British Citizenship vs ILR

Hi all,

Hope you are well, and wondering if somebody could advice me on the below with their thoughts.

My wife was given ILR back in 2020. So, I believe he is eligible for BC. But, we are having second thoughts about applying as it would be relinquishing passport from native country.

so wondering what are advantages of going for BC vs remaining on ILR.

In terms of max period that could be spent outside UK how does each of the above statuses differ?

I know unless you are a BC, there is no consular support abroad, any other drawbacks?

thanks in advance for your kind advice and info.

ILR
-lapses automatically after any continuous absence of two years
-can be cancelled by the Immigration Officer at the air/seaport if there are repeated long absences from the UK. You are expected to be resident in the UK for the ILR to be "indefinite".
-children born abroad are not British citizens and will only have the status of the less-privileged parent (so they will also have ILR or equivalent if both parents have ILR). That ILR can also be lost if there are long absences from the UK.
-passport free access for British citizens does not apply to ILR holders.

Otherwise, there are comparatively few advantages for British citizenship. A Commonwealth citizen with ILR can vote in the UK, be elected to the Commons or be appointed to the Lords. The advantage of EU citizenship attached to British citizenship earlier no longer exists.

thanks Simon, very insightful. I understand the differences, except this

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 10, 2022 9:21 pm

ILR:
-passport free access for British citizens does not apply to ILR holders.

could you expand on this please, can British Citizens travel without passport?

British citizens, without a British passport, may have a CoE-RoA in a foreign passport.

n8net wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 12:04 am

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 10, 2022 9:21 pm

ILR:
-passport free access for British citizens does not apply to ILR holders.

could you expand on this please, can British Citizens travel without passport?

I apologise. I meant to say visa-free travel, not passport-free travel.

thanks..did not know you can have right to abode on a foreign passport - good to know.

n8net wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 17, 2022 4:50 pm

thanks..did not know you can have right to abode on a foreign passport - good to know.

If you are a British citizen you can apply for a CoE, Certificate of Entitlement, £350 fee and you need to renew this at the same fee when you renew your foreign passport. And if you do apply for British passport (around £80-90) you can't then get the CoE also.

Hello - having the same dilemma. My native country doesn't allow dual citizenships.

My question: if I was to be naturalised but apply to Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode (instead of a British passport), does this count has having two citizenships?

I'm thinking about moving abroad for work so potentially need to be out of UK for more than two years, which means I will have to apply for a BC so that I can come back to the UK, but wondered if I can naturalise, have a CoE and keep my native passport.

Thanks!

bubu100562 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm

My question: if I was to be naturalised but apply to Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode (instead of a British passport), does this count has having two citizenships?

Yes it does! If you naturalise, you effectively become a British citizen, that means you acquire British nationality. Passport or not. Actually, even without the Right of Abode, you are already a British citizen. You'll be a British citizen right after receiving your British citizenship certificate after your ceremony.

You are making the same mistake as many people here, and mixing up the two together. But it's not the passport that makes you a British citizen!!! Many British citizens don't have a British passport. Read this post.

n8net wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:35 pm

so wondering what are advantages of going for BC vs remaining on ILR.

For me, the main thing is that British Citizenship allows you to vote in general elections (which you can't do with ILR if your current nationality is not from the Commonwealth).

I understand British Citizenship and British Passport is not the same thing. But question is why somebody would do naturalising (becoming British Citizen), but not apply for British passport?

Only reason I could think of it, not willing to lose their previous passport, but how would country of origin (CoO) know you have a British passport now?

technically, as long as your passport from Co0 is valid you can use both passports? or is it against the law?

also, is CoE and Right to Abode same thing or there is subtle difference there too ?

thanks

n8net wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 12:23 am

I understand British Citizenship and British Passport is not the same thing.

Yet, you are mixing things up, read below.

But question is why somebody would do naturalising (becoming British Citizen), but not apply for British passport?

If you never ever intend to travel outside of the UK, then you don't need a UK passport. Believe it or not, many British citizens can't afford to travel abroad. (But yes, if you naturalise it means you have another CoO, and chances are you are traveling in and out, so it is uncommon to not forapply for one. But you don't have to).

Only reason I could think of it, not willing to lose their previous passport, but how would country of origin (CoO) know you have a British passport now?

This is where you are mixing things up. You don't have to cancel your CoO's passport only because you now have a British one. You can have two (or more) passports from two (or more) different countries. I believe there are countries that do put some restrictions on this, but the UK is not one of them. So, unless your CoO does specifically prevent you from having two valid passports (one from them, one from the UK), then you care allowed to keep both.

n8net wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 12:23 am

how would country of origin (CoO) know you have a British passport now?

At the very simplest, if you travel to and from your CoO, you would need to show your British passport when leaving the country to come back to the UK. That would flag up if the CoO has an exit immigration process.

Alternatively, you would likely have to file the details of your British passport with the airlines when flying to and from your CoO. That information may be shared with the authorities of both the CoO (if you are flying from there) and the UK.

And the Home Office has a working knowledge of the nationality laws of some other countries and works closely with diplomatic authorities from other countries. See for example this thread of the former Indian passport of a naturalised British citizen being returned to the Indian High Commission directly, not to its original holder.

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:06 am

n8net wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 12:23 am

how would country of origin (CoO) know you have a British passport now?

At the very simplest, if you travel to and from your CoO, you would need to show your British passport when leaving the country to come back to the UK. That would flag up if the CoO has an exit immigration process.

Alternatively, you would likely have to file the details of your British passport with the airlines when flying to and from your CoO. That information may be shared with the authorities of both the CoO (if you are flying from there) and the UK.

And the Home Office has a working knowledge of the nationality laws of some other countries and works closely with diplomatic authorities from other countries. See for example this thread of the former Indian passport of a naturalised British citizen being returned to the Indian High Commission directly, not to its original holder.

Hi secret.simon, do I understand correctly that if I try to exit my CoO on my CoO passport (rather than my British Passport) to come back to the UK, it would flag on my CoO system that I have a dual citizenship, and should have a British Passport?

I'm currently waiting for my decision, so it won't be for a good couple of months until I can even apply for my British passport, but I have some business travels coming up, so depending on what my timeline ends up being, I might need to hold off on applying for my British passport, and travel to/from the UK using my EU passport + Naturalisation Certificate - I know it's not ideal, but I've heard it's not a major issue if your CoO is a visa-free country. Just wondering if I'd need to explain my situation on my CoO side as well.

tiknird1 wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:12 am

Just wondering if I'd need to explain my situation on my CoO side as well.

Best course of action is to ask the consulate of your EU country in the UK if you need to do anything.

thanks a lot for the answers...

looks like one could at least once use CoO passport while having a British passport without breaking laws..

The thing is, if the CoO has a dual citizenship, might take a dim view of people using two passports..

n8net wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:47 pm

The thing is, if the CoO has a dual citizenship, might take a dim view of people using two passports..

Where do you get that from?

It is my understanding that many countries require you to use their passport to enter their territory if you have their nationality.

If the UK and the US enforce this rule (I'm not sure they do, but there are certainly countries that do), for example, you should use a UK passport to enter the UK if you are British and a US passport to enter the US if you are American. So if you are dual UK/US national on a roundtrip from London to NY, you have no choice but to have both passports with you and use them accordingly.

More concretely, say you are originally from a visa required country that enforces that rule, and you have dual British nationality, also you have no practical choice but to always travel with both passports between your two countries of nationality (right of abode is an alternative, albeit not a practical one, since you don't enjoy all the travel benefits of a British passport when traveling to other territories where you might also be visa required with your original passport).

Countries know this, I don't think they would take a dim view of people having more than one passport.

When in doubt, ask your consulate. They're the actual official source of advise in these situations.

i was just thinking why then the point of dual citizenship if people can use two passports..

So, lets say country X has dual citizenship scheme and applying for it costs a lot of time and money. and national from country X requires visa to enter UK.

so when such national visits the country X, they would give their country X passport and get it stamped of arrival.
when they then try to leave country X and head for UK, they would use British passport which will not have the arrival stamp..

doesn't it create problems? am I missing something here?

Traveller exits country X with country X passport.
At UK border you use your British passport.
Quite common now with EU/UK dual citizens.

n8net wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 08, 2022 10:31 am

i was just thinking why then the point of dual citizenship if people can use two passports..

So, lets say country X has dual citizenship scheme and applying for it costs a lot of time and money. and national from country X requires visa to enter UK.

so when such national visits the country X, they would give their country X passport and get it stamped of arrival.
when they then try to leave country X and head for UK, they would use British passport which will not have the arrival stamp..

doesn't it create problems? am I missing something here?

Why would that create problems?
As far as I know, all a country cares about is to be able to track ins and outs from their own territory. What people do overseas, or what countries they visit during their absence from the country territory is none of their business.

if country X has an expensive dual citizenship program, they will surely take a dim view of those using dual passports instead? or am I missing something here?

n8net wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:53 pm

if country X has an expensive dual citizenship program, they will surely take a dim view of those using dual passports instead? or am I missing something here?

There is no view through any dim lens whether expensive and convoluted process or not, that's just your thoughts. Compliance with the laws including immigration process and not doing anything prejudicial to their sovereignty is what's of concern to country X.

n8net wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:53 pm

if country X has an expensive dual citizenship program, they will surely take a dim view of those using dual passports instead? or am I missing something here?

If that was the case, then it would simply not allow dual nationality. Not sure why you are insisting on seeing issues where none exist.

A country can only grant it's own citizenship - there's no dual citizenship programme anywhere, AFAIK.
Either country allows dual or not, that's not really to do with financial considerations.
I don't see any issue - overthinking.