Most us hardly give a second thought to the many pivileges our UK passports bring. Of course only UK citizens are entitled to hold a UK passport. For the majority of our spouses the final step in their immigration journey is the opportunity to become a UK citizen and passport holder. There is no legal requirement for your spouse to obtain British Citizenship. But there are advantages. Not least when considering the ease with which overseas travel suddenly becomes without usual hassles relating to visa's Now when you have attended been through the British Citizenship ceremony and oath-taking you will be immediately be presented with your naturalisation certificate by which you are then granted British Citizenship. From this point forward you are technically no longer a Philippine citizen. You will still of course still have your existing RP passport. In order to become a member of that exclusive club of Dual Citizens, you will need to re-acquire your Philippine Citizenship. This is very easily and quickly achieved at simple but very nice oath-taking ceremony at the Philippine Embassy in London. These days the Embassy is located in a very nice part of Picadilly, close to the tube stations and, dare I mention, shops. To be a true dual citizen you need British Citizenship first. The Philippine authorities determined that in these cases your oath and alliegence to the Phils must be the most recent ceremony. Those who have Dual Citizenship are legally entitled to hold two passports. Look here for details of Dual Citizenship:- http://philembassy-uk.org/FAQa.html#301 For general requirements of British Citizenship look here:- http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship For detailed requirements as spouse or partner etc. look here:- http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/b.../naturalisation/spouseorcivilpartnerofcitizen The Application Form and the Application Guide can be downloaded here:- http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/applying/applicationtypes/naturalisation Generally these are the requirements:- you are aged 18 or over; and you are of sound mind; and you can communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree; and you have sufficient knowledge of life in the United Kingdom; and you are of good character; and you are the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen; and you meet the residential requirements; or your husband, wife or civil partner is in Crown or designated service outside the United Kingdom. General residential requirements have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application; and have not spent more than 270 days outside the United Kingdom during the three-year period; and have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the three-year period; and have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the three-year period There are some costs involved I'm sorry to say. The current standard naturalisation fee is £836 Look here for all the details on the fees http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/britishcitizenship/nationality-fees.pdf Here are some additional issues based on our experience:- 1. When you take the Life In UK Test your application should be supported by acceptable ID documentation (depends on individual circumstances) but he name on the supported ID will be then used and duplicated exactly on the pass certificate. 2. When you apply for British Citizenship you must use the same name as that previously used for the test (which appears on the Certificate). So you need to be very consistent to avoid problems. 3. When you receive approval for British Citizenship, the letter from UK Border Agency will include the same name as has been used all through the process. The letter will tell you that you must attend a citizenship ceremony and how you must arrange this. It will also tell you exactly what personal details will appear on the certificate Full Name Name at Birth Date of Birth Place of Birth The relevant issue is that they will also tell you that you if you need to change any of these personal details you should first attend the ceremony, then return the certificate for amendment together with your passport or birth certificate as evidence of the correct details. Means that applicants need to be sure their supporting documentation is totally consistent throughout the whole process. There is however some possibility to change the name (or other details) on the naturalization certificate, but your passport (or birth certificate) is mandatory evidence. The name on your passport should always be correct. So if your name changes you need to get your passport reissued in your new name. As always I strongly suggest that you review the UKBA website. This website contains all the latest and breaking information you need concerning naturalisation. As with all UKBA fees, if you do not fully comply with requirements you will not get any refund if your documents or qualifying status is incorrect. First important point is that you must have passed Life in the UK test. When you have done this you will receive a certificate. The test costs about GBP35 I think. If you do not pass first time you can take it again and again until you pass. You cannot apply for citizenship without this. Concerning the Philippine Embassy Dual-Citizenship requirements, regulations and the process please carefully review here:- http://philembassy-uk.org/FAQa.html#301 My wife had a British Passport and Philippine passport, when she applied for her Dual Nationality, and they cancelled her existing Philippine passport and asked her to apply for another!! She did not do this immediately. For whatever reason we did not understand this would happen and so were totally unprepared for new passport application. My wife still did not yet renew her Phils passport although we have visited the Philippines a couple of times since then. She presented immigration with her Certificate of Oath of Allegiance as proof of Philippine citizenship plus Marriage certificate and Birth Certificate when entering the Philippines. If you enter together you will still be able to have balikbayan stamp. Your spouse will enter on their British Passport. Do remember that you will need a passport of some kind. The Certificate of Oath of Allegiance is not a valid travel document. Notes concerning Under 18's:- Children under 18, cannot apply for naturalization. They need to make an application for registration as British citizen. For details please look here:- http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/children/britishcitizen/ But please do be aware of this extract from UKBA:- "To be able to register as a British citizen using application form MN1 the child must be under 18 on the day we receive the application. Once the child turns 18 he or she will need to apply for registration or naturalisation as an adult"
Wow, so many thanks! It's really my ambition and objective to help others wherever I can. When I quit my job in millenium year 2000 I vowed I would only take up ethical employment. In 2003 I was lucky enough to secure good employment with HMRC and with UKBA (though not immigration) Actually I took a truly enormous cut in income, but my wife agreed and accepted it. Those Public Sector resposibilities were some of the most rewarding years in my life. So don't feel worried to ask whatever questions you can think of: It my pleasure to help, either from my own experience or from friends within the workplace. (although many are now facing early retirement or 'OTHER' --- that other is really not nice) Thanks again for your kind words
and its always so nice to read a genuine replied from someone we never meet and feel you know him already
