Malaysian leaving UK with British passport, entering Malaysia with Msian passport that will expired in 2 months

[Natey007]

Hi all,

I have been cracking my head the whole day today trying to find a solution to my sons' problem.

My wife and I are Malaysian living in UK with BRP cards. 2 of our children also have BRP cards whilst 3 more, who were born here in the UK have British passports, they don't have BRP.

We went to Msian Embassy today to renew our passports, and since the UK-born children don't have BRP cards, they cant renew their passports. Malaysia doesn't recognize dual citizenship. One son's passport will expire in April, the other 2 in June.

We know there's no other way we can renew their passports here in the UK. So we were thinking one parent to go back to Malaysia next week with the kids to renew their passports there.

The questions are :

1) If they use their UK passports to leave the UK, will the Malaysian immigration detect that they are also Malaysian? ( saved data from the previous trip, maybe?)

2) Can they enter Malaysia with less than 6 months left in their passports?

Before anyone says anything, yes I know we have made a mistake. We should have renewed their passports in Malaysia before. Damage has been done, regrettably.

For now, I can't see any feasible solution to this problem.

I really appreciate it if anyone can shed some light on the situation.

Thank you in advance.

[Zerubbabel]

------ Duplicate ------

[Natey007]

I'm sorry for the double post.

i cant delete the other one. I dont know which forum I should post this question on the first place.

Please delete the one that's on the wrong forum/topic.

My apologies again.

[Zerubbabel]

Hello

Most countries requires a certain validity in the passport before letting a visitor in. A friend of mine was returned the same day from the USA because his passport had less than 6 months of validity.

However, I don't know of any country that enforces that against its own citizens. A citizen can enter even with a passport expiring within hours.

The rational for visitors is that they don't want them to end up with expired passports during their visit and then unable from leaving the country. But for nationals, this rational is not applicable. Worst case scenario, the ECO will remind you to renew your passport but I don't see them denying entry to a national because the passport is going to expire in a few weeks. A national can potentially enter, let the passport expire and never travel again. Authorities are not concerned about the validity of his passport.

However, how are you going to hide British citizenship? Your travel pattern and the fact that you stay very long in the UK says either you have residence or a UK passport. They may ask and you will be in a difficult situation. Other option, go without the British passport. You don't want to lie while the British passport is in your pocket. I don't see how you can sustain this in the long term...

[Natey007]

Hello Zerubbabel,

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Since yesterday and today, I have been reading, asking around for answers to the above questions.

And I'm glad to know that my sons won't have a problem entering Malaysia with his expiring Malaysian passport. Thank you to you for highlighting that too.

The question is now, would it be a problem to use a UK passport to leave the UK and then use Malaysia's passport to enter Malaysia?

From my reading/googling around, there have been mixed answers. I don't suppose the airline will let us use my sons' expiring Malaysia passports to board the plane? I'm trying not to use their British passports to avoid raising some flags on the electronic records on their passports during arrival in Malaysia. Or will it not?

I honestly have never thought that this would be a problem. We were advised to go for British passports instead of BRPs because it's cheaper. Now I have to admit, I might have regretted the decision.

And without having their BRP cards, as you said, it can raise questions on their immigration status when exiting from Malaysia. Some suggest buying a return ticket to Malaysia to avoid questioning.. That's sure a costly way to save the situation. So much for saving some money!

We don't plan to stay here in the UK forever. Both my wife and I plan to go back and settle down in Malaysia one day (we are in our 50s). And plan to denounce our children's British passports when that time comes. As for now, since we have 2 autistic children, we will stay here for their benefits.

Thanks again for your reply. I appreciate it.

[CR001]

The question is now, would it be a problem to use UK passport to leave UK and then use Malaysia passport to enter Malaysia?

Not an issue. He should be leaving the UK on the British passport.

[Natey007]

CR001,

Thank you for clearing that up. Appreciate it.

[Zerubbabel]

Web forums are full to Malaysian citizens with dual nationalities. This cat and mouse game has been ongoing forever. As long are you are not going around in Kuala Lampur flashing two passports, it should be fine.

[Natey007]

I don't know, but I really think dual citizenships should be accepted by most countries in the world, if not all - especially among countries that had some colonial/historical ties between them in the past, ie ex-Commonwealth countries.

People have and will continue to commit this "crime" just for the sake of traveling to see their loved ones. I have not gained any benefits from having sons with British passports for example. I still have to pay hefty taxes, we are not eligible for public funds, my sons don't receive any benefits from the government. So for them having British passports has not changed anything for us. Except maybe for the problem that I have now. (put the visa free aside).

Yet again, I'm not denying the benefits of becoming one country's citizen for some people. Just not for us.

Thanks again Zerubbabel for your input. I appreciate it.

[Zerubbabel]

I agree. Especially in this day and age. People move a lot, families are composed from people of various origins... It's not sustainable to keep insisting on people having a single citizenship.

I have 3 citizenships and I passed them all to my daughter. She applied only for 1 passport to travel but in my drawer I have 3 valid passports.

Some countries such as a Germany, don't accept multiple citizenship but still their law allow plenty of reasonable exceptions.

Malaysian authorities need to show some flexibility at one point. Because after all, this is detrimental to their own citizens. It's shame that Malaysian kids have to chose to either stay foreigners forever in the Nation where they live or to cut the ties with country of their ancestors.

[Natey007]

Dear CR001 (or anyone else who's reading and happy to help)

I have searched around but I couldn't find the answer to my question.

For my problem above, can I apply for a residence/BRP card for my sons who are already British citizens ( for UK born children whose parent was previously on ILR - Tier 2 visa and parent has been granted a Settled status ) ?

I feel that, if this possible, this might be the only way ( is there another way?) to solve our problem to safely and legally exiting Malaysia and not overstay in the UK (For my UK born children who have British passports and don't have BRP cards).

We go back to Malaysia every year to visit our families. It will be such a headache to have to sneak around like this.

I think I should have just applied for BRP cards instead of the British passports for them. And let them decide if they want to become British citizens in the future. oh well...

Thanking you in advance.

[CR001]

For my problem above, can I apply for a residence/BRP card for my sons who are already British citizens ( for UK born children whose parent was previously on ILR - Tier 2 visa and parent has been granted a Settled status ) ?

No you can't.

[Zerubbabel]

I think I should have just applied for BRP cards instead of the British passports for them. And let them decide if they want to become British citizens in the future. oh well...

As British, they are exempt from immigration control. This means that immigration services don't deal with British citizens. If you apply for any type of leave, it will be immediately rejected.

[Natey007]

I agree. Especially in this day and age. People move a lot, families are composed from people of various origins... It's not sustainable to keep insisting on people having a single citizenship.

I have 3 citizenships and I passed them all to my daughter. She applied only for 1 passport to travel but in my drawer I have 3 valid passports.

Some countries such as a Germany, don't accept multiple citizenship but still their law allow plenty of reasonable exceptions.

Malaysian authorities need to show some flexibility at one point. Because after all, this is detrimental to their own citizens. It's shame that Malaysian kids have to chose to either stay foreigners forever in the Nation where they live or to cut the ties with country of their ancestors.

You are absolutely right. Well said. I sure hope that day will come soon. Thank you for your input.

[Natey007]

For my problem above, can I apply for a residence/BRP card for my sons who are already British citizens ( for UK born children whose parent was previously on ILR - Tier 2 visa and parent has been granted a Settled status ) ?

No you can't.

Thank you CR001.

I guess we will have to continue playing the cat and mouse game with the Malaysian IMI.

[Natey007]

I think I should have just applied for BRP cards instead of the British passports for them. And let them decide if they want to become British citizens in the future. oh well...

As British, they are exempt from immigration control. This means that immigration services don't deal with British citizens. If you apply for any type of leave, it will be immediately rejected.

There goes my hope.

Well, thank you. I appreciate that you are taking the time to share your thought.