Question about British Citizen by descent, entering UK?

Hi Everyone

I'm so relieved I found this board! I've been researching everything but I'm terrified of reaching UK immigration and being turned back for not having a student visa . . .

I am eligible for a UK passport, because I am a British Citizen by descent (my father). I'm going to Newcastle to study for a year on exchange from my Canadian University.

If I was a regular Canadian student, I'd have to get a visa, which costs the same as getting a British passport, so I'm thinking of getting the latter, just because I won't have to mess around with work restrictions and so forth, and I'm thinking it'll be easier to get through immigration.

Thing is - I don't know if I can just enter the UK to study for a year on a UK passport. I've never even BEEN to the UK before, and I'ms cared that if I tell them I'm going there to study, they'll want a visa and treat me as a regular Canadian.

Would a British passport guarantee me freedom of movement?

Thanks so much:)
Caitlin

I think you will find that you will have minimal questioning when you go through the UK Passport holders line at the airport. You will have no restrictions, an you'll be able to do whatever you want. The only restriction I can think of is people who will be attending a University for a full time course (which is not what you're doing) however this is a University policy who charge overseas rates for foreign students and this includes students who are British Citizens but have not been resident in the UK for the last 3 years.

If you really are a full British citizen by decent then I think, technically speaking, you would not legally be allowed to obtain a student visa to study in the UK anyway as a UK visa is, by definition, only available to those who are subject to immigration control in the UK, which full British citizens obviously are not.

As a full British citizen you have every right to come and go from the UK at your leisure. The only questions that immigration officers are allowed to ask you are to establish your identity and that you are the person represented in the passport. They cannot question your motivations for entering the country nor ask you what you intend to do or how long you intend to stay. The fact that you have never been to the UK before is irrelevant. As a citizen of the UK you are entitled to come and go as you please.

Ahh thank you both so much, that puts my mind to rest.

As for the issue of a student visa, I guess I'm concerned that they'll want me to enter on my Canadian passport with a visa - because thoguh I am definitely a British citizen, I don't have residency there.

I don't have residency there.

Actually although are you not currently resident in the UK, being a British citizen entitles you to exercise your right to residency (technically your right of abode) in the UK at any time. Your British citizenship gives you the same rights to live and work in the UK as your Canadian citizenship does in Canada.

So....forget about the student visa. Despite the fact that you have never been to Britain, in the eyes of the law you are as British as someone who has lived in Britain their entire lives.

Yes, that's right. You should apply for a British passport. Technically, indeed, a British citizen is not entitled to a UK visa in a non-British passport, although as you are a British citizen by descent your citizenship status might not be obvious if you did apply for a student visa.

(The only exception to this is that British citizens may have a 'certificate of entitlement to the right of abode' inserted in a non-British passport that they possess. This confirms your right of abode and means you can use the non-British passport in the same way as a British passport for UK immigration purposes. You could go down this route, but the cost of applying in Canada is about the same as the cost of a British passport, and it confers no advantages over a British passport: indeed, it is less advantageous because it does not give you any EU rights in the rest of the EU or the EEA.)

So apply for your British passport and enter the UK on that, as a British citizen.

Caitlin wrote:Hi Everyone

I'm so relieved I found this board! I've been researching everything but I'm terrified of reaching UK immigration and being turned back for not having a student visa . . .

I am eligible for a UK passport, because I am a British Citizen by descent (my father). I'm going to Newcastle to study for a year on exchange from my Canadian University.

If I was a regular Canadian student, I'd have to get a visa, which costs the same as getting a British passport, so I'm thinking of getting the latter, just because I won't have to mess around with work restrictions and so forth, and I'm thinking it'll be easier to get through immigration.

Thing is - I don't know if I can just enter the UK to study for a year on a UK passport. I've never even BEEN to the UK before, and I'ms cared that if I tell them I'm going there to study, they'll want a visa and treat me as a regular Canadian.

Would a British passport guarantee me freedom of movement?

Thanks so much:)
Caitlin

You are worrying needlessly. As others have said, once you reach UK immigration with a British citizen passport, you will be admitted to the UK once they have verified your identity. They will not ask, much less care, how long you plan to stay, how long you've been outside the UK or what the purpose of your trip is. No different to arriving in Canada with a Canadian passport.

Regarding student fees, someone else correctly noted that you need to have been resident in the UK/EEA for 3 years to get home student fees, even if a British citizen. But if you're going on a university exchange, your Canadian university may be looking after this aspect anyway.

One thing you do need to know for the future is that as you're British "by descent" then you can't automatically pass on your citizenship to children born outside the United Kingdom and its Territories.

However there are some ways to get such children registered as British, eg if you live in the UK for a continuous period of 3 years and register the child before it's 12 months old.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... w=Standard

Just to add... remember that you are also a citizen of the European Union, giving you free right of movement in the Union - for holidays, to work, or to study.

Get your UK passport - this is as much your country as Canada is.

Thanks so much, now I know for sure, and my school is cool with it - so I'm definitely going in on my British passport . . . . The mobility and work options are worth it.

I really appreciate everyone replying to this, wading through all the information and various terms used on the Internet is not easy.