Guidance
This guidance sets out the policy on inviting applicants to volunteer relevant
evidence to establish biological family relationships, which may include DNA
evidence. It also includes guidance on how to consider any evidence provided.
For the purpose of this guidance:
• ‘official’ means:
o immigration, nationality and asylum caseworkers
o immigration and border force officers
o passport examiners
o civil registration caseworker
o ‘senior official’ means any official of at least Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
grade, or its equivalent
• ‘applicants’ means applicants, claimants and parents
• ‘paternity’ refers to establishing who is a natural father for the purposes of
determining nationality
The Home Office cannot require that DNA evidence is provided as part of an
immigration application. This is reflected in the fact that the department has no
specific statutory power to require DNA evidence. Officials can give applicants the
opportunity to provide DNA evidence as one of a range of options to prove a
relationship, but it is voluntary, and it is the applicant’s choice as to whether they
wish to provide it in further support of their application. If an applicant chooses not to
provide DNA evidence, no negative inferences can be drawn from this. In the
absence of DNA evidence, an application must be determined on the basis of the
available evidence.
This means that the general ground for refusal in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules
cannot be used in relation to DNA evidence. This is because the Rules state that the
Secretary of State can refuse an application for entry clearance, leave to enter or
variation of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom where an applicant fails
to produce, within a reasonable time, information, documents or evidence required
by the Secretary of State to establish their claim, and DNA evidence cannot be
required. Similar Rules in any other parts of the Immigration Rules (for example,
Appendix FM and Appendix Armed Forces) cannot be relied on either.
