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Traveling abroad after Citizenship Ceremony without passport

A section for posts relating to applications for Naturalisation or Registration as a British Citizen. Naturalisation

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Mike London
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Traveling abroad after Citizenship Ceremony without passport

Post by Mike London » Tue May 03, 2011 11:41 am

Hope I'm not repeating a FAQ - looked around, but didn't seem to see anything directly applicable.

Does anyone know whether there's a clear guidance on pre-booked travel that takes place AFTER the Citizenship Ceremony but BEFORE the passport is issued?

On the one hand, the rules state that British citizens must cross UK border with a UK passport; on the other if travel is pre-booked there is hardly a way to comply with this requirement short of cancelling the trip, which is not always easy.

I've heard some hearsay of people being told in such cases to just travel on their foreign passport and ILR, which necessarily invokes a situation where one usually has to say something to the immigration officer.

Is it better upon arrival to just go through the EU-citizen lanes with a foreign passport and a naturalisation certificate?

Any feedback will be helpful; thanks!
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SunBlue
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Post by SunBlue » Tue May 03, 2011 11:57 am

I travelled shortly after my ceremony and came back as I would do without having the citizenship - just used my old passport and Permanent Residence card as usual. It wasn't a problem at all.
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Mike London
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Post by Mike London » Tue May 03, 2011 12:32 pm

Glauco wrote:I travelled shortly after my ceremony and came back as I would do without having the citizenship - just used my old passport and Permanent Residence card as usual. It wasn't a problem at all.
Hi Glauco - thanks for the response.
Did you have to identify yourself as a British Citizen? Did you go through EU lanes or "All other passports"?

This is the area I am looking for guidance on, e.g. does one need to have their citizenship certificate, or does one "pretend" not to be a citizen yet?...
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SunBlue
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Post by SunBlue » Tue May 03, 2011 1:17 pm

Mike,

I had a brazilian passport. So I entered as being Brazilian.

I didn't want to go through the confusion of: "I have a brazilian passport but I am british"...
Just decided to enter as if I never had the citizenship.
You can always bring your citizenship certificate with you just in case. But I didn't even bother doing that.
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Mike London
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Post by Mike London » Tue May 03, 2011 2:00 pm

Glauco wrote:Mike,

I had a brazilian passport. So I entered as being Brazilian.

I didn't want to go through the confusion of: "I have a brazilian passport but I am british"...
Just decided to enter as if I never had the citizenship.
You can always bring your citizenship certificate with you just in case. But I didn't even bother doing that.
Understood, thanks... certainly one of the ways to go.

Still, if anyone is aware of specific HO/UKBA guidance for such situations, would be nice to have a pointer.
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Backer
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United Kingdom

Post by Backer » Tue May 03, 2011 4:06 pm

First, as far as I know there is no official guidance about dual citizens entering or departing the UK with a British passport. I was also told this by people but in fact could not find any official guidance.

Second, I was told by an immigration officer that you can show your naturalization certificate if asked regarding your citizenship status so you can carry it with you if you like when you travel.

In my opinion,UKBA will not give you any trouble for travelling on your other passport a short time after your ceremony. If it is a long time they might ask you why but this is just my speculation
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Mike London
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Post by Mike London » Tue May 03, 2011 4:54 pm

Backer wrote:First, as far as I know there is no official guidance about dual citizens entering or departing the UK with a British passport. I was also told this by people but in fact could not find any official guidance.

Second, I was told by an immigration officer that you can show your naturalization certificate if asked regarding your citizenship status so you can carry it with you if you like when you travel.

In my opinion,UKBA will not give you any trouble for travelling on your other passport a short time after your ceremony. If it is a long time they might ask you why but this is just my speculation
I don't have the exact law wording handy, but this line for example alerted me to this aspect - and also the fact that most countries want their citizens to cross their border using the "local" passport - sometime with penalties for not doing so.
"You should not make any travel arrangements until you receive your passport." from http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishci ... passports/
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Backer
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United Kingdom

Post by Backer » Tue May 03, 2011 9:15 pm

"most countries" are not the UK and the reference you provided is not really intended for dual citizens. I also went through the same query you currently have and challange you or anyone in the forum to provide official UKBA guidance that a dual citizen has to enter and leave the UK with a British passport. If you find "the exact law" please share it so we can all benefit.
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Mike London
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Post by Mike London » Tue May 03, 2011 10:11 pm

Backer wrote:"most countries" are not the UK and the reference you provided is not really intended for dual citizens. I also went through the same query you currently have and challange you or anyone in the forum to provide official UKBA guidance that a dual citizen has to enter and leave the UK with a British passport. If you find "the exact law" please share it so we can all benefit.
thanks for the response - hope you are absolutely right, and we don't have to think of this twice - if I stumble on anything that seems half-official, I'll certainly post here ;)
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