Kay Carbe

I am British and being sponsored inland by my Canadian husband. I have the AIP, EA
and have started work, with a view to when my sons and I have fulfilled the time
required, to apply for Canadian citizenship.

My question is whether or not it is "better" to be have dual nationality or "better"
to give up our British nationality totally in favour of Canadian nationality. I
understand I can hold both a UK passport and a Canadian one, but have also heard if I
give up my British passport I can have a Canadian passport stamped at Ottawa (I
presume the British High Commission) to state I am a British subject. What the
advantage of this I'm not sure?

Can anyone clarify this for me and if anyone has experience of any
advantages/disadvantages of either way I would be interested to hear from them.

Thank you for any help.

--
Check out my homepage http://members.home.net/kaycarbe/home

Ashley Watson

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Hi

I am British by birth and am a naturalised citizen of New Zealand, having lived there
for 12 years before coming to Canada. In three years I will apply for Canadian
citizenship. For me personally, the meaning of nationality has become less and less
important. I have a core culture which is Scottish but also now have a second culture
which is New Zealand along with now I am beginning to adopt the culture of Quebec.

My British passport expired many years ago and have only used my New Zealand passport
for travelling, even to the UK. There I am treated like any other tourist and am
given 6 months to stay and am not allowed to work. If I wanted to work I would have
to leave the country and reenter on a British passport. You can if you as you pointed
out apply for the a right of abode stamp in your foriegn passport if you wish but its
not really worthwhile.

Although I dont feel British atall, I have retained my Britiish citizenship, I just
dont travel on a British passport. People either give up their nationality to aquire
another nationality or for personal reasons decide to renounce their nationality.
This could be to try and avoid military service for instance or as a personal protest
against your former country.

I have a friend who has four passports, so like her I feel more like a citizen of the
world, not really a citizen of a particular country. At the end of the day it comes
down to your own personal feelings about who you are, how you see yourself and how
you wish other people to see you. I went through different phases after I became a
New Zealand citizen. Depending on who I met, if someone asked me where I was from I
would say New Zealand, as it was easier than trying to explain your background,
unless people were interested and noted my accent then I would explain. Here in
Quebec no-one knows where Im from, as I speak French the most of the time, and my
accent is differenct when I speak that language.

That has been my experience of duel nationality and am looking forward to becomming a
Canadian or you never know a Quebecois.

Ashley Watson

Franklin Keefe

I,for one,can't see any real disadvantages to your having both citizenships.You never
know when the British citizenship might come in handy for you and/or your kids;the
right to live and work in Europe being just one of them.

There's no need for you to "exercise" any of the rights you might have as a
UK citizen if you'd rather not...that is,you can basically pretend that you
don't have it.

I've been a dual citizen since birth (born in the US of Irish parents) and,although I
consider myself to be fully "American",I've found my Irish passport to be quite
useful in the past,and with it I someday hope to retire in Italy,something I couldn't
do otherwise.

In short,if you wish to make a firm gesture of loyalty to Canada,you can certainly
renounce your UK citizenship but short of that,I can't see any real reason so to do.

Just my opinion,of course!

Kay Carbe wrote:

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Rich Wales

Kay Carbe wrote:

> I am British and being sponsored inland by my Canadian husband.
> . . . My question is whether or not it is "better" to have dual nationality or
> "better" to give up our British nationality totally in favour of Canadian
> nationality.

In virtually all cases, there would be absolutely no need or reason for you to give
up your British citizenship after becoming a Canadian citizen. In other words, keep
both and retain "dual" citizenship, because Canada simply doesn't care, and keeping
British citizenship might come in handy sometime (such as if you want to go back to
the UK for a while to work, care for your parents or other relatives, etc.).

> I understand I can hold both a UK passport and a Canadian one,

True. Neither of these countries objects to dual citizenship.

> but have also heard if I give up my British passport I can have a Canadian
> passport stamped at Ottawa (I presume the British High Commission) to state I
> am a British subject.

Please keep in mind that "giving up" your British passport (or simply failing to
renew your British passport when it expires) is =NOT= the same as renouncing your
British citizenship.

> What the advantage of this is, I'm not sure.

Having this sort of stamp put in your Canadian passport would allow you to travel to
the UK (in order to live or work there) with just one passport. It's simply a
question of convenience.

Also, BTW, the term "British subject" is obsolete nowadays. You are a British
"citizen", as I understand current British law.

For that matter, Canadian citizens used to be "British subjects" until sometime in
the 1980's. Nowadays, Canadian citizens are some- times classified as "citizens of
the Commonwealth", though this designation (as far as I'm aware) doesn't confer any
additional status for Canadians under British law.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Gary L. Dare

My British passport expired many years ago and have only used my New Zealand
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So it is not against the law for a British citizen to enter the UK on another
passport? I'm aware that it's a crime for US citizens to do so when entering America.
Likely Canada, too.

Because we don't live in an open world (again; like before WW I), often dual/multiple
nationality opens a lot of doors that would otherwise be closed. I have colleagues
who use that to their advantage in their careers, they travel all over and nobody can
mess with them because they're a citizen of the locality and can do as they please
within the law.

--
Gary L. Dare [email protected]

"Je me souviens"

Stephen Gallagher

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That's a widely held misconception, but it's not correct. The US does not prohibit or
forbid dual citizenship. Neither US immigration law, nor US nationality law even
mention dual citizenship.

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As long as your friend intended to keep her US citizenship (and the State Department
assumes that you do intend to keep it), she would not lose her US citizenship if she
were to become a British citizen. She would be allowed to keep both citizenships for
life. She would be required, under US law, to enter the US on a US passport, even if
eligible to hold a British passport, but she would be allowed to use her British
passport outside of the US. I speak from experience on this issue, as I am a US who
naturalized as a Canadian citizen last year. I hold both US and Canadian citizenship
and I hold a passport from both countries.

Your friend should check the following website which discusses US Policy and Law on
Dual Nationality. It's at: http://www.webcom.com/richw/dualcit/

Stephen Gallagher

Rich Wales

"The Wizzard" wrote:

> The reason you can't do that as a US citizen is that the US forbids dual
> citizenship in their immigration law, saying that the act of taking the foreign
> citizenship is in effect a declaration that you don't want to be a US citizen
> anymore cos why would you choose to be a citizen of anywhere else if you were
> an American?

Please note that the above statement is NOT correct, according to current US law and
State Department policy.

Reference: http://travel.state.gov/loss.html

> A friend of mine . . . is a US citizen but moved to England with her husband .
> . . . She is now eligible to apply for UK citizenship, but the US would remove
> her US citizenship if she did that . . . .

Not correct. This used to happen, some time ago, but the appli- cable laws have all
been struck down by the Supreme Court and repealed by Congress. Your friend can
become a British citizen without endangering her US citizenship in any way.

See http://www.webcom.com/richw/dualcit/ for more details.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Gary L. Dare

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Wizzard is probably repeating something he read in the National Post, which has
propogated that belief in its articles. The US does discourage dual citizenship but
tolerates, with gritted teeth, those who have it.

--
Gary L. Dare [email protected]

"Je me souviens"

wzombie

You are not a British subject, you are a British Citizen. The only way you cease to
become a British Citizen is by renouncing your citizenship.

Canada recognizes dual citizenship with the UK.

I can see no advantage to this, in fact, I can see a distinct disadvantage to giving
up your UK citizenship:

Should the government of the UK ever, during your lifetime, decide to bestow upon you
the favour and grace of a knighthood, or higher honour, our government will fight
tooth and nail to prevent it from happening, as the gov't of Canada will not approve
the awarding of any "foreign" honours that carry with it a title to any Canadian.

That a constitutional monarchy such as Canada would even consider such an edict is
baffling and appalling to me.

That alone is reason enough, IMO, to keep both citizenships.

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wzombie

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It is not "against the law" to enter Canada on a foreign passport if you are a
Canadian citizen (so long as the foreign passport is lawfully yours).

However, if you fail to convince the customs or immigration officer at the port of
entry of your Canadian citizenship, you will be considered to be an immigrant or
visitor. Immigrants, as you probably know, require an immigrant visa unless they are
making refugee claims. Visitors may only be admitted for up to 6 months, during which
time they may not work or study without authorization.

So, it is always advisable to show proof of Canadian citizenship when returning to
Canada from abroad, NOT proof of some other nationality.

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Gary L. Dare

That a constitutional monarchy such as Canada would even consider
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As pointed out by an academic in today's Globe & Mail, the Nickel Resolution worked
in the day when dual citi- zenship did not exist. However, to hold a title in one
citizenship while being just plain Joe in Canada is new territory. Conrad Black
should have no problem as Sir Conrad on his UK passport but just plain Connie when
he's home in Toronto. When Anthony Hopkins became a dual US-UK citizen last summer,
the British consul in LA said that he's still Sir Anthony at home and where he enters
on his UK passport while the Americans just see him a plain Tony Hopkins of Bel Air,
CA since they do not recognize his British citizenship ... the US has a simple bright
line: US citizen or not (i.e., alien)?

--
Gary L. Dare [email protected]

"Je me souviens"

Rich Wales

Gary L. Dare wrote:

> When Anthony Hopkins became a dual US-UK citizen last summer, the British
> consul in LA said that he's still Sir Anthony at home and where he enters on
> his UK passport . . . .

Interesting. US law requires any new citizen with a foreign title to renounce said
title as part of the naturalization ceremony [Immigration and Nationality Act, sec.
337(b); 8 USC 1448(b)].

But I suppose this renunciation isn't recognized under British law -- just as the
renunciation of prior allegiances in the US naturalization oath isn't recognized
by the UK.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.webcom.com/richw/
*NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.