§ Mr. ColmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in which countries with which the UK maintains diplomatic relations, the Home Office Certificate of Identity is accepted as a valid travel document by the relevant authorities; [135758]
(2) if he will urgently replace, for grantees of exceptional leave to remain, the Home Office Certificate of Identity with a travel document accepted by all other EU member states. [135998]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Home Office Certificate of Identity (CID) is a travel document issued to foreign nationals, other than refugees, who are resident in the United Kingdom and cannot obtain a passport from their national authorities. This type of document is not issued under an international convention but on a discretionary basis. The CID, which guarantees the holder return to the United Kingdom, has traditionally been widely accepted for travel and, as far as I am aware, still is. However, it is for the authorities of each country to decide whether they will accept the CID as a valid form of travel document and, in this connection, I am aware that a number of European Union partners are no longer doing so. My officials are in discussion with colleagues from the European Union countries concerned in order to identify their particular concerns and, if possible, give assurances, which might encourage them to accept the CID for travel.
There are no proposals to replace the CID, which was created specifically to meet the travel needs of that category of foreign national described. The issue is one of acceptability of the document rather than replacement and it is that which we are addressing with our European partners.