Travel after naturalisation but before passport

Hi,

I just came back from my naturalisation ceremony (got citizenship via Tier 2, then ILR). Thanks for all the useful advice on this boards!

I need to travel to Spain for work in two weeks (quite urgently), therefore times are a bit tight to request my new British Passport.

I have a Costa Rican passport, which I've always used for travel. I do not need a visa to get into Spain, and the UK does not have any restriction towards Costa Rican passports either (Costa Rica doesnt have any entry requirements into the UK, I couldstay in the UK as a tourist for up to 6 months without a visa.(https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/costa-rica/tourism)

Should I be ok to travel then? What other information should I travel with? Presumably just my certificate of naturalisation?

Thank you!


(the other similar thread to this one I found was for a EU national, so I was wondering what were your thoughts as a Costa Rica)

Note that you are liable to be questioned as to your intentions an purpose of travel, even under visa free status.
UK citizens cannot be refused entry to the UK - best you take a copy of your naturalisation certificate and explain your new status. It may add time to your transit of course.

Got it, yes it seems to be a bit of a grey area, but practically it makes sense that I can do this short trip with my Costa Rican passport.

I plan on taking a copy of my certificate of naturalisaiton just in case, which includes the issue date - so I can explain at the border that my intention is to get a British Passport as soon as possible.

Thanks!

To who might find it useful:

I decided to travel, with my Costa Rican passport, and my Certificate of Naturalisation. On my way to spain, they did not ask me for any information.

On my way back, at the Airline counter in Spain, the stewardess asked me 'what is your reason for travelling back to the UK', when I said I lived there, she asked me for proof. As I no longer have by BRP, I showed her my Certificate of Naturalisation, and it was all ok.

At the Immigration post back in London City Airport, they asked me the same question. I then said I was a British national, but that I had not been able to get my British passport. They asked for my Certificate of Naturalisation again. The immigration officer was very friendly to me, but she did 'slap me in the hand' and told me I should not be travelling like this. She let me through (without stamping my passport, as she told me that would imply I'm a tourist), and told me to get my british passport asap.

So overall, as many of you have said, this is something that can be done. But they will always tell you this is an exemption and that one should get the passport asap.

Hope this is useful!

Glad to hear all went well, except for the "slap" ... clearly best to get the British passport first if at all possible.

Daniel_CR17 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:53 pm

'slap me in the hand'

'slap on the wrist'

While you are correct that once you are at the UK border, you must be allowed in as a British citizen, keep in mind that airlines and their staff do not have to accept the Certificate of Naturalisation, which is not a travel document.

It is also important to note that the Costa Rican passport allows you visa-free access to the UK.

If you were a visa national and the staff at the airline counter refused to let you board the airline without a BRP or a visa vignette in your non-British passport, they would have that right and you would have had no recourse. If you have never held a British passport in the past, you can't even be issued an Emergency Travel Document by the British embassy.

Yup...this advice and my experience only applies to those that have passports that allow visa free travel between the two countries they are heading in/out off.

The British Citizen Application process should really allow the applicant to tick a box for those interested in getting a passport (and additional fees if necessary), to avoid all the confusion that comes from this gap between getting the Citizenship and then the passport :sigh:.

Anyways. I'm back and just applied for my British passport, cant wait!

Daniel_CR17 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:34 pm

The British Citizen Application process should really allow the applicant to tick a box for those interested in getting a passport (and additional fees if necessary), to avoid all the confusion that comes from this gap between getting the Citizenship and then the passport :sigh:.

This used to be possible. For a short while there used to be a combined application where for additional fee you automatically got a passport after you attended your citizenship ceremony. There was no need to send any documents to them as part of this as you would have included all that’s necessary as part of your naturalisation application.

And then they scrapped it…

The cynic in me would say they are just trying to make the naturalisation process as hard and unpleasant as possible so that fewer people apply.