validity of naturalisation certificate

[baskey]

Hi all,

My friend is an ILR holder and still he works partly UK and India. Currently he is in UK for past 6 months and in another 3 months time he is eligible to apply for British citizen. He is thinking whether is it possible to get naturalization certificate and keep it till he decides to surrender his Indian citizenship. What is the validity/ expiry date of naturalization certificate?

Any opinion on this please..

Thanks,


Baskey

[John]

Baskey, with respect, don't think you have quite grasped this.

A naturalisation certificate confirms that the person is British. It does not expire ... it is a lifelong thing.

It is of course the case that no British Citizen is required, by law, to hold a passport. Not holding an in-date passport does not make the person any less British.

From postings by others on the Board it seems that Indian citizenship is lost as soon as the person acquires other citizenship ... and that applies whether or not the person acquires a British passport.

Of course anyone having a naturalisation certificate is easily able to get a British passport, in the same way as any other citizen.

[baskey]

Thanks John. I accept with you. But i think one need to surrender own passport for obtaining british passport and not while applying for british naturalisation certificate. am i right? That said, what will happen one knowingly or unknowingly keeps the old passport itself for some more time?

Is that possible?? can you please clarify bit more though it sounds like a stubid question.

Thanks,

Baskey

[bbdivo]

When you say surrender your passport what do you mean? Surrender it to British officials or the officials of the country that issued it? The British Govt allows for dual citizenship so they are not fussed, however depending on the country that issued the passport, they may require you to surrender it to them, but it will be up to you to actually do it.

[User]

Hi All,

The moment one aquires british citizenship (i.e. the moment he received th naturalisation certificate by attending hte citizenship ceremony) he loses Indian citizenship and has to surrender the indian pasport to the high commission where he resides (i.e. say, UK).

One can hang on to the Indian passport for some more time even after aquiring the british citizenship (for some reason like applying for british passport, because British pasport agency asks for it), but that document is null and void for all practical purposes - it will be an offence to use the indian passport after he has received the british naturalisation certificate because he is a british citizen (irrespective of the fact whether he holds a british passport or not) and India does not allow dual nationality - even if it allows it in future, the original indian passport will be null and void because that passport is a document of his erstwhile "Full" indian citizenship, not the lesser profile dual nationality document (that wil be issued if / when dual nationality is allowed by India).


So the answer is, yes, he will have to surrender the indian passport as practically quickly as possible and he should not travel in that document at all. It wil be a criminal offence to enter the Indian borders (or for that matter any enter other country) with that indian passport.

For more details please refer to : www.hcilondon.org.

regards.

Ta!

[John]

But i think one need to surrender own passport for obtaining british passport and not while applying for british naturalisation certificate. am i right?

No, sorry, you are not. For a start merely applying for British Naturalisation is merely that, an application, so by itself will have no impact upon Indian nationality.

And no you are not right if you mean that ... from the point of view of the UK Passport Agency ... you need to surrender an Indian passport in order to get a British one. British law permits dual nationality and so it is simply not an issue as far as the Passport Agency is concerned.

What needs to happen for someone issued with a naturalisation certificate and now applying for their first British Passport is that the overseas passport needs to be supplied as part of the supporting evidence but that overseas passport is promptly returned to its rightful owner.

That said, what will happen one knowingly or unknowingly keeps the old passport itself for some more time?

As already said that is not an issue for the UK authorities. But it could be an issue for the overseas Government, but that would clearly vary from country to country.

I am just pleased that this was not an issue in this house. My wife, originally from Thailand ... a country that like the UK permits dual nationality ... is thus now still a citizen of Thailand and also a citizen of the UK.

Finally, as far as India is concerned, have a read of Annex H - INDIAN CITIZENSHIP LAW and in particular 6.1 which includes :-

Any citizen of India who by naturalisation, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires.....the citizenship of another country...... shall, upon such acquisition,..... cease to be a citizen of India.

That is, it does not say words to the effect of getting another passport ... it talks of ... "acquires.....the citizenship of another country" ... and as far as the UK is concerned that happens as soon as the person gets handed their naturalisation certificate ... not when they later (if ever) get their British passport.

[vin123]

The moment one aquires british citizenship (i.e. the moment he received th naturalisation certificate by attending hte citizenship ceremony) he loses Indian citizenship and has to surrender the indian pasport to the high commission where he resides (i.e. say, UK).

This is what the website says (thanks to John for the link)

6.2 The expression "otherwise voluntarily acquires" is held to cover the acquisition of another country's passport. It does not matter that a person continues to hold a valid Indian passport. Persons who acquire some other citizenship lose Indian citizenship with effect from the date on which they acquire the other Passport.

So, as per the info given in the site, its not the 'moment' you acquire the naturalization certificate, it is from the date your new British passport arrives.

[User]

"So, as per the info given in the site, its not the 'moment' you acquire the naturalization certificate, it is from the date your new British passport arrives."

I disagree. If what you conclude is true, then for example if a person who has been naturalised as a british citizen, but he does not apply for a british passport, lets say for 10 years, then you are saying he continues to be an Indian citizen as well as Britsh for these 10 years until he applies for a british pasport - which cannot be true, because that would mean that person is enjoying dual nationality, when at the same time Indian law does not allow dual citizenship (as yet!).

Getting a British passport is just a process of taking a british travel document for the purposes of (mainly) travelling internationally. One does not need a British passport to prove his British citizenship.

So I would strongly argue that a person automatically loses his indian citizenship the moment he aquires his british citizenship by completing the last step in citizenship porcess, i.e. taking his naturalisation certificate by attending the citizenship ceremony.

regards.

[vin123]

Code: Select all

So I would strongly argue that a person automatically loses his indian citizenship the moment he aquires his british citizenship by completing the last step in citizenship porcess, i.e. taking his naturalisation certificate by attending the citizenship ceremony. 

Its upto someone to make moralistic judgments and arguments and thereafter a decision from clearly defined rules in plain English.

But last thing I would do is stand in rain to return my passport and remain passportless for months, especially in such situations like yours explained earlier.

[John]

Vin123, I am not sure anyone is suggesting that. After all the UK's Passport Agency requires to see the person's overseas passport when they make an application for their first British Passport.

So I think the suggestion for Indians is :-

1. attend your British citizenship ceremony and get handed your Naturalisation Certificate
2. apply for British passport, submitting your Indian passport as part of the evidence needed
3. after you have received your British passport and had your Indian passport returned, surrender your Indian passport
4. apply for Indian Overseas Citizenship

[Kayalami]

Vin 123,

In legal terms, an Act/ Law as enacted on the statute books supercedes any statements/ directions pertaining to the operation of said Act. The applicable Indian Citizenship Act states that Indian Citizenship is lost effective acquisition of another nationality. Comments pertaining to such loss being post passport acquisition etc are IMHO semantic errors based on an incorrect assumption that naturalisation (in this case as a British Citizen) and holding a (British) passport are simultaneous which they clearly are not. Hence said loss is effective upon grant of the naturalisation certificate in a citizenship ceremony.

I hope that helps.

[vin123]

Correct.
So in summary,

The Indian citizenship will automatically cease to exists for a person if he is either

- naturalized or registered by a foreign country OR
- has acquired a foreign passport.

Click the link below for more details
Automatic Termination of Indian Citizenship