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If you get British Citizenship will you lose the other
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:12 pm
by Shawn
Hi all,
My sister is preparing to apply to get her british passport after completing required period in ILR.
She wants to know whether UKBA will not return her current Sri Lankan passport , if she gets Bristish Passport.
Thanks
Shawn
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:49 pm
by Greenie
The UKBA will return her Sri Lankan passport to her when it make a decision on her application for natursalisation. Whether she can retain her Sri Lankan nationality if she becomes British depends entirely on whether and in what circumstances the Sri Lankan authorities recognise dual citizenship. This is not a 'British Citizenship' question.
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:05 am
by ILR_Applicant_UK
Shawn,
In simple terms, the UKBA don't care about what other passports/nationalities you carry. On the successful completion of her naturalisation application she would get her passport back. In fact, she could simply apply through the Nationality Checking Service where the local council will check all her documents, take copies, and return all the originals (including the passport) during a 1.5 hour appointment.
Once you've received your Brit naturalisation certificate, you'll have to figure out if Sri Lanka allows dual-nationality; closer to you, Pakistan allows dual nationality (I know a couple of people who have 2 other nationalities besides Pakistani); India, on the other hand, doens't and Indians have to give up their Indian nationality one gaining another country's nationality. But its upto the individuals to actually go through this process. Some don't do anything, and probably get away with it, but I believe if you get caught, there are fines and other penalties. Either way, UKBA doesn't enforce this in any way.