JAJ

If you're Swedish, have they got Swedish passports? At least for now, they could use these instead of British passports.

Doesn't apply to U.S. citizens, but if the foreign passport needs an entry clearance for tourists then this strategy won't work. No British consular officer will (or should) give a tourist visa to someone who appears to be a British citizen. Although this has happened.

A tourist stamp is legally null and void if given to a British citizen. Could they be registered on a system somewhere as having entered as tourists? Possibly, but probably wouldn't cause any problems. At least for now.

The issue is more to do with proving that they are British citizens for purposes of healthcare, schooling, work (for older children), etc. They generally need British passports for that. In addition, the Passport Office carries out more checks if someone looks for a British passport as a recent arrival to the U.K.

So if you want a simple life, get British passports well in advance of any possible move. Getting a first British passport is good for establishing them in the system. It would be quicker/easier then to renew it later on.

HOWEVER - if you want to do things the other way around, then it normally can be done. But there will be more administrative problems and delays.

slummymummy

No they don't have swedish passports. I haven't registered them as swedish although I'm thinking about doing that. They can travel to the UK and sweden on holiday on the US ones.

Noorah101

No. A UKC has the right to live in the UK.

Rene

slummymummy

I know but how do they know it's a UKC when they have on their system that a US passport holder entered and "overstayed"?

Noorah101

Who is "they"? It doesn't matter. As long as the individual in question can prove they are a UKC, the stamp in their passport is meaningless.

Rene

slummymummy

Ok. It was just that I was told before that to visit the UK on a US passport is fine but not to move there. And I thought that totally made sense. (It was when I asked if my kids needed UK passports to visit the UK/europe.)

Even though I don't fully understand all the points that JAJ makes, he seems to think that the best idea is to get a UK passport before the move!

JAJ

Are they even British? If you're Swedish, and your husband is American, then (if they were born in the U.K. since 1983) they're not automatically British by birth unless one of you had U.K. permanent resident status when they were born.

Is that the case? If so, you absolutely need to get them British passports to ensure that this is documented.

As far as I am aware they are also Swedish citizens, however you should be aware that they may lose Swedish citizenship around age 22 unless they make an application to keep it at age 18-21.
http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/287_en.html

You should check if there are military service, or other, obligations in Sweden for them.


Sweden, the U.K. and United States all allow multiple citizenship so they can have all three, if eligible.

slummymummy

Wow, thank you!

They are UK citizens as we both were PRs there when they were born and they have UK passports but one is about to expire.

As for the swedish thing I think I knew that but I'll look into it. They are girls so no military.

This was off topic but thanks again for your concern!

slummymummy

Just to doublecheck, my kids won't lose their UK citizenships just because we don't renew their passports, right?

They were born in the UK, have their UK birth certificates and when we applied for their passports when we were still living in the UK, we had to send the birth certs along with the proof that we were permanent residents. Is there any rule in the UK that they have to apply for something not to lose their UK citizenship when they get older?

Sorry to hijack this thread now but JAJ got me thinking about this again!

MarylandNed

How can a UK citizen be in the UK illegally? UK citizenship trumps all the BS about entering on a foreign passport and getting a visitor stamp.

Moving back to the UK would certainly go more smoothly using a UK passport. But it can be done without it (my 2 kids did it) as long as you have other means of convincing the immigration officer that you are a UKC.

Even if you moved back to the UK on a foreign passport, said you were just visiting and then stayed permanently there's not really much that can happen to you if you are a UKC. In this case though I'd recommend obtaining a UK passport in the UK.

MarylandNed

Whether they hold a UK passport or not does not affect their UK citizenship. Passports are simply proof of UK citizenship. Many UKC's don't have UK passports at all.

No - they remain UKC's unless they take specific steps (with the UK authorities - not a foreign country) to renounce their UK citizenship.

MarylandNed

They don't know. And if the UKC tries to use the US passport to leave/enter the UK again, they might well be asked about it. So get a UK passport if you're a UKC living in the UK.

I once entered the UK on my UK passport and tried to leave on my US passport (on my way back to the US). The official who checked my US passport at Heathrow asked why there was no entry stamp in the US passport. I explained that I was also a UKC who had entered on a UK passport. Once I showed the UK passport, I was waved through.

slummymummy

Ok. Thank you!

JAJ

No. They will keep British citizenship. HOWEVER, it might be difficult in future to prove that you were PR at the time of their birth. So for that reason, it's important to make sure that this evidence is kept in a safe place, and also to keep expired passports. Don't throw away expired passports.

Safest option is to keep renewing British passports, however this costs money.

I would put a higher priority on getting their Swedish citizenship documented, including them having Swedish passports, and making sure they know what to do at age 18 to avoid losing their Swedish citizenship. For now, Swedish passports can substitute for British ones if they want to move to the U.K.

slummymummy

This is exactly what I was thinking and was going to ask you!!!

Edit: So the child's expired UK passport would not be proof of her British citizenship?

Is this information not held on a computer database or something? Once we proved it when they were babies, that should be it, I'm saying this as coming from Sweden where everything is very efficient and your every move is documented by the government!

(And I am looking into the Swedish passports too but I still want them to be British in case they want to go to uni there or something. Plus, we might move back there.)