Home Office (HO) Document

A Home Office (HO) document refers to any paperwork issued or endorsed by the UK Home Office. This government department is responsible for immigration, security, and law enforcement matters. 

Documents issued by the Home Office include: 

• Settlement letter
• Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) and Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
• Residency permit
• Certificate of Naturalisation
• Immigration-related correspondence 

Notarising your HO documents gives them credibility and validity, which is often required when they bear relevance in matters overseas.

Notarised Home Office documents may be required for international travel, visa and residency applications, or legal proceedings abroad. Notarisation ensures compliance with legal requirements so your HO documents will be accepted by foreign authorities or organisations.

Tell us about your needs and we’ll navigate the complexities of UK immigration document legalisation.

Many international authorities will request a Home Office Document with an apostille, which is a standardised form of legalisation recognised in contracting parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, including the UK.

You may need to have your document verified before the apostille application. We can help you with the entire process.

The steps required for notarisation and legalisation will depend on how your document was issued:

• An original Home Office (HO) document signed by an official of the issuing authority

This can be apostilled directly and notarisation isn’t required.  

We can still notarise it if wanted – either the original itself by verifying it with the Home Office, or by notarising a photocopy as a true copy.

• An original Home Office (HO) document not signed by an official of the issuing authority

This must be notarised first before it can be apostilled.

We will need to verify its authenticity with the Home Office or can notarise a copy as a true copy.

• A printout of your electronic Home Office (HO) document produced from the original PDF or other electronic document

This must be notarised. It can then be apostilled.  

We will need to verify where you logged in to download it from to complete the notarisation.

We can e-notarise a copy of a Home Office (HO) document.  We will sign our notarial certificate with a Qualified electronic signature so that the document can be e-apostilled afterwards.

Please note that an e-apostille is only available as a PDF file, and you should always check with the ultimate recipient of the document as to whether they will accept an e-apostille document.

1. Reach Out to Us: Contact our team via email, phone or our contact-us form.  Let us know about your document, the recipient country and the service you need.
2. Quote: We will provide an accurate quote and explain the next steps.  
3. Instructing us: We will ask you to complete our Client Registration Form, and email us two forms of ID.  If an appointment is required, we will book one in.   
4. Notarisation (if required) We will verify the Home Office document and affix a notarial certificate.  
5. Apostille (if required): If you need an apostille, we can obtain one in one to five days, depending on the service you choose.
6. Document return: We will return the document to you as soon as the notarisation is complete.

Contact us today on 020 7630 1777 or fill in the form below to get your Home Office (HO) document notarised and ensure a smooth immigration or residency process.