Citizenship related clarifications

[abtan]

Hi All,

I am seeking clarification for following queries, I have just received the approval on British Naturalization based on 5 year Skilled Worker + 1 year ILR and still to book the citizenship ceremony.

1. I can still legally travel from / to UK with my current valid ILR BRP until completing the Citizenship Ceremony where I shall get a formal BC certificate? Is this correct ? what is the extent of timeline until which I can use my ILR for travel from / to UK ?
2. Once I complete the Citizenship Ceremony and receive the BC certificate, what is the guidance on travel on my current Indian passport ? For how long the travel is permitted from / to UK (with ILR BRP) on my Indian passport after receiving the British Citizenship certificate ?
3. What is the maximum extent of time after the approval email on British Naturalization could a ceremony be booked ?

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Regards,
Abhi

[contorted_svy]

Hi All,

I am seeking clarification for following queries, I have just received the approval on British Naturalization based on 5 year Skilled Worker + 1 year ILR and still to book the citizenship ceremony.

1. I can still legally travel from / to UK with my current valid ILR BRP until completing the Citizenship Ceremony where I shall get a formal BC certificate? Is this correct ? what is the extent of timeline until which I can use my ILR for travel from / to UK ? You can travel on your BRP until you attend the ceremony.
2. Once I complete the Citizenship Ceremony and receive the BC certificate, what is the guidance on travel on my current Indian passport ? For how long the travel is permitted from / to UK (with ILR BRP) on my Indian passport after receiving the British Citizenship certificate ? You will lose Indian citizenship as soon as you acquire British citizenship. You have a grace period of 3 months to use your Indian passport to travel, but you might be denied boarding to come back to the UK as your BRP would no longer be valid after you receive British citizenship.
3. What is the maximum extent of time after the approval email on British Naturalization could a ceremony be booked ? It should be 180 days. You need to speak to your local council.

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Regards,
Abhi

[tripaths]

Can I ask a follow-up question on the point 2 of original post? If I travel on non-British passport after the ceremony and once the British passport is issued to me, can I re-enter the country on that passport even though I didn't use it to travel out of UK.

[contorted_svy]

It depends on your passport. Based on your flag, you wouldn't be able to travel back to the UK on an Indian passport as you wouldn't have a valid visa. You would need to use your newly issued British passport. If you are an Indian national, you would immediately lose Indian citizenship upon acquiring British citizenship.

[tripaths]

It depends on your passport. Based on your flag, you wouldn't be able to travel back to the UK on an Indian passport as you wouldn't have a valid visa. You would need to use your newly issued British passport. If you are an Indian national, you would immediately lose Indian citizenship upon acquiring British citizenship.

Thanks for the quick response. So to be clear. I wish to be able to travel to Europe (have a valid visa on Indian passport) after receiving British Citizenship BUT NOT passport. I'm evaluating two options,

1. Apply for British passport from UK and travel on Indian passport to Europe. Though I'm reading it just now that I will have to send Indian passport to UK authorities with the passport application (?). This will rule out this option.

2. I travel to Europe immediately after British citizenship on Indian passport, assuming it is legal to do even though I have lost Indian citizenship, and apply for British passport from Europe. I am on temporary work in Europe and will have a residency proof. I confirmed from UK gov website that they allow 'first passport' applications from outside country and in this case do not require the original passport to be sent with the application. I still need to figure out what will happen to my Europe work permit in this case.

Obviously the other option is to wait and apply for British Citizenship when my temporary work in Europe is finished but I'm not sure about its deadline and already paid the British Citizenship application fees.

Any insights will be helpful.

[Ticktack]

It depends on your passport. Based on your flag, you wouldn't be able to travel back to the UK on an Indian passport as you wouldn't have a valid visa. You would need to use your newly issued British passport. If you are an Indian national, you would immediately lose Indian citizenship upon acquiring British citizenship.

Thanks for the quick response. So to be clear. I wish to be able to travel to Europe (have a valid visa on Indian passport) after receiving British Citizenship BUT NOT passport. I'm evaluating two options,

1. Apply for British passport from UK and travel on Indian passport to Europe. Though I'm reading it just now that I will have to send Indian passport to UK authorities with the passport application (?). This will rule out this option.

2. I travel to Europe immediately after British citizenship on Indian passport, assuming it is legal to do even though I have lost Indian citizenship, and apply for British passport from Europe. I am on temporary work in Europe and will have a residency proof. I confirmed from UK gov website that they allow 'first passport' applications from outside country and in this case do not require the original passport to be sent with the application. I still need to figure out what will happen to my Europe work permit in this case.

Obviously the other option is to wait and apply for British Citizenship when my temporary work in Europe is finished but I'm not sure about its deadline and already paid the British Citizenship application fees.

Any insights will be helpful.

Why don't you start your own post and ask your own questions there. No fair on OP to hijack this thread.

[contorted_svy]

1. Apply for British passport from UK and travel on Indian passport to Europe. Though I'm reading it just now that I will have to send Indian passport to UK authorities with the passport application (?). This will rule out this option.

Correct.

2. I travel to Europe immediately after British citizenship on Indian passport, assuming it is legal to do even though I have lost Indian citizenship, and apply for British passport from Europe. I am on temporary work in Europe and will have a residency proof. I confirmed from UK gov website that they allow 'first passport' applications from outside country and in this case do not require the original passport to be sent with the application. I still need to figure out what will happen to my Europe work permit in this case.

You have 3 months to travel on your Indian passport before having to surrender it to Indian authorities. It is highly discouraged to apply for your first passport post naturalisation from outside of the UK as that would cast doubt on your intention to live in the UK permanently. People on this forum have attempted to do just this and have met issues with the Home Office.

Obviously the other option is to wait and apply for British Citizenship when my temporary work in Europe is finished but I'm not sure about its deadline and already paid the British Citizenship application fees.

You have 6 months to attend the ceremony. When is your temporary work due to start and how long is it for?

[tripaths]

Thanks for all the inputs. It seems not worth the risk especially if British government can cancel the citizenship retrospectively and I may end up stateless as Indian Citizenship is automatically cancelled after issuance of Naturalization certificate. I will delay my Ceremony as much as possible or may even skip the Citizenship application for now. The temporary secondment to Europe is employment related and unfortunately I have little say in it - bounded by 2yr legal contract.