BridportBaby

Hi All, I am new to this forum and tried searching for a thread that maybe had my same question, but gosh there are a lot of threads and none jumped out, so sorry if this is an oft-asked query:
I was born in England to an English mother and American father. I've held both US and English passports, and currently have a US passport. I lived in England for a bit at 19 (had a job, NHS, I think I even got benefits because I didn't make much salary, but it's been 20 years so it's a bit fuzzy).
So my general question is, does anyone know if I can just move back to England, or do I need to request some kind of visa? I'm hoping to move around December 2013, so I have some time if I need to apply for anything, but I'm kind of hoping it's not too complex. (Oh, I've never registered to vote in either country - for some reason I've always thought voting meant renouncing the "other" country, but that may be wrong).

Thanks for any replies!

roaringmouse

Just get a UK passport and move to the UK - nothing else needed. Registering to vote is fine to do, and actually could be important as in the UK when credit checks are made, they often look up to see if you're on the electoral roll (this can include when opening a bank account).

BridportBaby

Thanks SO much roaringmouse!

WhoFan63

I agree with roaringmouse..it's by far easier just to use a UK passport. Although from what I've just been told by a friend who has kids in the same situation (Born in the UK to UK mother and US father), technically you're not supposed to hold both a UK AND a US passport because you renounce your British citizenship in order to become a US citizen and get a US passport. But I'm pretty sure someone will tell me something different

Of course these rules could have changed recently, because my friends daughter had to renounce her citizenship in order to become a US citizen. At the time they didn't like dual citizens.

Mummy in the foothills

Rules have changed Whofan my Mother in law had to choose at 18 which one she wanted to keep, but now they don't care if you have dual nationality. UK says your British and US says your American and they agree to disagree.
Just make sure to enter and leave US on your US passport and when you get to UK you enter on your UK passport.

WhoFan63

Thanks Mummy ! It was only in 2008 when my friends daughter had to renounce her UK citizenship because they told her she couldn't have both. I guess she just had a citizenship official who hates the British..lol Plus a woman I used to work with told me in 2002 when she became a citizen she was told to hand over her UK passport. So sometimes it's hard to know what is right ! LOL

BTJ

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1753.html State Dept says its fine.

Perth

Can you register while still overseas and vote absentee?

Mummy in the foothills

That official was out of line I got my US citizenship before then and so did my Dh neither of us had to renounce anything. Do you mean in the swearing in ceremony? I think that when you say the oath you have to say something like renounce all allegiances or some such thing. That doesn't mean she lost her UK citizenship she's a dual national unless she actually went through the official process with the UK government, I think some high clearance security jobs with the US government do require that you officially renounce.

Perth

Ditto. Got my US in 2003. Never gave up my British.

JAJ

"Renouncing" British citizenship to a foreign official, or even handing over a British passport, have no effect under British law. Unless they went to the British Embassy to fill out forms and pay a fee to renounce British citizenship, they still have it and can apply for new passports anytime.

State Department viewpoint:
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/c.../cis_1753.html

roaringmouse

http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/faq/overseas_voters.aspx

WhoFan63

Thanks JAJ I showed all the posts to my friend and he said as far as she knew she hadn't filled out any forms or paid any money...so he's probably just been thinking of the citizenship ceremony where they say something to the effect of ' I renounce my allegiance...etc etc '. Not exact words, but something like that.

WEBlue

This hasn't been true for a very long time. In fact, maybe it was never true, but perhaps some folks thought it was long ago. I have relatives with dual (UK/US) and triple citizenships (UK/US/Canadian). No problems. My husband & I are duals, as well as our child. It depends upon the specific country whether multiple citizenships are allowed or not, so you have to check with official sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_citizenship

Richard8655

This link says it all. I'm also a British/U.S. dual, and researched this with USCIS in detail. It all depends how you acquired British (or any other nationality's) citizenship, according to the State Department.

If you were automatically granted another country's citizenship through no effort of your own (birth, blood, family, marriage), the U.S. accepts your dual nationality.

If you initiated the action by applying for another country's citizenship, that is technically not allowed and not acceptable. However, the U.S. will probably not bother you in this case unless you point it out or it's an issue for some other reason. But it's important to understand the difference.