CPW

That's certainly the most straightforward option. The US requires that US citizens deal with US officials as such. Therefore, a US citizen (including a baby) travelling overseas will need a US passport to re-enter the US (or endure an awful lot of hassle). The US authorities impose no restrictions on what passport a dual citizen may use outside the US. Neither does this requirement mean that the US citizen has to show a US passport to, say, an airline employee when checking in (since such an employee is not a US official) - it may well be easier, on a trip from the US to the UK, to show the British passport, although if just going for a short trip with a return or onward ticket, it doesn't really matter since a US passport is fine for that purpose.

The UK, conversely, has no such requirement: it merely expects that the passport you present to the UK immigration authorities should be adequate for the purpose of the trip. So, British citizens who are also US citizens and who are travelling to the UK for a short holiday, say, are quite within their rights to use a US passport to enter the UK. However, they will not be treated as British citizens if they do - i.e. they will have to fill in a landing card, queue in the 'Other passports' queue, and be interviewed by a passport control officer about the length and purpose of their stay, etc. (A baby travelling with its parents won't be interviewed, of course, but the parents could be questioned about their intentions as to the length of the baby's stay and so on.)

So on travel grounds alone it makes sense to use a British passport to enter the UK.

Margueriteuk

Jeremy,

Reasons would be to be with my family at this time.

I am legally married (K1 Fiancée Visa) and as the mother am British and my husband, the father, is a US citizen.

Citizenship for both parents by birth in UK (mother) and birth in US (father)

British parent lived in UK 29 years, US parent lived in US 34 years.

I have just found this useful information on Documenting a Child Born in the UK to U.S. Citizen(s)

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web...childindex.htm

U.S. citizen parent appears in person at the US Embassy London - Consular Section in order to execute an application for a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad" before a consular officer. At that time, a passport application may also be executed.

Still would then need to get a UK passport and the birth would be registered in the UK on the day of birth.

Did I miss anything?

Marguerite

JAJ

One thing you may have missed would be whether your K1 visa allows you re-entry to the United States *and* if you have an Adjustment of Status petition in place, you may need to apply for and get Advance Parole.

Ask on one of the US immigration forums.

Basically the steps shown are the way to document US citizenship for the child if born in the UK. As well as that, you would get the child a British passport from the UK Passport Service.


If child is born in the US then on the basis of what you post it will be a British citizen by descent automatically. However it's very important to document this properly by getting *both* a consular birth certificate from the British Embassy, and a British passport.

Be aware that as the child will be British 'by descent' as it's born outside the UK, it will not automatically be able to pass on its British citizenship to its own children if they are also born overseas.


Jeremy

newbieme

Newbie here - hoping this is in right place. My kids and I are British. I brought my kids here and married a USC. We are still raising the funds to file the necessary paperwork and expect to have enough by the New Year. However, my children's passports will be out of date in February 06. How might this affect us when we file the papers? Can I send them off to UK for renewing even though they contain out-dated visas? If anyone knows what we should do, please let me know as this is causing us concern. Kindly, NEWBIE.

JAJ

You renew British passports in the US at the British Embassy in Washington DC, not via the UK authorities.

You can find the details at: http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk

As for your other questions, you may get more of a response if you post on one of the US immigration forums.


Jeremy

antjen

so if you were to enter the uk as a uk citizen without a uk passport, how do they know you are a uk citizen? - take you word for it - who is likely to carry their naturalisation certificate around with them

Anthony

Bob

they'll treat you as an american if you used a US passport.

Manc

Anthony, that's not what I said.
I said
"You can be a UK citizen without having a passport for sure"

I know because my Grandfather "refused to eat that foreign muck" for 50 odd years and never had one............

I never said anything about going abroad without one though.

antjen

Of course you can be a citizen without holding an appropriate passport.

Though you did say in your email 'entering the UK as a UK citizen on a US passport might raise some serious eyebrows though' - which implies going abroad without one - as why else would you enter the uk using a foriegn passport?

Manc

I have a friend in Canada whom is a dual citizen. born in London of canadian parents. He used to enter the UK all the time on his Canadian passport as it said he was born in London.


they didn't seem to give a toss, but I guess times have changed.

I have to add, I'd never enter the UK without a British passport.

Bob

times have changed, but as long as your entering the UK and your passport is valid etc, your allowed to enter as a foreign citizen...just not worth the hassle as you'll have to fill in the landing papers and go through the immigration line at the airport...

Margueriteuk

Jeremy,

I received my Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) this week so re-entering after 1 month away is not an issue as I have not spent too many weeks out of the USA since arriving. The K1 was mentioned just to show how I initially entered the US (in Nov 02).
Thank you very much for your assistance.

Marguerite

CPW

It's not going to raise any questions if you travel to the UK as a short-term visitor on a US passport, as long as the length and purpose of your stay in the UK is not such that a US citizen would require a visa (e.g. if you were wanting to work or study there or were proposing to stay for more than 6 months). You will, however, be treated at the port of entry as a US citizen, not as a British citizen.

Of course, this applies only to those people who are citizens of countries have visa-free entry to the UK as visitors. Citizens of visa countries would have to apply for a visa or entry clearance - but, in theory and probably in practice, the only endorsement the British authorities will put in a non-British passport of a British citizen is a Certificate of Entltlement to the Right of Abode in the UK (see next paragraph).

If, as a British citizen, you really want to enter the UK on a US or other non-British, non-EEA passport for purposes other than a short visit, you can apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode in the UK to be placed in your non-British passport. This confirms that you are entirely free of immigration control, enables you to use the British/EEA passport queue at ports of entry, and spares you the need to fill in a landing card and be interviewed by an immigration officer about the purpose of your trip. However, if you apply for the right of abode certificate outside the UK it is, I believe, more expensive than a British passport. (Inside the UK, the fee for a right of abode certificate has remained at £20 for many years.) Transfer of a certificate from an expired passport into a new passport is generally free, either inside or outside the UK.

Children who are dual British-other citizens can also have a right of abode certificate placed in their non-British passport.

But really, it's simpler (and mostly cheaper) just to get a British passport.

bodmin13

Ok, so my son is a dual british and american citizen born in japan. We had to register his birth in both countries just so that we could go to either. On our trip to England we applied for and recieved his british passport, it has never been used but it is just nice to have as proof of citizenship. A british passport is not essential cuz the americans require american citizens to only use an american passport.

TimFountain

Can you be illegally married?

- Tim