British passport

[sabrina79]

hi all ,

i would like to ask something about British passport . i am Italian and living in the UK from 5 years now. i would like to have a British passport too .Its really true who is very expensive ?and i have to be a English citizen before?

thanks for your help

sabrina

[the-e-dealer]

You have to be a British Citizen. And I am not sure you can just collect citizen-ships like stamps - you would probably have to give up your Italian Passport. Can't see the benefit so long as we remain in EU.

[sabrina79]

thanks .yeah i meant british citizen .and no ,i dont have to give up ,i can keep the italian passport too.for now we are in EU ,but not for long ....i heard .

[Pickle]

It is expensive to become a British Citizen, and (rightly so) a lengthy process. You need to sit a test, then the actual application is in the region of ?700 from memory. I became a citizen in 2010, having lived here 9 years, however haven't yet gone on to get a British passport - I travel on my NZ one and don't really need two!

[sabrina79]

thanks a lot Pickle ,

i heard is expensive like 1.000 pound ..:( my worries is ,if the UK will be not part of the EU any more .i will need the visa .and may will be hard to have it ....i work here and i pay tax .and honestly my intention is not to come back in my country .oo dear take so long !!! sorry to hear that .i hope you get your british passport one day .hopefully soon :)

[Pickle]

If you plan on staying it's definitely worth doing. Chances are the price has gone up, you would be able to find updated prices online I'm sure.

[Chillaxed]

Same as Pickle. It costs near ?1000 (once you factor in travelling to and from the passport office, buying the test textbook, etc) and takes a fair while. And that's just citizenship. You then need to pay for and jump through the hoops and loops of getting a passport (which like Pickle I haven't bothered with 'cause no country has a beef with NZ). Well worth it for mine.

[LondonMix]

It's expensive. First I had to get indefinite leave to remain (which involved sitting the Life in the UK Test etc and proving competency in English etc). To get indefinite leave to remain, you need to have been resident for 5 years I believe and show you can support yourself. After a year, subject to not having been out of the country for too long, you can then apply for a passport. This entire process only took me a few months (but my company paid for an expedited appointment). The longest part was waiting for an appointment to take the test.

I have no idea how this would work for someone in the EU given you already (at least for now!) already have indefinite leave to remain. I'd speak to an immigration lawyer if I were you. Good luck. As Pickle says, if you consider the UK home now, its definitely worth doing. Also, e-dealer, the UK does not require foreign nationals to give up their citizenship to acquire British citizenship. I work with people who even have 3 passports / citizenships (American / French and British)!

[sabrina79]

oo dear . so its true what i heard .well, one day i will have to .so i know i will need to wait for long and pay a lot money for it ...i will start now to save money ,then :)

thanks a lot for taking your time .

[sabrina79]

thank u LOndonmix,

i will definitely, speak with an immigration lawyer , :) thanks again ,all for your help

[antantant]

You don't need to see an imigration lawyer. Thousands of people do this every year. It's easy to follow the instructions on the home office website. Both Italy and the UK allow dual citizenship.

Yes it will cost you about ?1k in all. As an EU citizen you do not need to apply for Leave to Remain.

A bunch of Polish people at my work are going through the process right now and finding it very straight forward.

[sabrina79]

thanks antantant,

i just checked the home office website .:) thank you again !!! :)

[henryb]

Even if Britian does leave the EU I would imagine it would still stay in the EEA or EFTA like Norway - so rights of residence should not be affected.

Nothing is 100% certain though.

[willjac]

May I ask - why is it worth doing ? I've been on indefinite leave to remain for the last 6 years. Sorry to be thick but what would I gain being classed as a british citizen??

[Penguin68]

There are values, even for EU citizens, in having dual nationality with the UK (although the 'best' nationality to have is apparently New Zealand - nobody seems to have anything against them and they get in anywhere easily).

But I really wouldn't do it just because you are worried that the UK will withdraw from the EU - there is a huge amount of water to pass under the bridge before that happens if ever - and, even if the UK did, the residence status and rights of existing non-UK EU national residents would still need to be negotiated and might very well not change (new entrants might well be treated differently).

[the-e-dealer]

Yeah chances of us pulling out completely are nil. And its all based on if Cameron is Prime Minister in 2015 and after the gay marriages that looks doubtful. And we wouldn't throw out our workforce that would be daft!

[ianr]

sabrina79, get your permanent residence confirmed in writing (see http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/documents-eea-nationals/) and you can rely on being able to remain here indefinitely so long as you don't do anything, such as getting convicted of serious crime, that might merit deportation. It would be almost unheard-of for any future law to act retrospectively to remove indefinite leave status once affirmed.

[the-e-dealer]

You could always marry!

[sabrina79]

at Ianr thank u .now is 5 years i m here .all the time when i change house i do communicate to Italian consulate general .and im registered with AIRE i didnt know i need to have the permanent residence confirmed in writting .i ll have a look at the website u gave to me .thank u !!!

at the e dealer .hahahhahaha are you a single guy?lets to get married then !!!! hhehehe just jok .i prefer to pay for to be a british citizen .instead to get marry for to have it ...:)

thank u guys .i knew in this world there is such a lovely people .always ready to help and give a nice advice .!!!!God bless you all !!!!:)

xxx

[ianr]

> i didnt know i need to have the permanent residence confirmed in writting .i ll have a look at the website u gave to me .thank u !!!

As the page says, you don't need to apply for permanent residence, or to get written confirmation of it. You have it by right after five years here as an exerciser of treaty rights. But as you were worried about your future status here, producing the evidence now and getting your status confirmed in writing might be one way of providing reassurance for yourself. After that you could stay here indefinitely even without your Italian, or British, citizenship, and re-enter as a returning resident as stipulated in the immigration rules:

"18. A person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a returning resident may be admitted for settlement provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person concerned:

(i) had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom when he last left; and

(ii) has not been away from the United Kingdom for more than 2 years; and

(iii) did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving the United Kingdom; and

(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement."

[buddug]

Hi Sabrina, as the e-dealer said, there's absolutely no way Britain will leave the EU. It would be economic suicide. The Tory party are just desperate to win a few more supporters among "little Englanders" and the more right-wing business classes who want the workers' rights forced on them by the EU removed. Anyway, the process would take years, so they don't have enough time to do it anyway as they'll be out of government in the next election in two years' time.

By the way, I'd give anything to be able to live in Italy! (although I know the political situation there is as bad as it is here!)

[sabrina79]

hi Buddug , thanks .you are all right guys .

are you sure u ll be happy to live in italy ?!?!? oh gosh .the politic in Italy is more bad then here ,im telling you .in italy is good for the weather and to be on holiday .but for to live ...no jobs no money .ho ooprtunity no benefits no support .but if you need some advice about some good place in italy for holiday .i m here .:) my dreams is to live as a volunteering in India .help and give support to people less lucky ...its whats im try to do over here :) thanks again for your help :)

xxx

[uncleglen]

The quality of life in London is going downhill imho- I can't remember the last time I got a seat on the tube or get on a bus without shoving my way on...living abroad is very rapidly becoming very attractive to me

[Huguenot]

Haha, uncleglen, given your documented unease with enemies near (the Scots) and far (eastern Europeans) and avowedly secular convictions I can't imagine where you have in mind that would fulfill your very exacting requirements.

It only gets worse you know, you should enjoy what you have!

[LadyDeliah]

Some of you are confusing EEA rights with the domestic immigration rules. They are two seperate sets of immigration laws with totally different criteria. IanR the part you quoted is from the domestic immigration rules which has nothing to do with Sabrina as she is Italian. The EEA Regulations are the domestic interpretation of the EC Treaties and govern EEA migration.

Sabrina does not need to marry or apply for Indefinte Leave to Remain. As she has been in the UK for 5 years exercising treaty rights she is automatically entitled to Permanent Residence and she will not lose this unless she is out of the country for more than 2 years (or commits a serious crime and is deported).

If she wants to apply for British citizenship, she can take the ESOL with Citizenship course as English is not her first language. Then she will need to show that she has been working (or otherwise exercising treaty rights) in the UK for at least 5 years, fill in a Naturalisation Form and submit to UKBA with the fee, about ?960 I think.

She should get her Naturalisation Certificate back within 2 months.

After she had received her Naturalisation Certificate, she may apply for a British passport if she wants one, but she doesn't need a passport to show she is British, the Naturalisation Certificate is evidence that she is British.