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Traveling after citizen ceremony to Spain while awaiting UK passport
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 7:17 pm
by Bollito
Firstly thank you everyone for the time and knownledge you have invested in this forum.
I am originally from Spain and I am applying for british naturalization. I have ILR due to EUSS currently associated to my Spanish passport and my Spanish National ID card.
One of my relatives in Spain is not well and I don´t know if he will survive the year, so I am afraid what I would do if they call me while waiting for my first UK passport, specially now that the passport office is on strike.
Could it be possible to travel to Spain with my Spanish ID and my wife send me my UK passport, so I can cross the UK border when I return?
Thanks
Re: Traveling after citizen ceremony to Spain while awaiting UK passport
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 8:24 pm
by CR001
I am applying for british naturalization.
so I am afraid what I would do if they call me while waiting for my first UK passport, specially now that the passport office is on strike.
What exactly are you applying for? Applying for British citizen and applying for a passport are two separate processes. You need the first before you can apply for the second.
If you are applying for naturalisation as a British citizen, you are free to travel while you wait for a decision.
You can only apply for a British passport after you have been approved and attended the ceremony.
Re: Traveling after citizen ceremony to Spain while awaiting UK passport
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 8:33 pm
by RossJ
If you're already naturalised and have submitted your first passport application, then I think your suggestion would work. In the worse case, if your passport were to get lost along the way, you'd be entitled to assistance from the British Embassy in Spain since you're a UK citizen.
If you're still waiting for the outcome of your naturalisation application, then you should be able to travel on your Spanish passport with ILR visa until you attend the citizenship ceremony. The naturalisation process only completes with the ceremony, and I think you have six weeks between the application outcome and attending the ceremony.
There is also a government service you can ask:
https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line
Re: Traveling after citizen ceremony to Spain while awaiting UK passport
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 11:45 pm
by Bollito
CR001 wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 8:24 pm
I am applying for british naturalization.
so I am afraid what I would do if they call me while waiting for my first UK passport, specially now that the passport office is on strike.
What exactly are you applying for? Applying for British citizen and applying for a passport are two separate processes. You need the first before you can apply for the second.
If you are applying for naturalisation as a British citizen, you are free to travel while you wait for a decision.
You can only apply for a British passport after you have been approved and attended the ceremony.
Sorry, I was referring to the period in which I will be waiting for my first UK passport, after I send my Spanish passport and my naturalization certificate to the passport office, so I won't have any of them. Current waiting times for first passport is 20 days.
Cheers
Re: Traveling after citizen ceremony to Spain while awaiting UK passport
Posted: Wed May 10, 2023 11:46 pm
by Bollito
RossJ wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 8:33 pm
If you're already naturalised and have submitted your first passport application, then I think your suggestion would work. In the worse case, if your passport were to get lost along the way, you'd be entitled to assistance from the British Embassy in Spain since you're a UK citizen.
If you're still waiting for the outcome of your naturalisation application, then you should be able to travel on your Spanish passport with ILR visa until you attend the citizenship ceremony. The naturalisation process only completes with the ceremony, and I think you have six weeks between the application outcome and attending the ceremony.
There is also a government service you can ask:
https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line
Thanks
