Applying for a British passport when the Home Office lost the passport you arrived on
If the Home Office lost the passport you entered the UK on, you can still apply for your first British passport — that lost document is not the key proof of your right to a passport. For a first adult passport, your naturalisation certificate is the document that proves your claim to British nationality, and you send that. Where the online or paper application asks for a previous or foreign passport, you explain that it is not available and that the Home Office lost it. HM Passport Office should not refuse an application simply because a supporting document cannot be sent; they can ask for other evidence or arrange an interview instead.
- For a first adult passport you must send your original naturalisation certificate as proof of your claim to British nationality.
- If you are a dual national, you'd normally send your foreign passport (or a colour copy) — if it's lost, you explain why you cannot.
- Someone must confirm your identity (a countersignatory/digital referee) who has known you for at least 2 years.
- After you apply you'll get an email saying which documents to send, and you may be asked to attend an interview.
- HM Passport Office should not automatically refuse an application when a supporting document is genuinely unavailable.
Your naturalisation certificate is the document that matters
When you became a British citizen, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) issued you a naturalisation certificate. For passport purposes, this is the document you send to prove your claim to British nationality — not the passport you travelled in on. Send the original certificate; HM Passport Office returns supporting documents separately from your new passport.
Keep that certificate safe and never send the only copy of anything by ordinary post if you can avoid it. If your naturalisation certificate itself is lost, that's a separate problem you'd need to resolve with UKVI before applying, because a passport cannot be issued without proof of citizenship.
The documents you need depend on your circumstances, so read the official list carefully and follow the instructions in the email HM Passport Office sends after you start your application.
What to do about the foreign passport you can't provide
A first-time applicant who is a dual national would normally send their foreign passport (or a colour photocopy of every page). You don't have it, because the Home Office lost it. The right approach is to be straightforward: complete the application, and where it asks for the previous or foreign passport, state clearly that it is unavailable and that it was lost by the Home Office, ideally with any reference numbers from your naturalisation application.
HM Passport Office internal guidance is that when a customer genuinely cannot send a supporting document, caseworkers should not immediately refuse or withdraw the application. Instead they may accept other evidence supporting your identity and nationality, or interview you. So the missing passport is a hurdle, not a dead end.
Never invent a passport number or guess details for a document you no longer hold. If you cannot provide the previous passport, say so honestly and explain that the Home Office lost it. Giving false information on a passport application is a criminal offence and can derail the whole application.
Getting confirmation that the Home Office lost it
There is no neatly documented public form for "the Home Office lost my passport," so the practical step is to get something in writing. You already told them during your naturalisation application — try to dig out any acknowledgement, email, or letter from that time, as well as your application reference.
If you have nothing in writing, contact UKVI to ask them to confirm in writing that the document was lost in their possession and, if possible, whether it can be returned. Use the official UKVI contact route, quote your naturalisation case details, and keep copies of everything. Any written confirmation you obtain can be attached to your passport application as supporting evidence, which strengthens your explanation for the missing passport. For the passport application itself, the Passport Adviceline can tell you how they want the missing-document situation recorded.
Expect to confirm your identity and possibly attend an interview
Every first adult passport application needs someone to confirm your identity. This countersignatory or digital referee must have known you for at least two years, must not be related to you or living at your address, and must hold a current eligible passport and be a person of good standing or in a recognised profession.
Because this is a first passport — and more so when a normal document is missing — HM Passport Office may ask you to attend an identity interview. After you apply, you'll receive an email setting out exactly which documents to send and where. Treat any interview as routine: it's part of how they verify first-time applicants, not a sign you've done something wrong.
For the wider journey and the documents involved, see our guides on getting help with a first adult British passport application and the timeline from citizenship ceremony to first passport.