Giving DNA evidence to the Home Office

There are several reasons why you may be required to give DNA evidence to the Home Office. You may need to undertake a DNA test to prove a biological relationship to support a passport application. You may want to apply for immigration, or apply for a visa so that a child can settle with you in the UK.

In all these cases, DNA testing is required because it is the most scientific and accurate way to prove that two or more individuals are biologically related. For example, if a child is born abroad to a parent or parents who are citizens of the UK, a Home Office approved DNA test needs to confirm maternity and/or paternity to allow the child to be granted a visa and UK citizenship.

The UK government has issued new guidance on how to get a DNA test, which includes using a testing laboratory that has:

• ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation
• follows the Home Office ‘collection process’ – this means you need an independent witness to take your sample, such as someone from the testing laboratory.

The advice is to check that the testing laboratory meets these requirements. If it does not, your evidence may be rejected and you’ll need to pay to retake the test.

When providing your DNA sample, the witness will need to confirm your identity. You must:

• show them photo ID, for example a passport or driving licence
• give them a passport-style photo

Children under 16 can provide a birth certificate if they do not have photo ID.

Accredited and legally-sound DNA testing

AlphaBiolabs has ISO 17025 accreditation and is on the government-accredited list of testing laboratories. In addition, we have a UK network of sample collectors that can collect a DNA sample from an address of your choice or at one of our 11 nationwide Walk in Centres. The sample collector follows strict guidelines to maintain chain of custody conditions to ensure validity of the DNA test and avoid any suspicion of fraud. Under these strict collection conditions, there is no chance of the sample being interfered with and the results are therefore admissible in a UK court.

A wide range of legal DNA testing services is available from AlphaBiolabs to determine family relationships, including paternity tests, maternity tests, sibling tests, grandparent tests, aunt and uncle tests, and Y chromosome tests. All can be used for passport applications and immigration cases, and results are provided with an unprecedented turnaround time of next day results.

More information about giving DNA evidence to the Home Office

Our accredited Ministry of Justice-approved DNA testing laboratory has its UK immigration DNA test accepted by the Home Office, Her Majesty’s Passport Office, UK Visas and Immigration, the UK Border Agency and UK courts. If you require a DNA test for yourself, a relative or a client please call AlphaBiolabs on 0333 600 1300 for a quote.