firwan

Hi British Expat,

My situation:
I'm a Malaysian born 1982 in UK and im eligible to apply for Right of Abode(ROA) certificate which im doing it now. Married (non-British citizen - Malaysian) and having 4 kids (eligible for ROA also). Im just applying the certificate as of now and have not plan to move to UK in the near future. My justification is...better to have it now before there change the policy on ROA.

I'm applying ROA via visa4uk online application. There are a few sections that display. Namely

• Passport and travel information
• Personal details and travel history
• Family details
• Employment and income
• Family and friends in the UK
• Medical treatment
• Right of Abode
• Addtional Information

There are a few fields that i'm not able to answer. I hope british expat can help and assist me here. Thanks in advance. Below are the fields that i'm not able to answer:

Section: Passport and travel information
What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?
- I do not have any particular place to stay in UK yet. Just planing to get the ROA only for now. Is there anyway to justify this or it is a mandatory to have a proper address to get the Right of Abode.

Section: Employment and income
What is your total monthly income from all sources of employment or occupation, after tax?
- For ROA does my total monthly income in my home country will affect the application.



Again do i still need to fill the fields above? Considering i'm applying for ROA and not a visa. Will the immigration reject my application if let say my saving is not high enough to justify my expenditures. I dont see in ROA requirement to have a certain amount of saving to be eligible.

Help me please.

Thanks in advance british expat. I appreciate any advice or guidance. Thank you

not2old

A bit confusing is your post

Why not just apply for a British passport if you were born in the UK & have a British birth certificate?

from the forms & guide notes below. The ROA for those living in the UK.

Are you currently in the UK?

Are you applying because you were born in the UK, or that a parent or grandparent was born in the UK?

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...Accessible.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...4_20150107.pdf

not2old

just found a thread where you asked this same question back in October 2012 & was answered in that thread I believe?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/citiz...ountry-776152/

From what you've told us, it would appear that you are a British Citizen. If so, apply for the passport

http://uk-passport-service-guide.com...ssion-malaysia

http://www.gov.ai/forms/passport/form-c1.pdf

http://www.expressbritishpassport.co...1-walkthru.pdf

BritInParis

I concur with not2old. Little point in applying for ROA certificates if you and your children are British citizens. If you're worried about Malaysia's restrictions on dual nationality then it's irrelevant as you and your children will be British citizens whether you have British passports or ROA certificates.

However not2old's links are out of date. You can now only apply for a British passport overseas via this website: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

not2old

Thanks for the link update BritinParis

firwan

Thank you not2old for the response,

Sorry for not giving more details. I'm living and working in Malaysia but was born in UK. Non of my parents are British citizen. The only thing that make me eligible is because i was born in UK before the 1st January 1983.

I still need my Malaysia citizenship as all my family and relatives are still here in Malaysia. So I'm trying to apply via online (visa4uk) this Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode stamp in my Malaysian Passport. As of now I do not have any plan to go to UK yet. I just want to prepare myself with the Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode before deciding to settle in UK with my family. That plan is still far ahead.

and thats the dilemma. Because of that i do not have any particular address in UK to put as there need it in the form online. And also all the finance and expenditure details. Can I leave the UK address blank and just giving merely an estimation on the expenditures?

I may need to change the subject into applying Certificate on entitlement - Right of Abode to avoid further confusion to the other members. I'm sorry for my part of mistake. Thanks again

firwan

Hi BritInParis,

Thanks for response. I do agree with you on the British Citizen part. I am a British citizen, but as long as I hold a valid Malaysia Passport then I'm still consider as Malaysian Citizen also.

My worry would be if i apply for UK passport overseas then it will revoke my current citizenship with Malaysia. I hope with this certificate it would not go to that extend.

Thanks again BritInParis.

firwan

Yes not2old. In that thread I'm trying to understand my situation in Malaysia and UK Immigration's perspective. After a comprehensive explanation from JAJ, I have a better understanding on my situation from both parties; Malaysia and UK.

In this thread I'm raising a different matter, that is in visa4uk online application for the Certificate of Entitlement - Right of Abode. There are few fields that I cannot give inputs and exact or maybe close figures. As I have asked in my first post in this thread.

This matter raised because I am not planing to go to UK yet or in the near future. Is there anyone that have this similar situation? or anyone can advise me on this. Thank you again

knighstrike

Technically, you are British and Malaysian. But since Malaysia doesn't allow dual-citizenship, then you have to choose one, and you chose Malaysian citizenship. But under the UK law, you are still British.

But since you want to go back to the UK, then I suggest to give up your Malaysian citizenship, then apply for a British passport. I know that you don't want this, but it will be much easier for you and your family since you are planning to stay long term anyway in the UK.

If ever in the future that you want to go back to Malaysia, then you can just give up your UK citizenship again, then re-pledge as Malaysian. Seriously, you can do that.

------------

P.S.

What I suggested is also a much cheaper route instead of going through the whole visa process. It's like using a lift instead of going up the stairs.

BritInParis

After reading through the relevant registration, namely Article 24 of the Constitution of Malaysia (see below), I think you are correct to be cautious in acquiring a British passport. I would however conclude that loss of Malaysian citizenship is not automatic as it would still need to be ordered by the Federal Government. You would need to research how common an occurrence that is.

Quote:

24.
● (1) If the Federal Government is satisfied that any citizen has acquired by registration, naturalization or other voluntary and formal act (other than marriage) the citizenship of any country outside the Federation, the Federal Government may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

● (2) If the Federal Government is satisfied that any citizen has voluntarily claimed and exercised in any country, being rights accorded exclusively to its citizens, the Federal Government may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

● (3) (Repealed)

● (3A) Without prejudice to the generality of Clause (2), the exercise of a vote in any political election in a place outside the Federation shall be deemed to be the voluntary claim and exercise of a right available under the law of that place; and for the purposes of Clause (2), a person who, after such date as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may by order appoint for the purposes of this Clause -

❍ (a) applies to the authorities of a place outside the Federation for the issue or renewal of a passport; or

❍ (b) uses a passport issued by such authorities as a travel document,

● shall be deemed voluntarily to claim and exercise a right available under the law of that place, being a right accorded exclusively to the citizens of that place.

● (4) If the Federal Government is satisfied that any woman who is a citizen by registration under Clause (1) of Article 15 has acquired the citizenship of any country outside the Federation by virtue of her marriage to a person who is not a citizen, the Federal Government may by order deprive her of her citizenship.

not2old

back to the OP

I believe the form that you have in your first opening post is ONLY for those applying who are presently living in the UK

You need the form for those applying from outside the UK. Below is the one that I found & I dont know if this is the latest up to date version

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...bode-form-vaf7

Take a look through the links

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...61445/vaf7.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...ight-abode.pdf

if you are using an agent, then I suggest you go back to them with this information

JAJ

Right of Abode is a statutory entitlement for a British citizen. It is not dependent on having a U.K. address or meeting any financial requirements. So it should be safe to leave these sections blank.

It is common for Malaysians who acquired British citizenship at birth, or automatically by process of law (before 1983), to seek a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode instead of a British passport. This in turn means a lower risk of having Malaysian citizenship revoked.

firwan

Hi not2old and JAJ,

Thanks not2old for the links and also JAJ for the response I do agree with you. Unfortunately, if I make my application from Malaysia, i need to do it online via visa4uk and the system make it mandatory for me to fill that field (UK address). I have called UK visa and immigration and their response is to get any of my friend address in the UK. Now i'm hunting for friends. hahahhah

For the finance & expenditure information,it is the same. The system make it mandatory even though i'm just applying for the certificate. There asked me to give just a rough estimation. Well I completed that part. Only the address part. Who wants to be my friend? hehehehe...just kidding.

Wish me luck guys. Thank you
I will update this thread on my journey to get the certificate.

Thanks again

p/s: if anyone willing to give their address. I'm more than happy to accept it. PM me ok. hihiihi

firwan

Thanks BritInParis,

I did not cross that document(Malaysia Constitution)...thank you. Now I have all the reference I need. Thank you BritInParis

JAJ

Since ROA is a statutory entitlement (in fact, not even an entitlement - you either have it or you don't), it most likely is illegal for them (either the Home Office or a private company they have outsourced to) to effectively force you to provide a U.K. address. In fact, it is probably illegal for them to force you to use a private company and they may have to respond to a paper application made directly. A competent immigration solicitor could advise further.