Right to abode

[Oompa Loompa]

Hello,

My child was recently registered as a British citizen (Form UKF=UKFather) and we have received the Certificate of Registration.
My child was born in Uzbekistan and holds Uzbek passport.
Uzbekistan does not recognize dual citizenship. Does it make sense to apply for a Right to Abode sticker to be inserted in my child's Uzbek passport? I am sorry if it is a dumb question and many thanks in advance if anyone can shed light on this.

[Richard W]

I must confess that the principle of a right of abode sticker makes no sense to me. My understanding is that anyone born since 1983 who holds right of abode in the UK is a British citizen, so such a sticker screams 'I am a British citizen'.

A lot depends on what is meant by 'Uzbekistan does not recognize dual citizenship'. Britain, except where national security was concerned, used to be oblivious to other countries' citizenships, but nowadays certain rights depend on not having another country's citizenship.

This seems to me a particularly risky case, for the child has acquired British citizenship after birth as a voluntary act of a parent. Such an act automatically forfeits some countries' citizenships.

[Oompa Loompa]

I must confess that the principle of a right of abode sticker makes no sense to me. My understanding is that anyone born since 1983 who holds right of abode in the UK is a British citizen, so such a sticker screams 'I am a British citizen'.

A lot depends on what is meant by 'Uzbekistan does not recognize dual citizenship'. Britain, except where national security was concerned, used to be oblivious to other countries' citizenships, but nowadays certain rights depend on not having another country's citizenship.

This seems to me a particularly risky case, for the child has acquired British citizenship after birth as a voluntary act of a parent. Such an act automatically forfeits some countries' citizenships.

My view is that for Uzbek border control a passport is the proof of a citizenship (and I might be wrong). If we apply for and get a British passport, then we would have to denounce the child's Uzbek citizenship, meaning we would need to get Uzbek visa to enter Uzbekistan. We are currently in a third country (not UK or Uzbekistan) but should visit Uzbekistan in a couple of months. I requested my family to ask around in Uzbekistan, they duly spoke to a Pasportistka (a lady who deals with passport applications, registration at/de-registration from residential addresses, there is such a procedure in Uzbekistan and all other post-Soviet countries) and they were told that a case where parent remains an Uzbek citizen while the child becomes a foreign citizen, is something she never came across in her practice.

By 'does not recognize' I meant that one would have to denounce their Uzbek citizenship.

[Richard W]

Well, I'm no expert on Uzbek law and it seems that some claim that what goes on is not related to the law. I seem to have found the Uzbek law on citizenship both in Russian and a slightly older version in English. The relevant parts seem to be Article 21 on forfeiture of citizenship, which says nothing about losing citizenship for acquiring another country's citizenship, and Article 10, which basically says "A person, who is a citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan cannot be recognized as a citizen of a foreign State". I would interpret that as saying that an Uzbek citizen cannot ask to be treated as though he were a citizen of another state, which is a fairly common rule.

Now it may be that it is a bad idea to let officials see a foreign passport; my fear would be that they might understand the implications of a British certificate of right of abode. Perhaps your child's British passport should not be carried into Uzbekistan, let alone used there. I have seen a suggestion that permission is required to acquire the citizenship of another state. On the other hand, officials would not have proof that your child had not been British from birth - if they care about such fine details.

[vinny]

I must confess that the principle of a right of abode sticker makes no sense to me. My understanding is that anyone born since 1983 who holds right of abode in the UK is a British citizen, so such a sticker screams 'I am a British citizen'.

Some UK entry clearance officers are unaware of this. So I suspect that foreign immigration officers wouldn't hear the sticker's screams.