Smiling woman in high-vis vest and glasses gestures at another woman at a check-in counter.

Full airport ID card application rejection

Why an application may get rejected

As an Authorised Signatory, when completing an application for a full airport ID card, the application will be rejected if it doesn't meet strict security, vetting, quality and compliance requirements.

It will only be issued if a complete, accurate, and verified application is submitted and there is a clear and genuine requirement for that individual to access secure airport areas.

Common reasons for rejection

Primary details

When completing the personal details section of the application, the details you enter must be personal details and not organisation details. They must match the details stated on the ID document(s), the Criminal Records Check such as the DBS and the Security interview details.

Things to pay extra attention to are:

Missing hyphens in double barrelled surnames
Double check how their name is shown. You must show their name on the application as it is stated on their ID document. The forename must only ever be their first name and not a combination of the first and middle name.
Their email address must be a personal email address and not an organisational one
Contact number must be a personal phone number and not an organisational one

The biggest issues are usually down to very minor mistakes being made, such as; the name spelt incorrectly and organisational details being given instead of personal details.

Address

There must be a 5 year address history submitted with the application. These addresses must match the address history details that have been submitted in the security interview document. The slightest difference means the application will be rejected.
The county must be included in the address - not including this is a common rejection reason
The country must be included in the address history, and this mustn't be abbreviated

Identity

This is one of the most common application sections that is rejected due to errors. Please make sure the details are accurate and match the documents!

All Identity details must match the ID documents(s) and the security interview document that have been submitted with the application. The slightest difference means the application will be rejected.
Ensure there's no missing signatures from ID documents submitted with the application
Check that the UK Driving licence isn't missing the last 2 digits (the issue number)
Make sure the country of nationality hasn't been listed as GB when it should be something else

Identity doccuments

This is one of the most common application sections that is rejected due to errors. Please make sure the details are accurate and match the documents!

The images uploaded of the ID documents should ideally be in colour
The images uploaded must be a good quality image
The required fields such as: First name, Surname, DOB; and valid from and to dates must be visible

The only accepted ID documents are:

British Nationals – Passport or UK Driving License
EU Nationals – Passport
Rest of the World – Passport or eVisa

Accreditation check (AC)

Its critical that the details given in the earlier sections match the details document submitted. This section is automatically populated from the information provided in previous sections.
Any data match issues will mean the match column won't indicate a ‘match’, and therefore won't validate the AC status mismatch. This is a mandatory requirement in order to move onto the next section.

Position

The job role details provided must be cross referenced with the access areas section to ensure they are appropriate and correlate
The job title entered must only be up to 30 characters long (Including spaces), any longer and your application will be rejected

Previous pass

If any previous passes held by the applicant are not disclosed and returned then the application will be rejected. This will be checked as part of the application review process.
This includes any temporary passes

Reference

This is one of the most common application sections that is rejected due to errors, please ensure the details are accurate and match the documents!

Employment history references must cover the last 5 years, this must cover the full 5 years for a new application
For a re-issue/renewalthe employment history references must cover back to the last pass issuance.
References must include employment, education and cover any gaps exceeding 28 days
Application references not matching the references provided in the uploaded documents section
Employment gaps not being clearly explained, it needs to include:
- Visibility– The interaction needs to state how often did you see them? It must be at least once every 28 days
- How– Interaction must be face to face
- Why– Interaction needs to state a reason for the meeting
Employment gaps not covered with a reference from a suitable referee
Incorrect reference dates, references missing, reference dates not matching
HMRC dates not matching the dates on the application

Employment

Employment references not on company headed paper
An email without a clearly stated company signature, showing the name, position and contact details of the reference
An email address that is not an obvious valid business email address
Employment dates not having a start and end date and not being in the format of DD/MM/YYYY
HMRC Personal Tax Account document missing the start and end dates and not including the HMRC security interview

Self employment

No letter from their accountant with a signature or full email trail
No SA302 Self Employment Personal statement
If there is missing information or incomplete information and MAG are not satisfied, then additional information will requested, i.e. bank statements etc
It is best to also include a gap reference if any of this information is missing or incomplete to ensure the application is not rejected

Education

No School/ University headed paper with a signature
No pro-forma with School/University stamp
No HEDD provided
No valid School/University email (with a full email trail)

Unemployment

There needs to be clear evidence of benefits for example:

DWP statements need to be provided for the entire period
With universal credit evidence, the statements can be used for the Start and End dates, and the in-between periods can be covered by just the breakdown of payments
With JSA evidence it needs to cover the whole period
For unemployment (without benefits), there needs to be evidence provided to show the individuals source of income, or how they supported themselves and a gap reference for the entire period
Gap reference fully completed documenting what the applicant has been doing, how often the referee has been in contact etc. If there is more than one date being covered on the application, all dates should be accounted for separately.

Criminal records

If the certificate has not been cross referenced with the details provided in this section and the primary details section, to ensure all details are correct and match the applicant
If all pages of the CRC document has not been uploaded to the application
If the name, DOB and place of birth does not match the CRC document
If the certificate has not been issued within 10 weeks of the date of the submission of the application
If the receipt of Certificate is provided and not the actual copy of certificate is provided
If an overseas record cannot be verified online or does not match the online version details or paper copy if supplied