Senker

Hello. I am well-aware of the fact that my situation is very odd and unusual, but I really don't know where to start looking; starting out with an expat community seemed rather reasonable when I first thought of it. Anyway, there is no use in needlessly prolonging this, so I'll get right to the main point of this thread.

My father, an Englishman, and my mother, a Scot, both went to university in the UK, but irrelevant circumstances (adventurism among them, I suppose) pushed them to cross the pond. As it happens, I was born in America, but my two British-born parents instantly procured a British passport for me, making me a bit like our dearest Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson! I spent my whole life as a dual US-UK citizen; I went to the UK frequently (often two times a year), spent time with my grandparents, etc., etc.

The only issue was that I opted to join the Navy after graduating from college, which required a series of sacrifices. My burgundy passport was among them, I am afraid. I wasn't particularly happy to do so, but renunciation was necessary to obtain a security clearance. Now, however, I have left the uniformed services; I am just another private citizen. And, as a matter of fact, I'd like my citizenship back because I am able to travel back-and-forth with greater frequency than ever, although Heathrow officials don't seem to be fond of the 3,000,000,000 stamps.

Thanks in advance.

Pollyana

Did you actually formally renounce your citizenship or just give up your passport?

Senker

No, I renounced my citizenship; I ceased being a Briton.

Pollyana

Ok, have to wait for the experts then........

We do get a fair number of people on here who believe that just relinquishing their passport is enough, thats why I checked

HKG3

The OP may resume his or her British Citizenship. Please see link below -

https://www.gov.uk/renounce-british-...sh-nationality

You can only resume your British Citizenship once.

I am sure that BiP will be able to give the OP more details.

Senker

Thank you very much. I don't intend on relinquishing my citizenship again, so the one-time limitation is no issue; it was merely an obligation forced upon me by the Navy. There is one issue, though:I wasn't going to lose my American citizenship if I refused to give up my British one. It was necessary to get the clearance, not to remain a U.S. citizen. Would that explanation be accepted, or are they notoriously rigid in processes of this type?

Sorry for bothering...

BritInParis

To be clear you made an application to the Home Office in the UK to renounce your citizenship, paid the appropriate fee and receive a letter from the Home Office stating you were no longer a British citizen?

Senker

I submitted a declaration of renunciation, yes.

Thank you very much. There is one issue, however:It was a requirement for my security clearance; I was never at risk of losing my American citizenship, so I don't have a letter or any document saying I would've lost my U.S. citizenship.

Sorry for bothering.

BritInParis

I think the OP's reply may be awaiting approval?

Pollyana

Its gone missing somewhere for sure........

Pollyana

I think you may have answered BritinPari's post further down about 15minutes after he posted but for some reason your reply has vanished!!!

Can you post it again please?

Jerseygirl

Correct...the posts have now been approved.

HKG3

From my limited understanding, the statement you noted is for people who gave up their British Citizenship in order to gain another nationality and the country in question does not allow dual nationality for their citizens. The two examples below may help you to understand the reasoning behind this statement.

In the case of China, if you want to become a Chinese national, you will need to give up your current nationality in order to do so. While in the case of Japan, dual nationality is not allow for adults. Thus Japanese dual nationals will need to choose which one to keep when they become adults.

As both the UK and US allows dual nationality for their citizens, I think what you quoted above does not apply to you.

Pollyana

Note the bit underneath - You may have to provide different documents if you originally gave up citizenship for a reason other than you’d have lost or failed to get citizenship of another country - read the guidance for details.


https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...e_mar_2015.pdf

BritInParis

Sorry to labour the point but it is important that you actually submitted and received confirmation from the Home Office in the UK that you were no longer a British citizen. You would have needed to demonstrate that you held another citizenship and you would have paid a fee. You would have received a copy of your Declaration of Renunciation which you will need enclose with your resumption application. I will assume that this is the case for the rest of my post.

There are two sections under British nationality law through which a former British citizen may resume their British citizenship by registration; Section 13(1) and Section 13(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

Section 13(1) is for those who gave up their British citizenship in order to retain or acquire another citizenship. An eligible person would be entitled to resume their British citizenship providing they are of good character. Section 13(2) restricts this entitlement to one occasion. Any further occasions are at the discretion of the Home Secretary.

Section 13(3) is for those who gave up their British citizenship for any other reason. You would fall under this category. There is no entitlement for you to resume your British citizenship under this section rather you may make an application which the Home Secretary will permit "if s/he thinks fit". In reality these powers are delegated to the immigration officer making the decision who will be guided by Home Office policy.

You therefore have no right to resume your British citizenship although you may make an application to do so at the Home Office's discretion. Renunciation to further one's career is usually sufficient grounds for discretionary resumption and so you should provide evidence to demonstrate that the renunciation of your British citizenship was necessary in order to obtain the necessary security clearance to advance your career in the US Navy.

You will need to send a completed Form RS1 to the Home Office in Liverpool together with your long form US birth certificate showing that your parents were born in the UK, your US passport, your copy of your Declaration of Renunciation and the evidence discussed above.

The fee is £1121. The weak pound at the moment means this is 'only' ~US$1370. You will requested to enrol your biometrics and attend a citizenship ceremony at your local British consulate as part of the application process. Once you have sworn a oath/made a solemn affirmation of allegiance to HM The Queen, her heirs and successors and pledged your loyalty to the United Kingdom you will become a British citizen again. You will receive a Certificate of registration as a British citizen under S.13(3) which you can then use to apply for your British passport.

As you were born a British citizen by descent then this is the status that you will resume. This means that any children of yours that are born outside the United Kingdom and qualifying overseas territories are not automatically entitled to British citizenship.