handslikesecrets

I realize there are several forums with some of this addressed already, but I get the impression that the process has changed recently.
I was born in the UK, moved to the USA when I was 14. I'm now 27, and was naturalized as a US citizen a few years ago. I have a UK passport and a US passport (I reside int he US).
I was under the impression that I needed to fill out a C1 document by hand and mail in my application to renew my UK passport, which expires next month.
However, I stumbled across passportapplication.service.gov.uk, where I can apply online... is this the same price/as efficient as just mailing in the C1 form? At the top it says BETA, so I'm not sure how reliable it is.
Thanks for any help!

lansbury

I stand to be correct but for those of us living overseas I thought the online application was the only way to go now. Others here have most certainly used it without any problems.

BritInParis

Form C1 has been retired for some time now. Applying online is your only option.

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

bewildering

May I ask your reasoning for renewing your UK passport? I am in the same situation as yourself: my UK passport expired in June, but I became a US citizen this year and got a US passport in July.

I am debating whether to renew my UK passport. What are the pros and cons for you? For me, the cons are that renewing the UK passport costs time and money. I can easily afford it but there does not seem to be many advantages. I can enter the UK as a citizen - I think that is it?

I am just curious if I am missing some advantages of having a UK passport?

LondonSquirrel

If you enter the UK on your US passport you will be stamped in as a visitor. And they could potentially regional entry, though if you've proof of British citizenship on you like your last passport you should be alright. There are some countries where you need a visa if American but not if British, Gambia for example. Apparently the UK is the citizenship most valuable in terms of number of countries where we are allowed without a visa. And of course you have the automatic right to stay in any EU country as long as you like or at least 6 months whereas many EU countries allow Americans only 90 days.

hungryhorace

You can enter on your US passport and still enter as a UK citizen, to be fair

hungryhorace

All that you have written is pretty debatable (I did use a stronger word, but thought better).

The OP does _not_ require a UK passport to stay in the country longer than 90 days. He is a British citizen. End of discussion. Ultimately, his birth certificate is what really matters, NOT his passport.

Second, the information about EU residency rights is, again, more nonsense. He is a EU citizen by virtue of being a British citizen. He does not require a passport to 'prove' this. He can simply rock up at any European country with his US passport, be stamped in as a visitor, and continue to live and work in that European country by virtue of being a British citizen (again, a birth certificate would be fine).

LondonSquirrel

Since when did a birth certificate prove UK citizenship? Anyone born after 1983 is not automatically British just by being born there. Obviously as a British he is entitled to live and work in any EU country and I didn't suggest otherwise but proving it to the necessary authorities is another matter. They could decide to be awkward and demand proof of his citizenship.

hungryhorace

A persons birth certificate is their ultimate proof of citizenship. A passport can be wrongly issued.

BritInParis

To quote Jason Robards' uncredited Admiral at the end of Crimson Tide, you are both right and you are both wrong.

British nationality law is a complex matter and ultimately determining whether someone is a British citizen is a matter for the courts. Birth in the United Kingdom, whether before or after 1983, does not guarantee British citizenship and even if you were a British citizen by birth it can be lost if you renounce your citizenship or have it revoked. Likewise British passports can, and have been, issued incorrectly to non-British citizens as passport examiners are not infallible.

Practically speaking however a valid British citizen passport, whilst not proof someone is a British citizen, does provide the strongest evidence that the holder is a British citizen. This would apply whether attempting to enter the UK or a foreign country as a British citizen or seeking to exercise EEA/EU treaty rights.

S Folinsky

Dual national brother-in-law [born in US, natz'd in UK] uses two passports. It seems to alleviate problems. [Former sister-in-law has THREE passports, US, UK and Australia. She was born with two of them and later acquired the third].

Steve_

You don't even need a birth certificate frankly, you can enter the UK with zero documentation at the discretion of the port director, they have various databases they can check. Ditto for the US.

False claim to citizenship usually means a lifetime ban, so best avoided.

johnnybrown532

When you do you intend to travel back to england again or into Europe again?. Soon or not for a long time? If you don't foresee travelling for a couple of years or a few years I would leave it for a while and keep the money in your pocket and as has been said you don't need it in some circumstances. You don't have to renew it just because it is running out. There is no law saying it must be renewed immediately upon running out.

BritInParis

If you can afford it easily, then the question becomes why wouldn't you?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/citiz...ssport-848656/

zzrmark

My mother applied for a passport on Tuesday last week (not a renewal) and received her new passport on Friday, just three days later!!!!

EDIT: To clarify, this was for a UKC in UK but does put aside some of the scare stories that some people bandy about with regards to time taken for processing. My last renewal was in April two years ago and took about a week to process