Appying for British passport

[warenk]

Hi all,

Any feedback and/or help on this will be greatly appreciated.

M family and I have recently been naturalised as British citizens. We re seeking to apply for our first British passport, however we would like to know if our existing foreign passport will be returned back to us intact without being cancelled, etc?

Have anyone gone through this process before? I phoned the IPS and the person on the other side of the line mentioned that our foreign passport will be returned back to our original country's embassy! This came as a surprise becuase I taught Britain allows dual nationality and it is up to the individuals to surrender the other nationality of they want to.

Any help/advice is much appreciated.

Thanks.

[tinux]

I think you have recieved a wrong advice. the Passport office has no right to send your personal papers to a third party. that would break the law. because unless there is a clause on the application that says give us permission to send your passport to a third party then they can't .

the law is here and is very clear:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations ... ction.aspx

so i would not worry about a mis understanding or a wrong advise. all documenst sent to PO are returned back to their owners.
The passport office alongside the naturalisation department are the only great offices in th home office that do great jobs. they deserve 10/10 in my opinion so i am surprised they failed to give correct advise.

this is directly from the goverment press office
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Under present legislation the United Kingdom recognises dual nationality, and, if you acquire another citizenship, this does not affect your right to hold a British passport and live in the United Kingdom. The UK government has no objection to dual or multiple citizenship or to a person holding passports from more than one country. As regards to your position under your other nationality, you are advised to consult the relevant authorities as some countries do object.

In all cases where dual nationality is concerned, the onus is on you to find out the nationality laws of the country of your second nationality to see if obtaining British nationality may have an affect on your other nationality. Parents are advised to check on this before applying for British passports for their children.

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Please correct me if I am wrong

[warenk]

Many thanks for your reply tinux and much appreciated.

I will look at the link to ICO shortly. I was panicking a bit after speaking to the IPS and you have eased my concern a little, however I am still a bit paranoid becuase the person said that unless we have specific arrangement with our original country for dual nationality, then the original foreign passport will be send back to the embassy.

From what you have mentioned below re data protection it makes sense but from your experince (I am assuming you are well versed in this area from your feedback) have anyone recently been in the same situation and got their original foreign passport back?

It is imperative that we get our original foreign passports back, otherwise we will be in all sorts of pickle.

Would it be worthwhile to do this process via a professional or do you think that I am just being paranoid for no reason.

Thanks.

[boloney]

Many thanks for your reply tinux and much appreciated.

I will look at the link to ICO shortly. I was panicking a bit after speaking to the IPS and you have eased my concern a little, however I am still a bit paranoid becuase the person said that unless we have specific arrangement with our original country for dual nationality, then the original foreign passport will be send back to the embassy.

From what you have mentioned below re data protection it makes sense but from your experince (I am assuming you are well versed in this area from your feedback) have anyone recently been in the same situation and got their original foreign passport back?

It is imperative that we get our original foreign passports back, otherwise we will be in all sorts of pickle.

Would it be worthwhile to do this process via a professional or do you think that I am just being paranoid for no reason.

Thanks.

I just had my Polish passport returned from IPS. Poland does' t recognize me as dual national in Poland but anywhere else I can use any nationality I hold. I never heard of passport returned to embassy.

[warenk]

Many thanks, I feel reassured now.

Much appreciated for all the comments.

I will in due course inform how I get on.

[tinux]

Stop panicking.

You will get all your documents back unless they get lost by post

[lynxukauq]

This came as a surprise because I taught Britain allows dual nationality and it is up to the individuals to surrender the other nationality of they want to

Yes Britain do allows dual nationality but some countries don't for example India does not allows dual nationality and you have to surrender your passport once you attain other country nationality

What's your country of origin?

[warenk]

Originally Singapore nationality. Now you see my concern...

Thanks.

[ban.s]

well, IPS will return your passport along with other documents. As UK recognise dual citizenship, so from a British Nationality perspective it's perfectly fine for you to have other foreign passports.

Now, it's up to you to decide how you wish to comply with Singapore nationality laws and deal with your singapore passport. Whether you retain or surrender, it's entirely your choice.