Moving Abroad After Obtaining UK Passport

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are staying safe and sound in these crazy times.

I have a quick question regarding moving abroad after obtaining British Citizenship and passport. I have confirmed during my application that I intend to stay in the UK, however this was almost a year ago and now after obtaining the passport my circumstances changed and I need to be closer to my uncle in a different country as his health is declining.

WIll this have any impact? I will have to change my tax residence from the U.K. To the country I am going to, so I was wondering if this could trigger any issues.

Many thanks and please stay safe and sound

Enigma-Machine wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 06, 2021 4:15 pm

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are staying safe and sound in these crazy times.

I have a quick question regarding moving abroad after obtaining British Citizenship and passport. I have confirmed during my application that I intend to stay in the UK, however this was almost a year ago and now after obtaining the passport my circumstances changed and I need to be closer to my uncle in a different country as his health is declining.

WIll this have any impact? I will have to change my tax residence from the U.K. To the country I am going to, so I was wondering if this could trigger any issues.

Many thanks and please stay safe and sound

UK immigration laws are not white & black .After passport you can travel & live wherever you want .When it says your future intentions it doesn't states anything for how many years you live abroad .On ILR people can live outside UK for 2years .I don't think there is any limitation of years when it comes to nationality to question someone's future intentions. Life keeps changing.UK immigration can't hold you to be bound to live in UK forever. Law is always just a theory & it always requires interpretation & practicality. Once nationalise one can live outside UK for unlimited time as anyone's circumstances can be changed any time in this short period of life. So don't worry about anything .

If you had refugee status before British citizenship, will you be returning to and settling in the same country that you were a refugee from?

[/quote]

UK immigration laws are not white & black .After passport you can travel & live wherever you want .When it says your future intentions it doesn't states anything for how many years you live abroad .On ILR people can live outside UK for 2years .I don't think there is any limitation of years when it comes to nationality to question someone's future intentions. Life keeps changing.UK immigration can't hold you to be bound to live in UK forever. Law is always just a theory & it always requires interpretation & practicality. Once nationalise one can live outside UK for unlimited time as anyone's circumstances can be changed any time in this short period of life. So don't worry about anything .
[/quote]

Hello, Many thanks for your answer - this is super helpful and gives me peace of mind! Please stay safe and take care

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 2:52 am

If you had refugee status before British citizenship, will you be returning to and settling in the same country that you were a refugee from?

Hello - I would not even dare to go to my home country even for a short visit, as that would not be safe for me, even if I go there with a British Passport.

My uncle's health situation got worse in the last few weeks, and work agreed to transfer me to a branch in the country where my uncle lives (which is not the same as my home country) So I can be close to him and help out.

This only came up a few weeks ago, which is almost a year after I applied for Citizenship.

Please let me know what you think

Enigma-Machine wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:23 am

the country where my uncle lives (which is not the same as my home country)

Travelling to and residing in a country that is not the country from which you claimed refugee should be fine.

I have another question on this topic. The passport is valid for 10 years. What happens if you no longer live in the UK? Can it be renewed from abroad ( possibly from a UK embassy?)

The reason I’m asking is because in the citizenship by naturalisation guidance says that Home Office can deprive your citizenship anytime if there is a serious reason. One of the reasons could be that you lied on the intention to live in the UK.

I can renew my home country’s passport from abroad because I was born there. But UK citizenship is a privilege that I paid for and I wasn’t entitled too. What do you think?

londuk1 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:21 am

Can it be renewed from abroad ( possibly from a UK embassy?)

Currently, yes.

londuk1 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:21 am

One of the reasons could be that you lied on the intention to live in the UK.

Indeed, a future government can enforce the future intentions requirement more strictly/forcefully without a change in the law, as it did earlier this decade with a much stricter interpretation of the pre-existing good character requirement.

The future intentions requirement has been part of the law since at least 1983 (and possibly earlier), so it can't be said to come as a complete surprise if the government starts enforcing it strictly.

As an aside, I think that Dutch nationality law is even stricter, entailing automatic loss of nationality if a Dutch citizen (including those born with that nationality) reside outside the Netherlands or the EU without a Dutch passport for a certain period of time.

Also see concerns about Canadians of convenience, who acquire Canadian citizenship and then return to their country of origin soon after.

But, returning to the topic at hand, the current position is that naturalised British citizens can renew their British passports from abroad.

@londuk1

There is no legal future intention requirements if you are married to a British citizen when you naturalise under s6(2) of the BNA 1981.