Travel to India after BC, guidance please

[sonub4ualt]

Hi,

I received my naturalisation certificate yesterday from our local authority and applied for a british passport today through check and send. My wife's naturalisation application approval was received today, yet to book ceremony for her.

The situation now is she is in india (she has medical issues with her back) with both our kids (british with PIO and OCI). She is intending to stay there for another 2-3 years as the kids are of young age (3 and 1) and both are not in full time education. She is thinking of returning after a good 2-3 years time.

My question is when she comes here to attend the ceremony, she will be applying for british passport and once she has it, she will return to india. What would be the best option for us both to save time and money

1. Apply for surrender in UK and travel on British passports with visas for both.
2. Travel on indian passport while exiting from UK(both)...what if she surrenders in india and gets OCI from there, but I have to come back on British Passport and then apply for surrender and OCI here in UK.
3. Apply for surrender in UK and apply for OCI for both (bear in mind....i will be getting my passport earlier than hers and have to make two trips 1. to bring her and 2. to drop her, as we do not have any friends and relatives who can travel with us)

As the timelines suggest it will take 4-6 weeks for British Passport, surrender will take about 1 week and OCI about 3-4 weeks. But she does not want to stay for that long. She will be here to just attend the ceremony and apply for her British passport.

[secret.simon]

I believe that as you are now a British citizen, your wife can have the citizenship ceremony abroad. You may wish to check with the Home Office about it.

Be aware that the ILR BRP must be surrendered within five days of the citizenship ceremony or you will be subject to a £1000 fine.

All questions for OCI should go to the Other Countries forum.

EDIT: This post is a response to a post that has been moved to another thread.

[CR001]

I believe that as you are now a British citizen, your wife can have the citizenship ceremony abroad. You may wish to check with the Home Office about it.

Be aware that the ILR BRP must be surrendered within five days of the citizenship ceremony or you will be subject to a £1000 fine.

All questions for OCI should go to the Other Countries forum.

EDIT: This post is a response to a post that has been moved to another thread.

Sorry, that was me that split and moved it #guilty

[ohara]

Is there any requirement to use UK passport to enter the UK if you have one as well as a passport of another country?

I think the USA gets a bit funny if American dual citizens try entering the country with their non-US passport.

[secret.simon]

Is there any requirement to use UK passport to enter the UK if you have one as well as a passport of another country?

No such requirement. You of course need to prove your identity and that you have the right or appropriate leave to enter the UK.

As an aside, your ILR expires when you become a British citizen. As a citizen, you do not require leave to reside in the UK and hence any extant leave expires when you become a citizen.

BRPs used to be valid even after naturalisation, but gradually, due to concerns with data protection, they have lost their relevance after naturalisation.

[sonub4ualt]

[quote="secret.simon"]I believe that as you are now a British citizen, your wife can have the citizenship ceremony abroad. You may wish to check with the Home Office about it.

Be aware that the ILR BRP must be surrendered within five days of the citizenship ceremony or you will be subject to a £1000 fine.

All questions for OCI should go to the Other Countries forum.

EDIT: This post is a response to a post that has been moved to another thread.[/quote

Thanks for the info.

Who are we suppose to contact to arrange the ceremony in india. Tried calling ukba but had no luck. I still have 15 days left to arrange the ceremony.

[ohara]

The embassy?

https://www.gov.uk/government/world/org ... -new-delhi

[secret.simon]

You can contact the Nationality team at the UKV&I. I would suggest calling them and following it up with an email as their phone line support is notoriously fickle.

The rules for transferring citizenship ceremonies abroad are listed in Chapter 6 of the Nationality Instructions. You would want to read through 6.11.22.11 to 6.11.22.18, with especial care at 6.11.22.12.

Based on the wording of the instructions, it seems that I was wrong in my initial advice. It seems that the citizenship ceremony can only be held abroad if the application was made under Section 6(2) of the BNA 1981 (i.e. as a spouse of a British citizen). So, if your wife's application was made under Section 6(1) of the BNA 1981 (i.e. as an independent applicant), it is possible that the Nationality Team may decline transferring the citizenship ceremony abroad, even though you are a British citizen now, as you were not a British citizen when your wife had originally applied.

It is worth checking with the Nationality team anyway.