visage

hi,a friend ( a kiwi ) is travelling to the UK and plans to be there for 5 years to get a UK passport ... does he have to then reside there to keep it,or can he travel back to NZ once he has it and keep it ? are there minimum 'stay' periods to enable him to keep it ? any advice would be be appreciated ... cheers.

Gizmo27

I'm afraid that I can't answer the question, but I would suggest looking on the UK government immigration website. They will almost certainly have all of the information he is after.

Well, that or he can just go over and claim "Asylum". Silly thing is, he will probably immediatly be given a UK passport!

Clappy

Once you are a British Citizen then you keep that for life, no matter how long you are out of the country.

My wife went to Britain on an ancestry visa that allowed her to stay for four years.

After four years she had to apply for permanent residency which lasts as long as you remain in the country but won't be renewed if you have left the country permanently.

After five years she could apply for citizenship. That is permanent.


Disclaimer: the last UK government changed a lot of the immigration rules so things may be subtly different now.

Si19761

It is now 5 years for residency alone and any time on working holiday visa does not count (work permit does count). I was told that they can revoke mine if I leave the uk for a period of length and I would have to reapply o evidence my ties with Britain, it is well worth checking current rules.