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Hello

I have just recieved the letter to attend a ceremonial for my british citizenship certificate. I am 25 and half british and currently living in Singapore. I intend to do the ceremony asap. I have contacted a school in Holland and they let me do a study there on the condition that I have my british passport either before the 31st of august or 12th of september. Is it possible to get the passport on such short notice and can you give me a short walkthrough on how to?

Thank you for your time

Yoeri

Where and when are you attending your citizenship ceremony? There is no fast-track service for first passport application.

Casa wrote:Where and when are you attending your citizenship ceremony? There is no fast-track service for first passport application.

I was hoping for next week in Singapore.

Even so, the likelihood of having your passport within 3 weeks (at the latest) of your ceremony are slim to zero. Assuming you're applying from Singapore, all passport applications submitted overseas are now sent to the UK for processing. See the below guidance on applications submitted outside of the UK.
"How long it takes
Your application should take 6 weeks from when it’s received by Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK.
You may have to attend an interview.
Applications will take longer if:
HM Passport Office need to ask you for more information or documents
the photographs you send are rejected
Don’t book any travel until you have a valid passport. If you need to travel more urgently, you may be able to apply for an Emergency Travel Document."

Note: Commencing study wouldn't be considered as an emergency.

Thank you for your reply. This is what I was afraid for. Does it make any difference if I pick up the passport and do the application for the passport in England?

Yoerio wrote:Hello

I have just recieved the letter to attend a ceremonial for my british citizenship certificate. I am 25 and half british and currently living in Singapore. I intend to do the ceremony asap. I have contacted a school in Holland and they let me do a study there on the condition that I have my british passport either before the 31st of august or 12th of september. Is it possible to get the passport on such short notice and can you give me a short walkthrough on how to?

Thank you for your time

Yoeri

Is the purpose of this school's deadline to prove you can travel?
Or to prove you are British?

Think outside of the box. Ask for options for alternative form of proof.
Eg Naturalisation Certificate.

Yoerio wrote:Thank you for your reply. This is what I was afraid for. Does it make any difference if I pick up the passport and do the application for the passport in England?

Applying in the UK will be much faster than doing it from overseas.

It is said that first time adult passport normally takes 6 weeks. I got mine only 2 weeks after applying, but you might not have the same luck.

Yoerio wrote:I have contacted a school in Holland and they let me do a study there on the condition that I have my british passport either before the 31st of august or 12th of september.

I've a wild idea, but I'm not sure it would work.

If you already have the documents that would allow you to travel to the Netherlands (but not necessarily be allowed into the country, especially not as a student), you could in theory fly to the Netherlands and insist on admission on the basis of being an EU citizen - the UK is still part of the EU. The law that would enable you to do this is Article 5(4) of the Free Movement Directive 2004/38/EC:

Where a Union citizen, or a family member who is not a national of a Member State, does not have the necessary travel documents or, if required, the necessary visas, the Member State concerned shall, before turning them back, give such persons every reasonable opportunity to obtain the necessary documents or have them brought to them within a reasonable period of time or to corroborate or prove by other means that they are covered by the right of free movement and residence.

I've no idea what evidence of legal entry you would receive if this works, nor indeed of how well Dutch Immigration follows EU law.

However, that won't help if the school insists on you having an actual British passport.

I asked the school about the passport, because I can show them the certificate before the 31st of august. But apparently they want an identification proof. Since the UK dont have an identification card system, a passport is the last sufficient option.

@richard: That is a very bold and daring move, and I definitely am tempted to try it out. But it might result in a penalty that can put my passport proces in danger. Therefore it's better to play it safe.

Oh: and by default, with my current passport I am allowed a maximum of 90 days stay in any 180 days period in the Netherlands. Currently I have been away from the netherlands for 4 months, came back for 3 months and am back in Singapore for 1. Am I by immigration laws allowed to return again?

Yoerio wrote:But apparently they want an identification proof.

What is the nationality of your current passport? Given that you are allowed 90 days stay on arrival with it in the Netherlands, it seems that it is recognised by the Dutch government. I find it questionable why the school won't accept it as proof of identification. They should then accept the naturalisation certificate as provisional proof of citizenship while you acquire a British passport. Offer this as a solution to them.

Currently my passport is a singaporean one. Its not from the eu. So I doubt it will work, the school replied they refuse to accept me unless I have an actual european passport. Basically theyre very law-abiding unfortunately.

Yoerio wrote:Currently my passport is a singaporean one. Its not from the eu. So I doubt it will work, the school replied they refuse to accept me unless I have an actual european passport. Basically theyre very law-abiding unfortunately.

It is probably preferable to attend a school that is law-abiding and in a country with a high standard regarding rule of law.

So you have a simple planning and scheduling problem. That may be solved by discussion.
Or you could join your class in a later semester.

Fortunately, as per my understanding, some Netherlands institutions start classes in January or February so you would probably only lose a couple of months rather than a complete academic year.