British Passport application: can I keep my other passport?

[LondonApplicant]

I am an EEA citizen. I understand that, if I become a British citizen by naturalisation, I should submit my other passport (the one of my native country) when applying for my first British passport. However:

1) do I have to send it also if I use the check & send service in a post office, or is that like the Nationality Checking Service, where they check the passport but you get to keep it ?

2) can I send my European Identity Card only, and keep my passport? If so, do I need to have the identity card translated to English?

Thanks

[vinitmanu]

I am an EEA citizen. I understand that, if I become a British citizen by naturalisation, I should submit my other passport (the one of my native country) when applying for my first British passport. However:

1) do I have to send it also if I use the check & send service in a post office, or is that like the Nationality Checking Service, where they check the passport but you get to keep it ?

2) can I send my European Identity Card only, and keep my passport? If so, do I need to have the identity card translated to English?

Thanks

You will need to send your passport even if you apply via Check & Send.

[trs2011]

I am an EEA citizen. I understand that, if I become a British citizen by naturalisation, I should submit my other passport (the one of my native country) when applying for my first British passport. However:

1) do I have to send it also if I use the check & send service in a post office, or is that like the Nationality Checking Service, where they check the passport but you get to keep it ?

2) can I send my European Identity Card only, and keep my passport? If so, do I need to have the identity card translated to English?

Thanks

Send your passport , that is what they will only accept . These days anyone can have a forged EU card when they are not even from EU , that is why they don't accept them .

[JAJ]

I remain to be convinced that you really need to send a foreign passport with a British passport application.

The IPS policy document on foreign passports:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publicatio ... iew=Binary

Reading between the lines, it appears that foreign passports are only required in exceptional cases where it's needed to validate that the person applying is the same person as on the birth/citizenship certificate.

[LondonApplicant]

I remain to be convinced that you really need to send a foreign passport with a British passport application.

The IPS policy document on foreign passports:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publicatio ... iew=Binary

Reading between the lines, it appears that foreign passports are only required in exceptional cases where it's needed to validate that the person applying is the same person as on the birth/citizenship certificate.

All the more so because European passports are not stamped, so provide no proof whatsoever of entry into the UK, and also because EEA citizens (of those countries which have ID cards, i.e. almost all excluding Ireland and Denmark) are under no obligation to hold a passport if they hold a valid ID card.

I'll ask IPS and let you know.

[LondonApplicant]

Send your passport , that is what they will only accept . These days anyone can have a forged EU card when they are not even from EU , that is why they don't accept them .

Thanks for the reply. However, may I ask how you know? In other words, has the Home Office specifically confirmed this, or are you guessing that's the case? I ask because I have seen many occasions in which people's interpretations did not turn out to be accurate

[Jambo]

The form and Guide clearly ask for your foreign passport. This is mainly to help to establish your identity. Not sending one might not prevent you from getting a passport but as IPS normally only hold the passport for 1-2 weeks, I fail to understand why not to comply with the guidelines.

[LondonApplicant]

Send your passport , that is what they will only accept . These days anyone can have a forged EU card when they are not even from EU , that is why they don't accept them .

If that were the reason, then identity cards wouldn't be accepted as proof of ID in the application for naturalisation, which they are.

[LondonApplicant]

The form and Guide clearly ask for your foreign passport. This is mainly to help to establish your identity. Not sending one might not prevent you from getting a passport but as IPS normally only hold the passport for 1-2 weeks, I fail to understand why not to comply with the guidelines.

I am not saying I don't want to comply with the guidelines.

I am merely asking if anyone knows for sure whether European Identity Cards are accepted as a substitute for the passport, just like they are when entering the country, or as proof of id when submitting an application for naturalisation.

I fail to see the logic whereby a certain document is accepted to prove who you are when applying for citizenship, but not when applying for your first British passport, and therefore I asked if anyone knows more.

[vinitmanu]

Have a read where it clearly states that for the person born outside UK needs to send the passport alongwith the certificate of Naturalisation/Registration.

[Jambo]

The form and Guide clearly ask for your foreign passport. This is mainly to help to establish your identity. Not sending one might not prevent you from getting a passport but as IPS normally only hold the passport for 1-2 weeks, I fail to understand why not to comply with the guidelines.

I am not saying I don't want to comply with the guidelines.

I am merely asking if anyone knows for sure whether European Identity Cards are accepted as a substitute for the passport, just like they are when entering the country, or as proof of id when submitting an application for naturalisation.

I fail to see the logic whereby a certain document is accepted to prove who you are when applying for citizenship, but not when applying for your first British passport, and therefore I asked if anyone knows more.

If you got a passport, better to use that.
If you don't have a passport, then you can't submit something you don't have.

If you got a passport but prefer to submit another ID, this would probably be OK but I still don't understand why you object to post your pasport but you are OK to post your ID card.

[vinitmanu]

I second Jambo ! However, is there a specific reason as to why you don't want to send your passport? Rest assured, in most cases you receive your passport back within a week.

[LondonApplicant]

If you got a passport, better to use that.
If you don't have a passport, then you can't submit something you don't have.

If you got a passport but prefer to submit another ID, this would probably be OK but I still don't understand why you object to post your pasport but you are OK to post your ID card.

Simply because keeping my other passport would allow me to travel outside the EU, which I cannot do on my identity card. If I must submit my passport I'll do that in a period when I don't need to travel - it's not the end of the world.

Thanks for the clarifications.