Typically, to be eligible for a Certificate of Travel, applicants must have been formally and unreasonably refused a passport by their own authorities.

British Certificate of Travel contain on their inside cover the following words in English:[7] The holder is authorised to return to the United Kingdom without a visa within the validity of this document.Since the validity of British Certificate of Travel will be identical to the length of stay permitted (their 'leave to remain'), this remark is placed in lieu of the British visa which guarantees the immigration officers at the third country that the document holder will be allowed to travel back to UK and wouldn't become stranded once admitted.

[8] British Certificate of Travel issued by HM Passport Office include the following data on the information page: The items are identified by text in English and French (e.g., "Date of birth/Date de naissance").

British Certificate of Travel is issued with printed endorsements on the Official Observations page, in upper case (capital letters).

They form part of the passport when it is issued, as distinct from immigration stamps subsequently entered in the visa pages.