Certificate of Naturalisation- Query

[VR]

Folks,

After the application for British Naturalisation is approved, I understand you get an invitation to attend a Ceremony, where the Certificate of Naturalisation is issued. A few clarifications needed...

1. I have got a job in the USA for which the H1b which will be stamped on Indian passport. So need to travel with Indian Passport as per the attorney from US .

2. Is it possible to attend the Ceremony and still travel to the USA on the Indian Passport without attracting any penalties? There should be a grace period for surrendering the Indian Passport. Or can we retain the Indian Passport without applying for the British Passport?

3. The next question is after getting this Certificate of Naturalisation is there a time limit to apply for British Passport ? And can the British Passport be applied for from the USA?

Once British passport comes through, we can transfer the H1b to this is what I am told.

Any pointers will be appreicated.

Best Regards
VR

[Ayyubi72]

2. Is it possible to attend the Ceremony and still travel to the USA on the Indian Passport without attracting any penalties? There should be a grace period for surrendering the Indian Passport. Or can we retain the Indian Passport without applying for the British Passport?

You must surrender your Indian passport within 3 months of obtaining British citizenship. You cannot retain Indian passport for more than 3 months after getting BC whether you get a British passport or not.

3. The next question is after getting this Certificate of Naturalisation is there a time limit to apply for British Passport ? And can the British Passport be applied for from the USA?

When you become naturalised as british citizen, then you become something known as "british citizen". No british citizen is ever under any obligation to apply for a passport in the same way as Indian citizens are not obliged to apply for Indian passport. In fact there are hundreds of thousands of British citizens who have never held a passport and never will have a passport.

If you want you can apply for British passport from USA or any country in the world.

[VR]

Dear Ayyubi,

What you are saying is I can surrender the Indian Passport in 3 months. And in that time, I can travel on it.

But the dilemma I face is that Once I land up in the US I will apply for my British Passport. This will take time. I hear anything between 4 to 6 months minimum.

And note Only after I get the British Passport can I get the US visa transferred to it.

cheers
vr

[Ayyubi72]

Yes, you can use your Indian passport for 3 months for whatever purpose you want. If its more than 3 months then you have to pay a penalty while surrendering Indian passport. I suggest you spend a couple of hours reading all the information on HCI london website, and Indian embassy washington website.