UK passport - Do I need one?

[zsuzsa]

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice, please.

I've recently become eligible to apply for a UK passport, but having just found out about the EXCRUCIATINGLY high fee (£655 - I almost fell off the chair!), I'm seriously rethinking whether I need a UK passport in the first place.

I'm originally from Hungary (now an EU country), my husband is British (and so is our 3-year-old son who doesn't even speak Hungarian), I've lived in the UK for 5 years, and I have Indefinite Leave to Remain stamped in my Hungarian passport. Do I really need a UK passport? Other than prestige, what else do I have to gain by having one? At the moment, it doesn't seem to make any difference to me.

Are there any real long-term benefits for me to become a British citizen officially, or is it just a case of buying a very expensive piece of paper? I must say, in a way, I already feel more British than Hungarian (or at least equally so), but I'm not sure I want to pay £655 for the official title to confirm this.

Maybe I'm not seeing the full picture here? I'd be interested to hear other people's views/perspectives on this.

Thanks,

Zsuzsa

[Siggi]

Zsuzsa,
You are dead right its costs you a small fortune to become British and whilst it may be a little esasier to travel on a British passport , if I was you I would stick to your Hungarian passport .
You can live and work any where in Europe with no restrictions and still save yourself £650 plus £80 for the passport.
Good luck

[VictoriaS]

I think the right to vote in General Elections is the only real benefit of naturalisation.


Victoria

[magsi23]

I think the right to vote in General Elections is the only real benefit of naturalisation.


Victoria

Which you can do easily without

[JAJ]

I'm originally from Hungary (now an EU country), my husband is British (and so is our 3-year-old son who doesn't even speak Hungarian), I've lived in the UK for 5 years, and I have Indefinite Leave to Remain stamped in my Hungarian passport. Do I really need a UK passport? Other than prestige, what else do I have to gain by having one? At the moment, it doesn't seem to make any difference to me.

Are there any real long-term benefits for me to become a British citizen officially, or is it just a case of buying a very expensive piece of paper? I must say, in a way, I already feel more British than Hungarian (or at least equally so), but I'm not sure I want to pay £655 for the official title to confirm this.

If you feel more "British" then that's probably as good a reason as any.

Some specific reasons to go for British citizenship:

- if you want to go to countries like the United States or Canada on vacation or business, then you can avoid the expense/hassle of getting a tourist visa if you have a British citizen passport.
- you cannot take on nationality restricted Civil Service employment unless you are a British citizen.
- the right to vote in national elections, hold public office, be a JP etc, ie a variety of things you might want to do are denied to you currently
- and last but not least, it isn't inconceivable that Britain could leave the EU in the next 10 or so years (or the EU free movement of labour rules could be significantly changed). There will be many who will shout "it won't happen" but it could and it might.

As far as I know you should be able to keep your Hungarian citizenship/passport (Hungary seems to allow dual citizenship) but check this with the Hungarian embassy if it's important. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_nationality_law

As for your son, have you thought about teaching him Hungarian and exposing him to some Hungarian culture? It's very easy (by comparison) for young children to become bilingual and it shouldn't affect how British he will feel.

If he learns Hungarian it should then be easier for him to learn other languages in future (eg French, German etc). It should also make it easier to learn Finnish (the two languages are part of the same family) on the off-chance he ever wants to work or study there.

[Dawie]

Just to add to JAJ's extensive list:

There are still a few "Old" EU countries who place restrictions on Hungarian (and other new EU countries) citizens working in their countries so if you wanted to work in these countries it would be easier with a British passport.

[Christophe]

To me, the biggest "practical" reason for applying for British citizenship if I was in your sort of position would be the fact that, as a British citizen, I could always live in the UK.

However unlikely it may seem now, we just don't know if Hungarian citizens will always be able to live in the UK with ease. In, say, 1955, the idea that it would become easier for a French person or a German person or an Italian person to go and live in the UK than it would for a Canadian or an Australian or a New Zealander would have been regarded as absurd by most people. Yet 20 years later that was indeed the case, and 20 years is not all that long in the course of most lifetimes. It is not at all impossible that EU arrangements for the free movement of people will change, or that the UK may opt out of the arrangements in some way, or that even more drastic changes to the relationship between the EU and UK may occur.

In addition, if as you say you feel more British than Hungarian and you have a British husband and a British son, it does seem to make good sense to become a British citizen, the cost notwithstanding especially since (as far as I know) you can keep your Hungarian citizenship anyway.

That would be my thinking, anyway, for what it's worth!

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Christophe

The person could always apply for citizenship at a later date if they experience or foresee problems which would be solved by having UK citizenship.

You can see this in the US where suddenly lots of Latinos are applying for US citizenship because they feel unsafe with only their original citizenship.

[Christophe]

Christophe

The person could always apply for citizenship at a later date if they experience or foresee problems which would be solved by having UK citizenship.

You can see this in the US where suddenly lots of Latinos are applying for US citizenship because they feel unsafe with only their original citizenship.

That's absolutely true. But it is likely to become harder, not easier, to apply for citizenship; and it's also likely to become relatively more expensive. Also if, for any reason, the original poster moves away from the UK for a time, that will quite possibly close the door on naturalisation anyway, at least without her moving back to the UK and "qualifying" again.

[jimquk]

The gov. currently has a policy of removing ILR holders who have been in prison. It's all nonsense of course, as you could just come back, and hopefully you'll never find yourself in prison, but still.......

[JAJ]

Christophe

The person could always apply for citizenship at a later date if they experience or foresee problems which would be solved by having UK citizenship.
.

But the rules may have changed at the time or the processing time could be much longer.

Or circumstances may have changed, eg as former Canadian Conrad Black is finding out regarding his apparent plan to reclaim the Canadian citizenship he renounced in 2001. (not quite the same issue but illustrates the point). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Black