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Hi guys,

I have been on an ILR for a year and am about to apply for naturalisation end-April. I however intend to study in the US starting October, '13 for a period of 2 years, which would require me to apply for a US visa soon as well.

Given the 6 month waiting time, I cannot wait for the British passport to apply for a US visa. I have the following questions:

1. Can I apply on my current passport and apply for a British citizenship in parallel?
2. If #1 above is possible, I will need to then transfer my US visa to my British passport once I receive it, as my country does not allow dual citizenship.

Please can anyone help - I am needing to study and the BC is important as well

jonkil wrote:Hi guys,

I have been on an ILR for a year and am about to apply for naturalisation end-April. I however intend to study in the US starting October, '13 for a period of 2 years, which would require me to apply for a US visa soon as well.

Given the 6 month waiting time, I cannot wait for the British passport to apply for a US visa. I have the following questions:

1. Can I apply on my current passport and apply for a British citizenship in parallel?
2. If #1 above is possible, I will need to then transfer my US visa to my British passport once I receive it, as my country does not allow dual citizenship.

Please can anyone help - I am needing to study and the BC is important as well

If you travel to the US on your ILR and stay on that for 2 years in the US you risk losing your ILR on return.

This probably isn't what you want to hear but you should read the section of the naturalisation application re: your future intentions once you are naturalised. There maybe a requirement that you intend to live or be substantially connected to the UK. Possibly going to the US for an extended period to study would disqualify you?

If I were you I would secure my BC first and later make a move for studies. Put it simply securing a BC is a 5 yr long process with so many restrictions regarding time away etc. Best advice is to secure BC first, get you British Passport and make a move after that. As your current nationality dont allow dual nationality so your Student visa on your current passport would stand invalid as soon as you would get BC. Study can always be deferred -- most US schools have two intakes in a year, if you miss your fall intake, you can always target summer....shouldnt be an issue.

rlpkamath wrote:This probably isn't what you want to hear but you should read the section of the naturalisation application re: your future intentions once you are naturalised. There maybe a requirement that you intend to live or be substantially connected to the UK. Possibly going to the US for an extended period to study would disqualify you?

No, that is incorrect. Once you are naturalised it doesn't matter where you go. However, it does matter when on ILR especially if you eave the UK for 2 or more years.

D4109125 wrote:

rlpkamath wrote:This probably isn't what you want to hear but you should read the section of the naturalisation application re: your future intentions once you are naturalised. There maybe a requirement that you intend to live or be substantially connected to the UK. Possibly going to the US for an extended period to study would disqualify you?

No, that is incorrect. Once you are naturalised it doesn't matter where you go. However, it does matter when on ILR especially if you eave the UK for 2 or more years.

I think the key word in rlpkamath's mesg was 'intentions' - sure it doesn't matter where you go after you get naturalisation; but prior to applying for it you should have intention of living in UK. Anything that is contrary to that intention could negatively affect your BC.

As someone said, considering the time commitment for getting BC it's best to get that sorted first rather than jeopardise your ILR by being away for two years or more (note short trips back to UK do not reset the time away counter).

niteshj wrote:

D4109125 wrote:

rlpkamath wrote:This probably isn't what you want to hear but you should read the section of the naturalisation application re: your future intentions once you are naturalised. There maybe a requirement that you intend to live or be substantially connected to the UK. Possibly going to the US for an extended period to study would disqualify you?

No, that is incorrect. Once you are naturalised it doesn't matter where you go. However, it does matter when on ILR especially if you eave the UK for 2 or more years.

I think the key word in rlpkamath's mesg was 'intentions' - sure it doesn't matter where you go after you get naturalisation; but prior to applying for it you should have intention of living in UK. Anything that is contrary to that intention could negatively affect your BC.

As someone said, considering the time commitment for getting BC it's best to get that sorted first rather than jeopardise your ILR by being away for two years or more (note short trips back to UK do not reset the time away counter).

Yes, but the user should have said prior to naturalisation, it's impossible to tell someone's future intention, they can always change. See http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary to see what history the caseworker will consider.