BC Registration application using Form B(OS), please help.

[zed.]

Hi all,
I couldn't find any post regarding this British Citizenship registration pathway, therefore, I'm creating this new topic.

I'm a British National (oveseas) and don't hold any other form of citizenship and nationality. I don't live in the UK. I'm thinking about applying to register as a British Citizen using Form B(OS). There are a couple of things I'm not sure about. I hope someone here can help.

The guide to complete Form B(OS) mentions that I will need to send my original documents. That includes my current BNO passport. I travel frequently because of my work and sending my current passport will be a problem for me. I live in Australia and going to UK and applying using NCS is very expensive for me.

Has anyone recently applied for citizenship registration from overseas using certified or notarized photocopies instead of sending the original passport?
If certified or notarized photocopies are accepted, do I need to send the photocopy of just the passport bio-data page or all the passport pages?
People who have used NCS may know if the staff copied all passport pages or just the bio-data page?

I have called the home office helpline a couple of times and got different answer. Not sure which way to go.

I will post my timeline etc once I send my application.

[Casa]

There are others on the forum better placed to advise you, but in the meantime this thread may help you to some extent.
http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 32218.html

By the way, if you call the HO 'help line' 10 times, you're very likely to be given 10 different answers. They are notorious for providing incorrect advice and take no responsibility for doing so.

[secret.simon]

I'm a British National (oveseas) and don't hold any other form of citizenship and nationality.

As a BNO, I presume that you are from Hong Kong. If so, are either of your parents ethnically Chinese? China considers all ethnically Chinese with Hong Kong connections as Chinese nationals and hence you may be ineligible to apply for British citizenship directly.

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-cit ... -hong-kong

You can be a national of a country even if you’ve never had a passport from there - make sure this isn’t the case before applying for British citizenship.

You might be a Chinese national if you became a British national through your Hong Kong connections but are ethnically Chinese. Contact the immigration department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region before applying.

Nationality can be conferred by action of law and may not be voluntary. There was a case on these forums of a BNO who was not ethnically Chinese, but lost out on registration because he was born in Pakistan, a country that automatically conferred citizenship by birth in the country.

You may wish to read through the relevant guidance notes on registration other than through the BNA 1981.

[zed.]

As a BNO, I presume that you are from Hong Kong. If so, are either of your parents ethnically Chinese?

Neither of my parents are ethnically Chinese. I was registered as BNO in 1997 and lost my Pakistani citizenship automatically and I have a letter from the consulate stating the same. It's also mentioned in one of the documents available here

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... annexj.pdf

I live in Australia so I can only use Form B(OS) to register as British Citizen.

Does anyone know if the NCS copy all passport pages or just the bio-data page to send with the application?

[secret.simon]

Does anyone know if the NCS copy all passport pages or just the bio-data page to send with the application?

All pages, including blank ones. The NCS staff are also authorised to certify them. I am not sure if self-certification/attestation would be sufficient.

Have a read through the Guide B(OS), but at first glance, you seem to meet the requirements.

Be aware that you will become a British citizen by descent and any children born to you will not be British citizens unless they are born in the UK.

[zed.]

All pages, including blank ones. The NCS staff are also authorised to certify them. I am not sure if self-certification/attestation would be sufficient.

Thanks a lot. This is really useful information. I'm going to get the passport pages certified from a Notary Public or Justice of Peace because British consulate in Australia doesn't provide notarial services.

Be aware that you will become a British citizen by descent and any children born to you will not be British citizens unless they are born in the UK.

Yes, I'm aware of this.

I'm going to send my application with certified copies and see how it goes.

[zed.]

Nationality can be conferred by action of law and may not be voluntary. There was a case on these forums of a BNO who was not ethnically Chinese, but lost out on registration because he was born in Pakistan, a country that automatically conferred citizenship by birth in the country.

I have read that thread and it's not clear if his father was a Pakistani citizen at the time when the applicant was registered as BNO. May be that's why his application was refused.
As per my understanding, the minor continues to hold Pakistani citizenship and BNO as long as the father has Pakistani citizenship.
According to the Annex J of the guidance notes, "if the father ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, the minor automatically loses Pakistani citizenship at the same time".
My father was born in Hong Kong and registered as BNO before 1997, as a result I lost my Pakistani citizenship automatically upon his registration as BNO, and couldn't hold dual nationalities according to section 8.2 of Annex J.

[zed.]

I need some advice from forum experts.

So I have applied to register as a British Citizen using form B(OS) and my application is being processed. Under "What you will need to send with the form" section in the form B(OS) guide, it is mentioned to send the correct fee, British National (Overseas) passport, and a letter from the authorities of the country (Pakistan) where I was born saying that I was a citizen of that country(Pakistan) but I no longer hold that citizenship and the date on which I lost (Pakistani) citizenship. I have send all these documents with my application.

Here is the confusing part. I was still a minor on the date I was registered as British National(Overseas). According to Pakistani law minors are allowed to hold dual nationality as long as the father is Pakistani citizen. My father was born in Hong Kong and didn't hold Pakistani citizenship. Therefore, I automatically lost Pakistani citizenship on the day I was registered as BNO, as per the law. The letter I have from Pakistani authorities also says that. I have also entered these details in the form B(OS). My father's BNO passport have Pakistani visa stamped on it which is a clear indication that he was not a Pakistani citizen and required visa to travel to Pakistan.

However, I didn't send my father's BNO passport, his birth certificate and my birth certificate because the form B(OS) guide didn't mentioned to include such documents. It only mentioned the letter from the authorities of the country where I was born as a documentary evidence of no other citizenship or nationality.

I'm very double minded whether I should send my father's BNO passport, his birth certificate and my birth certificate now while my application is still being processed? Or should I wait and see if the case worker asks for these documents?

I will appreciate your input and feedback on this situation.

[sevendust12]

Hi Zed,

Best to wait for the HO to respond to your application.

I have also recently applied for BC using Form B(OS), just had my biometrics done last week and the hard part now is to wait for the results. I have only sent them the documents that were stated in the guidebook and it did mention that they'll contact you if they need additional information.

Good luck with your application and hopefully everything will be successful.

Continue to post updates here as you're the only one aside from myself who's applied for BC through Form B(OS). I would love to know your progress.. I hope the whole process doesn't take very long.