Tina Baker

Can anyone help me on this?........I have a 18month old son who I got an Aussie passport for when he was 6 months. We have now decided to return to the UK. I have read that Australians don't need a visa to visitthe UK however we will be returning to live. Would it be OK just to take him into the country and not take him back out again or do I need a Visa if he is to stay? would it be checked up on if he never returned to Oz?.........alternatively, would it be simpler to get him an English passport? If i did get him a UK passport would he loose his Aussie one? There is a section on the UK passport form C2 which asks for any previously issued passports to be sent with the form.......will I get this back? I was hoping that I could keep up his Australian passport, therefore allowing him to return to Oz one day, if thats what he wanted, without any of the hassle that we had.

Sorry if this is covered somewhere else but I really can't find an answer.

northernbird

My daughter was born in Canada and was entitled to british citizenship because we are british. We returned to UK when she was 2 and they stamped her Canadian passport with a 6 month stay only but we were told she was eligible to stay because she had british citizenship even though we hadn't physically got her a passport. If you are all travelling on a british passport it would be easier in my view to get him an british passport before you leave if you have time and no you don't have to give up your aussie one.

JAJ

One parent must also be born or naturalised in the UK. A British parent is not enough in itself for citizenship if born outside the UK, and if that rule doesn't affect your daughter it might affect your future grandchildren.

northernbird

sorry JAJ I assumed that the OP was british by birth as I am.

JAJ

For a simple life, just get him a British passport in Australia. No such thing as an English passport.

And he can have both British and Australian passports - where did you get the idea he can't? If from the UK passport application orm where it asks for other passport details, then the reason is just to confirm identity - nothing else.

You should get him an Australian citizenship certificate too as this will make renewing his passport easier later on - use form 119 and pay AUD55:
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/119.pdf

Your profile suggests that you have been in Australia close to 2 years. Why on earth don't you wait to get your Australian citizenship before leaving? What will you do in 25 years or so if your child decides to return to Australia as an adult and you want to join him but are unable to?

Or if one of your other children (or future children) gets upset because of not having the same nationality rights as his or her brother? Remember that if you become citizens, you can register any future children born in the UK as Australian citizens by descent.

It's really not a good idea for close family members to be divided by nationality, so think carefully about the options.

ladyofthelake

Isn't that refering to previous British passports issued?

JAJ

It's a grey area. As far as I understand it they are interested in foreign passports because they are a useful proof of identity. But not every office may want to see a foreign passport in all cases. And foreign passports will be returned (for goodness sake, investigate the process for using a courier ... )

Remember - when they issue a British passport they not only want to know that the applicant is a British citizen (or other British national), but that the applicant really is who he or she claims to be.

Tina Baker

Thanks guys. Its given me lots to think about........two more questions, if my son has citizenship of Australia will that affect any of his rights in the UK and is it possible for him to have duel citizenship when in Britain?

JAJ

NO!

YES! He is already a dual citizen if one of his parents is a British citizen born or naturalised in the UK.

The one thing you do need to know is that a dual British/Australian citizen cannot access consular protection in the "other" country. So if he were to get into trouble in Australia he couldn't call on the British High Commission and vice versa. This is normal when people have dual citizenship.

But other than that, the way it usually works is that when he is in the United Kingdom he will be treated as if he was solely British, and when in Australia he will be treated as if he is solely Australian. Again, this is normal practice.

Tina Baker

Brilliant! Thanks JAJ! You are a wealth of knowledge and really are a big help to loads of people! Thank-you for helping me.