Scottish Referundum

Hi there,

I came to the UK (England in particular) almost six years ago. I got the ILR last December and am planning to apply for the BC in December 2014. However, I recently got an excellent offer of employment in Scotland. I have already accepted the offer and plan to move to Scotland in November -- one month before applying for BC.

Should I be worried about a YES vote in next week's referendum. I know that a YES voted doesn't immediately mean that Scotland will become a foreign country and this won't happen until later in 2016. However, it seems that nothing has been published about things like this anywhere? Everything so far in my immigration situation has been straightforward and all is running smoothly, however this final step in the journey to BC is causing me a bit of anxiety.

Is anyone out-there in a similar situation? Are you worried? Would you recommend consulting a lawyer? Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for everyone.

Cheers,

If your worry is purely related to the upcoming BC application in Dec 2014, then there is nothing to worry.
In case of Yes vote, things will remain normal, as it is, until the Independence declaration in March 2016.

If Scotland votes YES, they might ask you to make clear where you intend to settle after citizenship. Not sure they'll be too favourable giving you a rUK passport if you want to make Scotland your home. Tricky situation and tough to call.

It will be business as usual until 2016. If you read the wee blue book, it tells you that, not only you have both nationalities, you can also use British passport until it expires and then get Scottish one. Scotland will still be part of UK in the event of Yes vote until 2016.

Thanks for the replies. What is worrying me is that nothing has been revealed about this. I mean, surely there are a lot of immigrants with ILR who have lived in Scotland throughout their time in the UK. What will happen to them?

I called the HO this morning, and the lady I spoke to said that she cannot comment on this and no instructions have come out yet which increases my anxiety. Also, I am not aware of precedence in such cases.

Don't know what to say or think; I must wait until next Friday to know whether they will vote YES or NO.

Cheers to all.

Even in case of yes vote, they can't just decide one day that they are going to do something and implement that same day. It has to go through the normal procedures ie approval from parliament. One thing they have learned from their past experiences is that there will be some transitional arrangements else they will be taken into court, again.
So I wouldn't worry about it so much. I would recommend you to read the Wee Blue Book though. just google it.

If you have British Citizenship by the end of 2014 why are you so concerned? You won't be under Immigration control.