British Passport Application with no foreign passport

[narendc]

Hi,
I am in a very awkward state that I have applied for Schengen Visa early this week so as to get for my wife as well. But, I am today I got naturalised and came to know that I have to return my BRP card which makes me to apply British Passport imminent for my holiday planned next month Easter. In order to apply the British Passport, I do not have my Indian passport at hand as it was sent out to Italian Consulate to process my Schengen Visa along with my wife. Can I now apply British Passport without my Indian Passport? Please advise.

Cheers

[CR001]

You need your Indian passport.

[narendc]

Thanks CR001.

But, the welcome letters provided with the British Citizenship ceremony does not state this as a requirement to apply?

[cs95tdg]

This requirement to submit all uncanceled passports when applying for your British passport is mentioned on the passport application form & guidance.

[secret.simon]

But, the welcome letters provided with the British Citizenship ceremony does not state this as a requirement to apply?

As a British citizen, there is no requirement for you to apply for a British passport. Many British citizens do not have a British passport (or indeed, any passport). That is why information on passport application is not a part of the citizenship ceremony.

See page 5 of the passport application guidance for more details.

Also, be aware that the new British passport will be issued in the same name as the other foreign passports. See Names policy.

[narendc]

Okay, I have already seen the British Passport application form and agree that it asks for foreign passport to support with the application form. But, in the welcome pack it clearly does not mention about the foreign passport requirement to apply for the British Passport. I think this is probably an oversight by them.

Cheers,

[CR001]

You are grasping at straws.

The Council put the welcome pack together not HO or HMPO. What it says is a summary and not definitive of what the requirements are.

The majority of us have been through the process and have complied with the requirements to avoid delays.

[secret.simon]

Mind the gap.

There is a gap between your understanding of the process and how the Home Office sees it and runs it.

To you, immigration -> ILR -> naturalisation -> British passport (and likely surrender of Indian passport/OCI) is one journey.

To the Home Office, your immigration journey terminates at ILR. Naturalisation is an optional step beyond that that is governed by different laws and different rules. People have lived 15-20 years and in some cases all the rest of their lives on ILR without ever applying for naturalisation. For the Home Office, and from the viewpoint of the law, naturalisation is an unrelated and optional action. It may need ILR to occur, but having ILR does not require naturalisation.

Similarly, with getting a passport, many British citizens do not have a passport. There is no compulsion to have it. It is also an unrelated and optional step. That is why the welcome pack would point you to how to apply for a passport, but not give all the information. If you need further information, you can get it all online.

Surrendering the BRP is different altogether. Your naturalisation invalidates your ILR. The BRP contains your biometric data, which must, by a yet different law, be destroyed. Because this follows automatically from naturalisation (i.e. the action is caused by naturalisation), it is a part of the naturalisation ceremony.

Personally, I think they could enliven the citizenship ceremony by carrying out the destruction of the BRP as a part of the ceremony. To get the certificate, you must surrender your BRP at the ceremony, which is then ceremoniously shredded as a part of the ceremony. Like baptism, you start your life anew.

Never mind working for the Home Office, I want to be Home Secretary!!!

[Casa]

@secret.simon You have my vote

[ScopeD]

Personally, I think they could enliven the citizenship ceremony by carrying out the destruction of the BRP as a part of the ceremony. To get the certificate, you must surrender your BRP at the ceremony, which is then ceremoniously shredded as a part of the ceremony. Like baptism, you start your life anew.

Agreed. Better yet, the BRPs must be stuffed into a Guy Fawkes effigy and chucked into a bonfire (my Life in the UK knowledge came in handy).

[Richard W]

Doesn't ceasing to be an Indian citizen automatically cancel the Indian passport? Perhaps, however, you should retrieve it (and not your wife's) promptly from the Italian visa system so that it can be physically cancelled by the Indian authorities and the cancellation exhibited to the passport office. As a British citizen, you won't need a visa for Italy.

[CR001]

Doesn't ceasing to be an Indian citizen automatically cancel the Indian passport? Perhaps, however, you should retrieve it (and not your wife's) promptly from the Italian visa system so that it can be physically cancelled by the Indian authorities and the cancellation exhibited to the passport office. As a British citizen, you won't need a visa for Italy.

A citizen of India who takes on another nationality, has a 90 day grace period in which they can still travel on the Indian passport without incurring penalties.

[secret.simon]

Doesn't ceasing to be an Indian citizen automatically cancel the Indian passport? Perhaps, however, you should retrieve it (and not your wife's) promptly from the Italian visa system so that it can be physically cancelled by the Indian authorities and the cancellation exhibited to the passport office. As a British citizen, you won't need a visa for Italy.

A citizen of India who takes on another nationality, has a 90 day grace period in which they can still travel on the Indian passport without incurring penalties.

And provided the passport has not been used for travel outside 90 days of the date of the naturalisation certificate, it can be surrendered at any time upto three years later without penalties.

CR001, you are becoming quite a pro at Indian citizenship and passport rules

[CR001]

CR001, you are becoming quite a pro at Indian citizenship and passport rules

Thank you SS, I aim to keep learning and expand my knowledge Hopefully one day, I can be as eloquent and knowledgeable in posts as you are

[secret.simon]

Thank you, m'lady. blushing

[narendc]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am happy my passport is back from the Italian Consulate after briefly desperately chasing them to abort my Schengen application only to get it back stamped! Never mind, I can't use this visa anyway for my travel. Need to apply for the British Passport as soon as possible.

[CR001]

Phew, that is a relief. Suggest apply for your British passport as soon as you can. Current waiting times appear to be about 2 to 3 weeks.

[Richard W]

Never mind, I can't use this visa anyway for my travel. Need to apply for the British Passport as soon as possible.

Well, if the worst comes to the worst, you might be able to use your Indian passport to travel to Italy and then make your way to the exported British border UK immigration teams at French ports on the continental side of the English Channel. If you can establish that you're a British citizen, they should 'treat you as a British national', whatever that means. I've a feeling it doesn't mean to turn you away because you intend to work in the UK!