HKG3

A novel way to give up British Citizenship -

Hong Kong bookseller Lee Bo says he will abandon UK residency - BBC News

BritInParis

Read that at work today and I remain confused since both Lee and the article use terms like 'Right of Abode', 'British citizen', 'British subject' and 'British passport' interchangeably. Still not certain he's a full British citizen although I presume he must be if must be otherwise HMG wouldn't have gotten involved. I therefore assume he acquired his citizenship through the British Nationality Selection Scheme given the reference to the 'early 1990s'.

holly_1948

Another consideration is that British nationality is a duty, rather than a right or privilege (like American citizenship), as Lord Haw-Haw William Joyce so famously discovered to his cost.
If it is unclear as to whether the renunciation is, or is not, made freely and without duress, then Her Majesty may withhold permission to cease to be a British national. At least until the issue is clarified.

HKG3

The reason why Lee used 'Right of Abode' are two folds. First of all, in Hong Kong having the 'Right of Abode' means that the person in question can enter as they wish and stay as long as they wish. Second point is that when the British were selling this to the locals in the 90s, they used the Chinese term 'right to live in the UK'. As we all know that all British Citizens passport holders have the right of abode in the UK, however, the local Chinese at the time could applied for BN(O) or BDTC passports which would not give them the right of abode in the UK.

rickster000

Hi,

Re renouncement processing times (Gov website says up to 6 months)..

Just wondering if anyone is going through Brit Cit renouncement at the moment, how long have you been waiting for your confirmation?

Also

They ask for evidence of your other/furture citizenship and suggest a passport. Is a copy ok. (Who wants to be left for 6 months without the means to travel??)

And a third question about people born in N.Ire ..

If you were born in N.I. and give up your British Citizenship, wouldn't you automatically
become an Irish citizen? If so, then surely proof of place of birth (birth cert) should be enough evidence for them.

Thanks!

TrishP

If you were born in NI (at a certain time), you are automatically both British and Irish. I assume the birth certificate would suffice, but you never know when you're dealing with government boffins ... a notarised copy of the passport would prob work.

rebeccajo

Most people apply for their Irish passport before they renounce British citizenship.

I would still advise waiting till after the referendum before renunciation. But that is, of course, your call.

rickster000

Thanks Trish.

Just remembered another point, a British passport (which you send back to them) also has 'place of birth' on it.

rickster000

Thanks Rebecca.

I would also apply for the Irish first but would want (need!) to hold on to it for travel.

Yes it's a gamble. The other side of the coin I guess is leaving it too late and missing an opportunity.

Decisions, decisions.

TrishP

As the OP said, if you haven't already got your Irish passport, get one now, don't wait. I also would caution against renouncing your British citizenship until after the referendum on 23rd June.

rickster000

There's also this from INIS :

Q. I was born and am living in Northern Ireland. I don’t hold any passport. Am I an Irish citizen?

A. If you were born in Ireland prior to 1 January 2005 then you are entitled to be an Irish citizen. If you were born on or after 1 January 2005 and one of your parents was an Irish or British citizen or was entitled to reside in the State or Northern Ireland without any restrictions on his or her residence then you have an entitlement to Irish citizenship. If this does not apply to your parents you may still have an entitlement to Irish citizenship if either of your parents, immediately preceding your birth, had reckonable residence in the island of Ireland of three years in the previous four years and neither parent was entitled to diplomatic immunity in the State. You don’t have to obtain an Irish passport in order to be an Irish citizen (though having an Irish passport is of course a convenient way of showing that you are an Irish citizen).

TrishP

Citizenship is a right, as well as a responsibility, for those who meet the conditions, e.g. birth in a certain place, having lived somewhere for a set period of time, etc. A passport is purely a travel document issued by your country or state of citizenship. Tis more the convenience factor for proof of citizenship (because it's easy for the boffins to check, as many birth certificates may be hard to distinguish, esp from other countries), as well as ensuring you aren't stuck without a passport if you do go ahead and renounce your citizenship. I don't know your back story on why you want to renounce it, but am assuming you're trying to get a non-EU spouse into the UK. Why not just renounce the Irish and do the Surinder Singh route through Ireland? I'm considering it ...

rickster000

Correct about spouse.

Why not SS? Potential job offer in UK (mainland).

(I wouldn't have to renounce anything to do SS via Ireland anyway, would I?)

TrishP

If your job offer has you earning more than $18,600, then what's the issue?

If you are a dual Irish/British citizen from NI, you can't do SS to Ireland, as you would be there as a citizen, not an EU national. You would just apply for settlement in Ireland for her as she is married to an Irish citizen. I believe she could then apply for Irish citizenship after 3 years residence. You could do SS to any other country in the EU without renouncing anything. Kinda sucks for us dual citizens from NI!

rickster000

Issue - being split up (we have a young child) during the application period.

I thought people from NI could choose to be British, Irish or dual. So can't someone from NI without an Irish passport just be British?