kevtar

Hello all,

My name is Kevin. My wife and I are in our early forties and we have been considering a move to the UK for quite some time. Our oldest sons are off to university, so they will miss out on the fun, but my teenage daughter will be coming along with us. We have family in Wales and we've always felt a strong connection to all things Welsh (thanks to my mother!). I understand this site is generally for British citizens abroad, but I thought that with the wealth of information amongst the members of the forum, I might be able to find an answer to my question (or at least some advice). I understand this is the "welcome to the forums" section, so if anyone could point me to the appropriate category for the following questions, I'd be more than happy to cross-post. Thanks in advance. Here goes...

I am an American born dual-citizen (US/UK). I applied for a British passport early in 2012 and just recently found out that the passport was lost in transit. In the meantime, I had applied (and received an offer) for a job in the UK. Now that I have accepted the offer, the employer is asking me to provide documents to prove my eligibility to work in the UK. I have some options, but these are the two most reasonable:

1) Provide a British passport. My passport has been requested, but I was told to expect up to 6 weeks for the passport to be processed. Unfortunately, the employer may not be able to keep the post open for that length of time and has indicated that they may revoke the offer after 6 weeks has passed.

2) Provide my "Certificate of registration as a British citizen" (which I have) and a National Insurance number (which I do not have). This leads me up to my question(s)...

I have the documents necessary to support my application for a National Insurance number, and I can expect a National Insurance number with approximately 10 days of my interview. However, I need to be in the UK to receive it. Here come the questions:

a) If I travel to the UK on my US passport, will I be able to enter the country on a one-way ticket, or will immigration services require a return ticket?

b) If I travel to the UK on my US passport, will I be able to go through the process of getting my National Insurance number, or would that violate the terms to enter the country granted by the Visa on my US passport?

b1) referring to "b" - does my status as a British citizen allow me to undertake activities to meet the requirements of my job offer irrespective of my entering the country on a US passport (and the relevant Visa terms)?

Your insight is very much appreciated.
Thanks!

Jerseygirl

Hi Kevin...welcome to BE.

As your post contains so much detail I have moved across to the Moving Back To The UK forum. Someone should be along shortly to help you with your questions.

JAJ

Probably best to have a return ticket. Usually not much more expensive.

Any tourist stamp you get in a U.S. passport is null and void if you are a British citizen. Bring your Certificate of Registration to show immigration. However, you can't expect a free forum to tell you if you will have problems or not.

What kind of job is this? It's usually not easy to find a replacement, so it's not normal for an employer to want to revoke a job offer after 6 weeks for a reason like this. Unless it's a low wage job.


Your wife and daughter? What are you planning to do regarding their visas to settle in the United Kingdom? Have you thought about the new spouse visa situation, and in particular the 5 year temporary period before settlement is granted? How will that impact your daughter, especially if she turns 18 and is still not a permanent resident?

ldollard

Get a return ticket, usually doesn't cost much more anyway and it'll solve hassles at immigration.

Just send your employer your Certificate of registration, this should be sufficient.

Entering the UK on a US passport should have no relevance on your status as a UK citizen.

When you go through just enter as a US visitor if asked by an immigration official simply explain your situation with your registration certificate, possibly print out any reference letters or emails pertaining to your passport application and any correspondence related to the lost passport. If you have the passport number that would also be very useful. Lastly, you might possibly be able to get your passport from your nearest UK consulate on the same day under emergency rules, although not so sure on that.

kevtar

Thanks. After some further research (and these couple of posts), I think the return ticket is the best bet.

Unfortunately, my employer needs either a passport or a combination of a certificate of registration and a NI number. I intend to tell immigration that I'm in the UK to gather documents to support my claim to British citizenry - then show them the certificate, my application for passport, all of the email correspondence I've had with the US consulate in LA and embassy in DC regarding my certificate and my passport.

The catch is, I assume I will most likely have to return to the US on that return ticket (on my US passport) and then fly back to the UK on my new British passport. The reason being that when I enter the UK on my US passport I will only be able to stay for a limited time (even though I am a UK citizen, I didn't enter using UK credentials). If I don't leave the UK under the rules for US passports I could be reported as over-staying my time in the UK. Does that make sense?

ldollard

I suppose, but it would have no relevance to you as a British citizen or passport holder, only on your entry as a US citizen with which you'd never enter the UK again on.

brioche

The employer is merely following UK Government guidelines, requiring either: (i) a passport identifying you as a British citizen, or (ii) your registration certificate and an official document giving your National Insurance number. Note that they would need to see original documents.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...llegalworking/

As long as you get your passport before you start working, I'd expect the employer to be reasonable about this, but of course that's up to them.

That's not an issue if you manage to get past immigration in the first place, and you're worrying about the wrong problem. See JAJ's remarks.

kevtar

Yep. I have no issue with the employer or the process. I understand this is just "the way it is." I just want to make sure I'm going about things in the right way.

That's good to know. I will be waiting for my replacement UK passport for as long as I can with the hope it will arrive in time and all this will be academic - but if it doesn't show up in time for the employer's deadline, then I'll pack all of the supporting documents, correspondence, etc... I have and book a flight (either open-ended or a return ticket) and apply for the NI #.

kevtar

I agree. That's sound advice.

Thanks. That's good to know, and BTW - I'm not expecting a free forum to tell me if I'll have problems or not - just seeking from friendly advice and insight.

The deadline is more about the employer's project deadlines/processes than immigration issues (I believe). I was just told that if things progress to far past my original start date, it would most likely cause "major issues."

We are working through the visa process for them. I don't anticipate any problem with my wife regarding the 5 year period, as we are intending to permanently settle in the UK. I'm still reading about how this will impact my daughter. I was just offered the position in December and was asked to start in Feb, so we've had to digest a lot of information in a short amount of time (and I'm still digesting! ).

To complicate all of this, I'm currently in the Pacific on a contract job, so on top of the regular complexities of UK immigration, managing this process from a developing country while coordinating things in the US and UK is really doin' my head in. I appreciate your help!

JAJ

And quite possibly, it will. However the employer then has three options: 1. wait the extra time for you to take up the job, 2. start the process to look for someone else (which will also take time) or 3. abandon the project and not hire anyone.

My suggestion for your daughter is to see if you can sponsor her for permanent residence as your child, instead of leaving her as a dependent on your wife's spouse visa. It will probably cost more but may be workable as a solution and give her a lot more security. In other words, although your wife would have to wait 5 years for permanent residence, your daughter may be eligible sooner. Take some legal advice from an immigration solicitor on this option.

Regarding British citizenship, how old is your daughter right now and did you get your British citizenship (I'm assuming UKM registration?) before or after she was born?

kevtar

I will definitely look into sponsoring her as my daughter rather than having her as a dependent on my wife's visa. Thanks for the tip. My daughter is 15 and I did receive my British citizenship a year ago through UKM registration.