DUAL NATIONALITY HEADACHE PLEASE HELP!!

[SJ1811]

Hi Everyone, I have searched the internet for hours, days and weeks trying to find a suitable and genuine reply, but not much luck! The situation is complicated! I was born in the UK but I am a Malaysian citizen (because of parents) and held a Malaysian passport until 4 yrs ago when I acquired a British passport because of the headache when travelling in Europe. Of course many of you may know that Malaysia does not allow dual nationality. Till 2006 I had a Right of Abode sticker in Malaysian passport which allowed me to travel quite freely in and out of Malaysia. This is now discontinued if you already have a British passport.
To conclude, I have the joy of visiting Malaysia in June and I am in a very stressed state as to what passport to check-in, leave UK and enter Malaysia and leave Malaysia. Both passports are valid although the Malaysian one has no ROA in it.

ANY HELP IS MUCH APPRECIATED!!!

[global gypsy]

The answer seems quite obvious to me:
1. Malaysia does not allow dual nationality.
2. This means you are not a Malaysian national any more, now that you have taken up UK citizenship.
3. Hence you use just your British passport for your entire travel.

That's all. Where is the issue?

[SJ1811]

The answer seems quite obvious to me:
1. Malaysia does not allow dual nationality.
2. This means you are not a Malaysian national any more, now that you have taken up UK citizenship.
3. Hence you use just your British passport for your entire travel.

That's all. Where is the issue?

The issue is 'trying to have your cake and eat it' so to speak. Although I have left Malaysia on personal circumstances I do intend to return at some point in the future as all my family are still there. I have heard of instances of people actually using 2 passports find their way out and back into the UK .

[global gypsy]

Well, there is this small problem of illegality. You are not a Malaysian citizen any more. The day you took your British citizenship you ceased being a Malaysian citizen.

What you are proposing to do is plain illegal and potentially very dangerous. Countries like Malaysia don't look kindly at something like this, and you could even end up in the slammer if you get caught.

There's no issue with countries that allow dual citizenship; so, for example, if you are a dual Canadian/British citizen, you can travel into Canada on Canadian passport, then while returning can enter the UK with British passport. This is quite legitimate, but simply won't work for countries that don't allow dual citizenship.

It's as cut-and-dry as this. I would suggest you don't seek suggestions on getting around this.

Sorry, you 'can't have your cake and eat it too' in this instance.

[SJ1811]

Thank you for your advice, looks like giving up the British passport may become a future option...

[John]

SJ1811, if you go ahead with your travel plan, on leaving Malaysia, where will you go next? Direct to the UK, or first to a neighbouring country such as Thailand?

I an just wondering how you would prove at the Malaysian airport that you have the right to enter the UK?

[SJ1811]

Malaysia now uses a biometric system for its passport holders, so was hoping to just exit through the automated gates and I also hold a British birth certificate incase of any queries. However I am not sure at all now whether all this hassle is worth the risk!!

[global gypsy]

Malaysian govt to study proposal for dual citizenship
Hopefully in a few years' time you could maintain dual citizenship.

[joh118]

Thank you for your advice, looks like giving up the British passport may become a future option...

hmm. then you would become stateless.

as you already lost your malaysian citizenship when you got your BC, so if you give up BC as well, then your stateless.

So, technically, you will need to reapply for a malaysian passport, and countries like malaysia doen't look kindly to "system abusers" like yourself.

might be quite problematic

[JulesN19]

hmm. then you would become stateless.

The UK is a party to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and has implemented policy to prevent statelessness by those who have are born in the UK or already have British citizenship. As a result of such policies, you are only able to renounce your British citizenship if you either hold another nationality or will soon acquire another nationality shortly after renunciation.

[global gypsy]

I think the OP meant to say he would give up British nationality and reinstate his Malaysian one some time in the future.
Not becoming stateless.

[Christophe]

I think the OP meant to say he would give up British nationality and reinstate his Malaysian one some time in the future.
Not becoming stateless.

What are the Malaysian laws about that?

[Ben]

Thinking hypothetically, someone in the same situation as SJ1811 might proceed as follows:

• Fly to Malaysia.
• Enter Malaysia using Malaysian passport.
• Upon departure from Malaysia, present your British passport at check-in, to satisfy the airline of your right to enter the UK.
• When passing through Malaysian outbound immigration controls, present your Malaysian passport if a passport is requested.
• Enter the UK on your British passport.

The above is from my imagination only and should not be carried out in real life as it may break the law and cause the person in question to go to prison.

Selamat jalan.

[SJ1811]

• Fly to Malaysia.
• Enter Malaysia using Malaysian passport.
• Upon departure from Malaysia, present your British passport at check-in, to satisfy the airline of your right to enter the UK.
• When passing through Malaysian outbound immigration controls, present your Malaysian passport if a passport is requested.
• Enter the UK on your British passport.

The above is from my imagination only and should not be carried out in real life as it may break the law and cause the person in question to go to prison.

Selamat jalan.[/quote]

What my burning question is whether there is a link between check-in systems globally and within airports itself... (the above has already been carried out by certain people, but like you say VERY risky) And another question is...what if I gave up my British passport, does that mean I give up British Citizenship? Would I then be eligible to have a Right of Abode entitlement in my Malaysian passport as I no longer have a British passport. I am very very confused here...

[joh118]

• Fly to Malaysia.
• Enter Malaysia using Malaysian passport.
• Upon departure from Malaysia, present your British passport at check-in, to satisfy the airline of your right to enter the UK.
• When passing through Malaysian outbound immigration controls, present your Malaysian passport if a passport is requested.
• Enter the UK on your British passport.

The above is from my imagination only and should not be carried out in real life as it may break the law and cause the person in question to go to prison.

Selamat jalan.

What my burning question is whether there is a link between check-in systems globally and within airports itself... (the above has already been carried out by certain people, but like you say VERY risky) And another question is...what if I gave up my British passport, does that mean I give up British Citizenship? Would I then be eligible to have a Right of Abode entitlement in my Malaysian passport as I no longer have a British passport. I am very very confused here... [/quote]

You should still be able to have the Right of Abode stamp in your passport.

My friend has 2 passports one UK and the other. His 2nd country allows dual but frowns upon it. He leaves the UK on the 2nd passport and enters again on the British passport. He encounters problems because when he enters the UK on the British passport, no stamp is made on the 2nd passport so when he goes back to his original country, the immigration officers always asks him why there isnt a stamp in this 2nd passport from the UK.

[SJ1811]

(You should still be able to have the Right of Abode stamp in your passport.)

UK has discontinued issuing ROA's in foreign passports as of Dec 2006 IF you already hold a British passport.


(My friend has 2 passports one UK and the other. His 2nd country allows dual but frowns upon it. He leaves the UK on the 2nd passport and enters again on the British passport. He encounters problems because when he enters the UK on the British passport, no stamp is made on the 2nd passport so when he goes back to his original country, the immigration officers always asks him why there isnt a stamp in this 2nd passport from the UK.[/quote]

A lot of countries now use the biometric system so there may be no stamping in the countries of the 'other' passport.

[Christophe]

What my burning question is whether there is a link between check-in systems globally and within airports itself... (the above has already been carried out by certain people, but like you say VERY risky) And another question is...what if I gave up my British passport, does that mean I give up British Citizenship? Would I then be eligible to have a Right of Abode entitlement in my Malaysian passport as I no longer have a British passport. I am very very confused here...

I think the first question is whether you have relinquished your Malaysian citizenship by acting on your British citizenship by getting a British passport. You might have relinquished it by operation of Malaysian law, even if you did not intend to. If you have, the question is then how you would go about regaining Malaysian citizenship.

To answer those questions, you need someone who is knowledgeable about Malaysian nationality/citizenship law, and probably this forum isn't the right place to find such a person. You might need to seek expert, professional help.

If you are a Malaysian citizen still, you can of course have a Malaysian passport. If you have a right of abode in the UK (through whatever means), the UK will put a right of abode stamp in your Malaysian passport as long as don't also have a British passport. If that right of abode is derived from being a British citizen, whether or not that situation is acceptable to the Malaysian authorities depends on the view that they take. Anecdotally, for example, the authorities of India (a country that does not countenance dual citizenship for its citizens) seem to be happy with a right of abode certificate in an Indian passport even when the details of the certificate indicate that the right is derived from British citizenship. I don't know what view the Malaysian authorities would take of that — again, you might need expert guidance.

But the question of a right of abode stamp in your Malaysian passport is moot until you know that you are still entitled to hold a Malaysian passport. This is where you need to start, I think: ascertaining whether you still hold Malaysian citizenship. (The fact that you might be in possession of a Malaysian passport that hasn't expired doesn't completely deal with that point, as noted above.) As I say, expert help may be useful here.

[SJ1811]

Thank you for the advice. Is it possible to give up a British passport though? As the Malaysian authorities are unaware that BC has been taken, am I right in thinking that technically the Malaysian passport it is still valid? So I am seriously thinking of giving up the British passport and just holding the one and getting a Right of Abode sticker placed in it. What the hell if travelling around Europe is a nightmare I will just have to put up with it..

[nangvil]

I am unsure as to how you can give up your British Passport.

With regards to previous msgs of using your malaysian passport to enter/exit Malaysia and presenting your British passport on arrival back in UK, one word of warning. I actually do know a Malaysian who has been caught in KL airport with British and Malaysian passport. His Malaysian passport was cancelled and revoked on the spot. If you really have to do it, be really careful.

Your situation is a bit difficult due to the recent change in the ROA rule. As you have mentioned, maybe the best course of action would be to give up your British passport. If you do have to use your malaysian passport, it might be worth considering flying via another country, ie Dubai. From what I've observed, malaysian authorities don't usually question ppl flying to Middle East compared to direct flights to America/UK, ie: purpose of visit, duration, checking your passport for visa etc.

Best of luck in...

[SJ1811]

Oh dear, looks like I won't be getting very far! It's a very awkward situation and although I have a few close friends who have actually done this (one of them travels like this EVERY year) I don't think I am brave enough to do it. Flying in may not be a problem..but coming back out may be..although biometric system, I guess there will still be manual checking somewhere wanting to know why I am going to the UK etc. I have a short transit in HK if that makes any difference whatsoever.

[paccman]

Travel thru s'pore... you work out the details.

[happyguy82]

SJ1811, if you go ahead with your travel plan, on leaving Malaysia, where will you go next? Direct to the UK, or first to a neighbouring country such as Thailand?

I an just wondering how you would prove at the Malaysian airport that you have the right to enter the UK?

I know this is an old thread, but just wanted to point out that Malaysians don't need a visa to enter the UK for visiting, thus it is perfectly OK to check in using the Malaysian passport.