Can i cancel British Passport and apply ROE?

Hi.

I am wondering whether it's possible to cancel a British passport and apply ROA - COE to my other passport?

Thanks

Your past posts suggest that you are on the Tier 1 Ent route and have not yet become a British citizen.

Yes, you can apply for a CoE-RoA if you do not have a current British passport, provided that you continue to hold another citizenship when you become a British citizen. If you lose citizenship of another country when you acquire British citizenship, by definition you cannot hold their passport.

Remember that a CoE-RoA cannot be used to prove that you are a British citizen, only that you have the right to reside in the UK. You would therefore not be able to claim UK consular assistance abroad, for instance. The visa-free travel will be based on your other passport, not as a British citizen, etc.

Thanks for your reply.

I am British by naturalisation and have not had a British Passport. Suppose i apply a British Passport now and it'll be valid for 10 years. Can i cancel that British Passport at some point and exchange it to COE ROA to my other passport?

I posted comments on other thread as trying to help others. But if this is by any means i am not allowed to do it. Please let me know.

Thank you.

What is your birth nationality??

be123+ wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 26, 2019 2:09 pm

Can i cancel that British Passport at some point

Not sure if there is a procedure to cancel a British passport. You can report it as lost or stolen, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no procedure for getting a British passport cancelled voluntarily. You would have wait for it to expire.

I suggest that if you have not acquired a British passport, go for a CoE-RoA in your non-British passport now. If you change your mind, you can move to a British passport more easily (your CoE-RoA will be cancelled at that point).

Also see Cancellation of Passports.

Malaysia

Which does not allow dual citizenship. You therefore risk have it revoked and facing potential penalties.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... ders-told/

It seems that the situation with regards to Malaysia is quite nuanced.

While dual nationality is frowned upon, it seems that the Malaysian constitution provides for Malaysian citizenship to be deprived by Federal Government order (rather than by action of law, as in India). Presumably, if (and until such time as) the Malaysian Federal Government does not order deprivation, one can be a dual Malaysian-other citizen.

Of course, note that I am not aware of the case or statute law in this field and this is based on a reading of the Federal Constitution located via Google Search.

See Part III, Chapter 2 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

many would retain their passport by traveling on third country. This is to avoid any direct information given by airlines. As you may know that the airlines sends API in advance and the designated country would know the details of passengers.

I presume if the birth country doesn't know that someone has another passport. Then nothing would happen?

It's very interesting information and appreciate for your time for searching this information.

be123+ wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 26, 2019 1:16 pm

Hi.

I am wondering whether it's possible to cancel a British passport and apply ROA - COE to my other passport?

Thanks

I was also curious of your question!
This is what I found - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _Final.pdf

Guide ROA: guide to the right of abode in the United Kingdom and applying for a certificate of entitlement wrote:We will check with Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) to see if their records show that you hold a passport. If HMPO records show that you hold a current UK passport, describing you as a British citizen or as a British subject with the right of abode in the UK, we will not issue a certificate of entitlement. This is because the law does not allow a person to hold both a passport and a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode. If you have lost your British passport you must notify HMPO so that their records can be updated. Until you notify HMPO of the loss of your passport an application for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode may be refused, as records will show that you are the holder of a British citizen or British subject passport.

I was looking into this, as until you aquire your first UK passport you might get stuck abroad, because you need to have had a UK passport issued once to be able to request an emergency travel document (which is a right you want to have when you travel abroad just in case something happens!), but if would to request CoE first then I won't have that right for emergency documents. However, if I'm correct, if I do acquire my first British passport then in case I lose it I can then get the Certificate of Entitlement for my second passport and be eligible for emergency British travel document as I have had a British passport before.

As I understand it, you can't have two travel documents stating your right to leave and enter the UK. You can have either a British passport OR a CoE-RoA in another passport.

By that logic, I would say that if you have a CoE-RoA in another passport, you will be refused an Emergency Travel Document. You could be issued an ETD if you also lost the passport containing the CoE-RoA. Alternatively, if you are in the country of your second nationality, the Embassy/High Commission could insist that you renew your non-British passport and reapply for a CoE-RoA. Or they could issue you a (perhaps a returning Resident) visa to reenter the UK, where you can reapply for a CoE-RoA or a new British passport.

Note that the above is my hypothesis, not based on government documentation.

Also note that ETDs are quite specific.

You can use an emergency travel document to travel to your destination through a maximum of 5 countries. You can also normally use it to return to the country you’re applying from if you live there.

Your travel plans (countries and dates) will be printed on your emergency travel document. If you change your travel plans once you have your emergency travel document, you’ll need to apply for a new one.

You may need a visa to leave the country you’re in or to travel through other countries with your emergency travel document. Check with the embassy or consulate of each country.

If your final destination is the UK, border staff will keep your emergency travel document when you arrive. Border staff at a different final destination might also keep the document.

Secret.simon's logic makes sense for this. On the other hand, If you were to be issued another documents by British Embassy abroad. How would you be allowed to exit the country itself when it would be different passport to use when getting in the country?

I dont think it would be no wise as it would expose that you have another passport from different country and I understand that's not illegal.

The thing is I am not sure whether you can be refused for having a passport when you are British Citizen? Even thought it's granted by the secretary of state.

I've asked a friend of mine who works for international agency recently and it's possible to cancel a valid passport and he did it once. That's because his passport was damaged and wasn't able to use that passport to travel to middle east for special envoy.

Another thing is that you're also allowed to apply another second identical British passport and work perfectly fine for both.

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 28, 2019 9:46 am

As I understand it, you can't have two travel documents stating your right to leave and enter the UK. You can have either a British passport OR a CoE-RoA in another passport.

By that logic, I would say that if you have a CoE-RoA in another passport, you will be refused an Emergency Travel Document. You could be issued an ETD if you also lost the passport containing the CoE-RoA. Alternatively, if you are in the country of your second nationality, the Embassy/High Commission could insist that you renew your non-British passport and reapply for a CoE-RoA. Or they could issue you a (perhaps a returning Resident) visa to reenter the UK, where you can reapply for a CoE-RoA or a new British passport.

Note that the above is my hypothesis, not based on government documentation.

Also note that ETDs are quite specific.

You can use an emergency travel document to travel to your destination through a maximum of 5 countries. You can also normally use it to return to the country you’re applying from if you live there.

Your travel plans (countries and dates) will be printed on your emergency travel document. If you change your travel plans once you have your emergency travel document, you’ll need to apply for a new one.

You may need a visa to leave the country you’re in or to travel through other countries with your emergency travel document. Check with the embassy or consulate of each country.

If your final destination is the UK, border staff will keep your emergency travel document when you arrive. Border staff at a different final destination might also keep the document.

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 26, 2019 2:20 pm

I suggest that if you have not acquired a British passport, go for a CoE-RoA in your non-British passport now. If you change your mind, you can move to a British passport more easily (your CoE-RoA will be cancelled at that point).

Unsure if you can move to a British passport more easily, as the HMPO also requires primary evidence of British citizenship. They may just ignore a CoE-RoA.

vinny wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:35 pm

Unsure if you can move to a British passport more easily, as the HMPO also requires primary evidence of British citizenship. They may just ignore a CoE-RoA.

In this context, I had meant that it is easier to move from a CoE-RoA to a British passport than in the other direction, because while a CoE-RoA is likely cancelled when issuing a British passport (when one must submit all uncancelled passports to HMPO), there is no publicly published procedure to request cancellation of a British passport.

Yes. Thanks!

See also SL (Certificate of entitlement holds a passport) Malaysia [2010] UKUT 164 (IAC) (02 June 2010).