Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode

[mazkhan110]

Hi All,

I hope I am posting this in the correct subject matter area. Anyway, I have the following issue, any suggestions will be helpful.

I applied for my naturalisation for the UK - and got the acceptance email very quickly than I expected. I am due for my ceremony within couple weeks. However, at the same time, as we had to plan for our summer - we plan to be away when school closes for couple weeks.

I had no idea, upon Naturalisation - I have to immediately claim a British Passport or RoA-COE. Currently, my former Nationality doesn't allow dual citizenships, and for the time being I need to retain it - therefore RoA-COE is my only option at the moment. Given this, I have just done some research, and found out it takes almost two months minimum to get this entitlement, which might overlap the time we intend to travel out.

Has anyone been through such a situation - does anyone know if its permissible to complete my travels with my existing ILR BRP (valid till Dec 2024) ? I appreciate there is a lot of nuances in this scenario - but I really need some clarification on my options.

Thanks all,
Maz

[secret.simon]

I had no idea, upon Naturalisation - I have to immediately claim a British Passport or RoA-COE.

That is not true. You only need to apply for one or the other if you need to re-enter the UK, and really only if you are a visa national.

Your profile flag suggests that you are Australian. So you should be fine without applying for a British passport after returning, if you need to travel.

Also, Australia allows dual citizenship.

Currently, my former Nationality doesn't allow dual citizenships, and for the time being I need to retain it - therefore RoA-COE is my only option at the moment.

If our nationality is not Australian and your former nationality does not allow dual citizenship, note that most likely you lose your former nationality on the date of your citizenship ceremony.

If you are Indian, for instance, you lose your Indian citizenship automatically on the date of your British citizenship ceremony, not when you get a British passport. I think India allows you a 90 day grace period to apply for and get a British passport, but you will have lost your Indian citizenship on the date of your British citizenship ceremony.

Therefore it is unlikely that you will be issued a CoE-RoA in an Indian passport after naturalisation. The Home Office and HMPO are aware of Indian citizenship law and I recall reading in a Wikipedia article that a British Embassy had returned an Indian passport to the Indian Embassy directly when a person in a third country had acquired British citizenship and applied for a British passport abroad.

If your citizenship is not Indian, I would suggest checking with the local diplomatic mission of that country as to when the citizenship is lost and if it is automatic. As mentioned above, the Home Office/HMPO may liaise directly with the diplomatic mission and refuse to issue you a CoE-RoA. You may have no alternative but to go for a British passport.