one country that is not, you don’t need to register with the police.
Likewise, you don’t need to register if you have permission to live permanently in the UK, are the family member of an EEA citizen, or are visiting on a temporary visa as one of the following:
- an agricultural worker
- a private servant in a diplomatic household
- a minister of religion, a missionary or a member of a religious order
- the partner of a person settled in the UK
- a person with access rights to a child resident in the UK
- the parent of a child at school
- an accepted asylum seeker
If any of the above apply to you and you’ve been given a requirement to register with the police, this may be a mistake. You can contact the Home Office (opens in a new window) to ask about the requirement it gave you.
What is a police registration certificate?
A police registration certificate (PRC) is a document that proves you’ve complied with the requirement of your visa. We’ll issue one to you at the end of your registration process.
Please keep it in a safe place with your passport, BRP and travel documents.
You may be asked to produce your certificate by any police officer or immigration officer.