Keep Dual Citizenship????
Oct 31st 2004, 10:22 am
#1
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1
Keep Dual Citizenship????
I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was born in the UK to a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship. I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which is what i would prefer.
Oct 31st 2004, 2:59 pm
#2
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
Originally Posted by RosiePosie
I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was born in the UK to a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship. I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which is what i would prefer.
US does not recognise your UK citizenship but does not ban it.
Do you have a US passport?
Green card is an immigration issue.
Oct 31st 2004, 3:13 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
"RosiePosie" wrote:
> I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was
> born in the UK to a British mother. My father was in
> the military and has US citizenship. I am going to
> be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual
> citizen for life, which is what i would prefer?
You don't need to do anything, and you can keep both citizenships
for life.
Neither the US nor the UK have any requirement for a "born dual"
citizen to choose a single citizenship at age 18, or at any other
time. You'll automatically keep both.
At one time, the US had various provisions in its citizenship
law that could cause a "born dual" US/other citizen to lose US
citizenship. The last of these laws was repealed in 1978, but
many people continue to think provisions of this sort are still
in effect (it's like one of those "urband legends" that simply
refuses to die).
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
*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.
> I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was
> born in the UK to a British mother. My father was in
> the military and has US citizenship. I am going to
> be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual
> citizen for life, which is what i would prefer?
You don't need to do anything, and you can keep both citizenships
for life.
Neither the US nor the UK have any requirement for a "born dual"
citizen to choose a single citizenship at age 18, or at any other
time. You'll automatically keep both.
At one time, the US had various provisions in its citizenship
law that could cause a "born dual" US/other citizen to lose US
citizenship. The last of these laws was repealed in 1978, but
many people continue to think provisions of this sort are still
in effect (it's like one of those "urband legends" that simply
refuses to die).
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
*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.
Oct 31st 2004, 3:26 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
"Boiler" wrote:
> US does not recognise your UK citizenship but
> does not ban it.
Note that talking about "recognition" of dual citizenship is
likely to be ambiguous, because this term is commonly used in
two very different ways.
It happens to be a fact that the US doesn't consider a dual
US/other citizen as having any different status than someone
who is a citizen only of the US and of no other country. That
is, the US will insist on ignoring any other citizenship held
by a US citizen. In that sense, it is correct to say that the
US "doesn't recognize" dual citizenship.
Many (possibly even most) people, though, when they say some-
thing like "the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship", are
trying to express a mistaken belief that US law prohibits
anyone (or, at least, any adult) from having both US citizen-
ship and any other citizenship. This idea is simply untrue,
though many people (including many Americans) are ignorant of
the current state of the law.
Personally, I'd prefer to abolish the term "recognition" in
connection with dual citizenship, since it leads to confusion
and misunderstanding so much of the time.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
*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.
> US does not recognise your UK citizenship but
> does not ban it.
Note that talking about "recognition" of dual citizenship is
likely to be ambiguous, because this term is commonly used in
two very different ways.
It happens to be a fact that the US doesn't consider a dual
US/other citizen as having any different status than someone
who is a citizen only of the US and of no other country. That
is, the US will insist on ignoring any other citizenship held
by a US citizen. In that sense, it is correct to say that the
US "doesn't recognize" dual citizenship.
Many (possibly even most) people, though, when they say some-
thing like "the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship", are
trying to express a mistaken belief that US law prohibits
anyone (or, at least, any adult) from having both US citizen-
ship and any other citizenship. This idea is simply untrue,
though many people (including many Americans) are ignorant of
the current state of the law.
Personally, I'd prefer to abolish the term "recognition" in
connection with dual citizenship, since it leads to confusion
and misunderstanding so much of the time.
Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
*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.
Oct 31st 2004, 3:30 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
Rosie
Surprisingly it's not a big deal. You are not required to choose or give up
either citizenship. However, you must suffer any obligations that both
citizenships place upon you. In practice, this isn't too onerous - the
biggest one for a dual UK/US national living in the UK is having to declare
income to both the Inland Revenue and the IRS (but even then you normally
don't pay more tax - it's just an administrative nightmare).
As you are currently both a US and a UK citizen, the following is the case:
The US requires you to identify yourself to them as a US Citizen. This
means, in practice, that you must use your US passport when entering or
leaving the US. The US accepts the reality that many people have multiple
citizenships, but it doesn't encourage it (nor does it discourage it).
The UK rules are less strict. Identify yourself as you choose (although,
you will find that traveling into Europe using a UK passport is *so* much
quicker). Obviously, if you enter the UK and you are planning to avail
yourself of the rights and privileges of being a citizen (such as working),
I'd suggest entering on your UK passort
Hope it helps!
D
"RosiePosie" <member31421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
> I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was born in the UK to
> a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship.
> I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which
> is what i would prefer.
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
Surprisingly it's not a big deal. You are not required to choose or give up
either citizenship. However, you must suffer any obligations that both
citizenships place upon you. In practice, this isn't too onerous - the
biggest one for a dual UK/US national living in the UK is having to declare
income to both the Inland Revenue and the IRS (but even then you normally
don't pay more tax - it's just an administrative nightmare).
As you are currently both a US and a UK citizen, the following is the case:
The US requires you to identify yourself to them as a US Citizen. This
means, in practice, that you must use your US passport when entering or
leaving the US. The US accepts the reality that many people have multiple
citizenships, but it doesn't encourage it (nor does it discourage it).
The UK rules are less strict. Identify yourself as you choose (although,
you will find that traveling into Europe using a UK passport is *so* much
quicker). Obviously, if you enter the UK and you are planning to avail
yourself of the rights and privileges of being a citizen (such as working),
I'd suggest entering on your UK passort
Hope it helps!
D
"RosiePosie" <member31421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
> I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was born in the UK to
> a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship.
> I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which
> is what i would prefer.
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
Oct 31st 2004, 10:01 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
> I have dual citizenship with the US and the UK. I was born in the UK to
> a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship.
> I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which
> is what i would prefer.
You can hold both citizenships for life. Many people believe that the US
has a requirement to choose only one, but it's not true. Britain has no
requirement to choose either.
Do you have written documentation from the US government that you are
a US citizen? By this I mean, have you ever been issued or included in
a US passport, or has your father obtained a Certificate of Birth Abroad
of a US Citizen, for you? If yes, then you're fine.
If you've never been issued documentation, then, not to be impolite,
but it's best to ask you: Were your parents married at the time of your birth?
It makes a difference under US law when a child is born abroad to a
US father and non-US mother, outside of marriage. If they weren't
married, then your father needs to sign papers acknowledging his
relationship to you and he must agree to support you until you're 18,
and this paperwork MUST be done BEFORE you are 18. If it's not done
you could lose your claim to US citizenship. Remember, you only have
to worry about this if your parents were not married when you were born
AND if you've never yet received documentation saying that you're
a US citizen.
Here's a website that discusses the US policies on dual citizenship:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
Stephen Gallagher
> a British mother. My father was in the military and has US citizenship.
> I am going to be 18 soon. When I turn 18 do I have to become a US
> citizen or get a green card or can I stay a dual citizen for life, which
> is what i would prefer.
You can hold both citizenships for life. Many people believe that the US
has a requirement to choose only one, but it's not true. Britain has no
requirement to choose either.
Do you have written documentation from the US government that you are
a US citizen? By this I mean, have you ever been issued or included in
a US passport, or has your father obtained a Certificate of Birth Abroad
of a US Citizen, for you? If yes, then you're fine.
If you've never been issued documentation, then, not to be impolite,
but it's best to ask you: Were your parents married at the time of your birth?
It makes a difference under US law when a child is born abroad to a
US father and non-US mother, outside of marriage. If they weren't
married, then your father needs to sign papers acknowledging his
relationship to you and he must agree to support you until you're 18,
and this paperwork MUST be done BEFORE you are 18. If it's not done
you could lose your claim to US citizenship. Remember, you only have
to worry about this if your parents were not married when you were born
AND if you've never yet received documentation saying that you're
a US citizen.
Here's a website that discusses the US policies on dual citizenship:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
Stephen Gallagher
Nov 1st 2004, 12:33 pm
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Keep Dual Citizenship????
(snip)
>
> The UK rules are less strict. Identify yourself as you choose (although,
> you will find that traveling into Europe using a UK passport is *so* much
> quicker). Obviously, if you enter the UK and you are planning to avail
> yourself of the rights and privileges of being a citizen (such as working),
> I'd suggest entering on your UK passport
You are correct. Note that when a British citizen enters the UK on a
non-British passport, it doesn't mean that Britain is obliged to treat that
person as a foreigner once they discover that he also holds British
citizenship, nor is he obliged to obey the restrictions that apply
to foreigners if he is truly British.
For example, if a dual US/British citizen were to enter the UK
as a visitor on a US passport and he were to be arrested. Britain
would have no obligation to treat him as a foreigner. They would not
have to grant him US consular access or treat him
differently from any person who held British citizenship alone,
Similarly, that same person, would not be legally prohibited from
taking employment in the UK even though the admission stamp
in his US passport would say "Employment Prohibited". As long
as he could prove that he was a British citizen, he'd be able to
work.
Stephen Gallagher
>
> The UK rules are less strict. Identify yourself as you choose (although,
> you will find that traveling into Europe using a UK passport is *so* much
> quicker). Obviously, if you enter the UK and you are planning to avail
> yourself of the rights and privileges of being a citizen (such as working),
> I'd suggest entering on your UK passport
You are correct. Note that when a British citizen enters the UK on a
non-British passport, it doesn't mean that Britain is obliged to treat that
person as a foreigner once they discover that he also holds British
citizenship, nor is he obliged to obey the restrictions that apply
to foreigners if he is truly British.
For example, if a dual US/British citizen were to enter the UK
as a visitor on a US passport and he were to be arrested. Britain
would have no obligation to treat him as a foreigner. They would not
have to grant him US consular access or treat him
differently from any person who held British citizenship alone,
Similarly, that same person, would not be legally prohibited from
taking employment in the UK even though the admission stamp
in his US passport would say "Employment Prohibited". As long
as he could prove that he was a British citizen, he'd be able to
work.
Stephen Gallagher
