nun

I'm a US/UK dual passport holder. I'm applying for a US security clearance and to get this must have my UK passport invalidated. I can keep the passport, but it will be damaged in such a way that it won't be usable. Does anyone know how the UK views this?

Ja5on

how would the uk know unless you told them? right after it's been damaged, call the passport place and tell them you lost it and you want a new one....

Dudette

Why do they need to damage the UK Passport, what kind of clearance are you going for?

nun

I'm just interested in the UK's attitude towards my invalidating a passport, not in getting a replacement.

nun

So that I won't be able to use it. I'm not required to renounce UK citizenship, but the holding of the UK passport is a no, no for a clearance

Dudette

Is it top secret or secret you're going for? Who is doing the clearance screening and interview, what body, like FBI?

SDDep

Good point...but honestly I dont see the feds wanting this....if its a govt contractor wanting it..I'd tell em to get stuffed...

I've been around the security clearances and vetting processes of both countries and have never heard of such a thing...just fyi..

Besides all this, and I will sit corrected, intentionally damaging/destroying an official government document tends to be a felony here/an offence of some sort in the UK...of course you do have to be found out...and its rarely charged...

Dudette

My DH has clearance and they never once asked him about passports, then again he already had a clearance and he is American, if you are worried about it, find out who is conducting the clearance review and then contact them yourself, asking if it is normal. Destruction of an official document is a big no no, especially as it's not your's the property of the government.

Just make sure you get all the facts before you allow the passport to be destroyed or tampered with.

ian-mstm

Well, your UK passport is the property of the UK government, so you don't actually have the authority to allow it to be deliberately damaged by representatives of a foreign country!

That said, and as others have noted, unless you tell the UK about it, they won't know.

Ian

British Consul

Are you sure they don't want you to renounce? They normally do. But, if they just don't want you to use your passport, you can send it back to your nearest Consulate. They will return it to the UK as a "lost/found" and you will need to re-apply whenever you need a British passport again. If you want to keep it, just cut the corner of the front cover off.

Dean

Dudette

There you go, someone in the know, you got an answer straight from the horses mouth.

Good Luck with the clearance

Rete

Dean, always good to see you here and to have your valuable insight. I held the same thought as you re the renouncing of citizenship. To my thinking if you remain a citizen of a country you can get a new passport to replacement the invalidated one. In essence the invalidation is good for only the time it takes for you to apply for a new after being hired. So what is the point in the first place?

Rete

scrubbedexpat099

You are assuming this is logical!

It is of course farcical, nothing new there when dealing with Gov's

nun

I specifically asked about holding dual US/UK citizenship and they are ok with that as being born in the UK is a mitigating circumstance. They just don't want me to exercise my UK citizenship in order for me to get the secret clearance. The procedure was describe just as in your last sentence: cut off the corner of the passport so I can't use it.

ian-mstm

This makes no sense at all. You are a UKC whether you have a UK passport or not. The only way for you to not be able to "exercise [your] UK citizenship" is to renounce it. But even that means nothing... since any such renunciation made in the US is not binding on the UK. In other words, it is the UK, not the US, who decides whether you are or aren't a citizen of the UK.

As for dual citizenship, the US will (or, at least, should) deal with you only as a USC... so it makes no sense that they want to mutilate your passport - as that makes no difference whatsoever to your citizenship.

Ian