bryn

New to this as just applying for 138 family sponsered but am I right to think that if we are successful in application, we have around 1 year to trigger visa (visit to Oz etc) and then in 5 years we need to emigrate. After 2 years of staying in Oz can apply for citizenship. What are the implications on future visits/staying in Uk if granted Australian citizenship i.e do you need visas to visit uk, what happens when uk pasport expires, how long can you stay in uk for etc. Any help would be much appreciated and apols if this topic is well covered elsewhere

kirsty&al

Hello,

You can enter the UK, on an Oz passport, for 6 months, as a tourist, without a visa, as long as you have a return ticket. If you are a British citizen as well you will be able to work and stay as long as you like, but using an Oz passport to get out again may require some explanation.

If you reside in the UK for more than 6 months in any one stay or more than an average of 91 days per year over the previous 5 years then you will become a UK tax resident (again). You can get exemptions for compassionate grounds.

BTW, you are allowed to go to France (again on an Oz passport) for 3 months, as a tourist, without a visa, so you can stock up on cheap booze if you want.

Cheers
Alistair

JAJ

You need to clock up 2 years in Australia in the first 5, to keep life simple, so it's best to make the move within 3 years of visa grant.

There are no implications. You keep your British citizenship, and renew your UK passport when it expires.

Things can be a little more complex for those with ither types of British nationality, such as British subject or British Overseas citizen, but if you look at your passport ID page and it says 'British Citizen' you can freely take Australian citizenship and not worry about your status in the UK.

Jeremy

JAJ

There is no passport control on exit from the UK, although this may well change in future. The key point is that British citizens who become Australian can keep British passports.

If you *move* back to the UK it's fairly obvious you'll normally become UK tax resident again, and cease to be Australian tax resident.

But tax residency and citizenship/immigration status are normally two different animals.

To live in the UK, you need either a British passport or a Right of Abode stamp in your Australian passport. Otherwise you'll get delayed every time you come back in, eg if you try to show an Australian passport plus a UK birth or naturalisation certificate.

Jeremy

kirsty&al

Hello Jeremy,

I thought the original question was based on someone who became an Oz Citizen but did not want to keep his UK passport up to date. I am considering this because I have heard that UKPS may be raising the cost of the passport up to £84 sometime around 2007. With 5 people in my family, this could potentially cost me more than £400 just to keep the passports up to date (It may be lower - I'm not sure of the cost of child passports). With the potential move to 5 year passports I may only end up using this for 1 or 2 trips. I'm willing to put up with the delay: my bags are always the last out on the carousel

On the tax issue, even if you do not move back, then you could be caught out if you spend too much time back in the UK. Realistically this shouldn't be a problem for most people.

Regards
Alistair

bryn

Thanks for info, Jeremy and Alistair. An answer always leads to more questions so why the 'keep life simple' need to spend 2 years within the 5 year visa limit in Australia as opposed to emigrating in say 4.5 years or within the visa life span and then spending the 2 years unbroken in Australia, and what is to stop you applying for citizenship in Australia and then residing in Uk for prolonged periods of time (years).

JAJ

Because after the 5 year period you need a Resident Return Visa if you want to leave Australia (for *any* reason - holidays included). Unless you have spent 2 years in Australia by the time the 5 year mark comes along, you are into complicated scenarios to get an RRV if you're in Australia. And almost certainly lost PR if you've not moved by then.
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf




As long as you get sworn in as a citizen before you think about moving - nothing. If you become citizens you then have the freedom to live as long outside Australia as you like without needing to worry about RRVs or losing your PR.


Jeremy

JAJ

Also remember that UK passports are more expensive to obtain from the British High Commission, compared to the UK price.

If you're living in Australia, and only going to take vacations in the UK, then you don't need British passports.

If you have a child born in Australia it is very advisable to at least get the first British passport straight away, as this is the only way to document its citizenship (the UK doesn't do citizenship certs except for those who are naturalised British).

I think realistically it's not an issue except for those who are quite wealthy.

Jeremy

kirsty&al

Or possibly people who have retired and have children back in the UK. They may want to spend, say, 4 month a year in the UK (moving between the children) and the rest in Oz. After 4 years this would become a problem for them as they would become tax resident in the UK (91 day rule) and Oz (half year rule) at the same time. Fortunately they would not have to pay more tax but it would make filing the forms complicated.

Regards
Alistair

rudo1ph

Not sure what that means, but my daughter had a citizenship certificate from the UK - she was born overseas and adopted by us whilst we were living overseas. From what I can tell that doesn't make her "naturalised"

kirsty&al

Hello,

It sounds like she is naturalised. A naturalised citizen of a country is someone who becomes a citizen of that country rather than someone who is automatically a citizen of that country (typically through birth or parentage).

Regards
Alistair

rudo1ph

Not according to this:- http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind...lisation.html?

JAJ

An overseas adoption does not automatically confer British citizenship on a child. Did you separately apply for her to have British citizenship.

Children and some adults getting British citizenship obtain a 'Certificate of registration' rather than a 'Certificate of naturalisation'. Is that what she has?

When I used the term 'naturalised British' I meant those who are British by registration as well. Registration is basically a simplified form of naturalisation under UK law.

Jeremy

rudo1ph

Yes, we had to apply to gain British Citizenship for her, it was not automatic as she was adopted from a country where the UK does not recognise the adoption process.

Yes, she has a Certificate of Registration as a British Citizen.

Rudi

Gibbo

My eldest son was born in Scotland and left when he was 3 years old. He obtained his first British passport a couple of months ago, at 41 years old, with no hassle. My youngest son who was born in Australia got his first British passport when he was around 12 years old and again no hassle.