Do I need to use my student entry clearance?

[roumen]

Hi, I have a bit of an odd question about my student entry clearance. I appreciate any responses anyone might have, as I was not able to find any information anywhere else.

I'm a dual Canadian/Bulgarian citizen, and I'll be going to the UK to study in a couple of weeks. In June I obtained a student entry clearance using my Canadian passport, as I did not have a valid Bulgarian passport and I wasn't sure when I would be able to get a new one. Earlier this month I did get a new Bulgarian passport, and I'm aware that as a EU national, I can use it to enter the UK to study without the need for an entry clearance.

My question is, do you think it would matter if I chose to enter with my Bulgarian passport, and not use the entry clearance in the Canadian? Is it illegal to obtain an entry clearance and not use it when entering the UK?

Thanks in advance to anyone who has any thoughts on this!

Roumen

[Mr Rusty]

It's not "illegal" to fail to use an EC.

I would be inclined to use it to enter the UK the first time you travel here, for one reason only - there may be parts of the world, notably USA or Australia, where you might prefer to enter as a Canadian rather than a Bulgarian. If they see an unused visa in your passport it might give cause for more enquiries than normal and delay your entry, so activating it here would avoid this.

That's my take on it, but others may have some other perspective.

[roumen]

Thanks for the reply Mr Rusty. I was worrying more about if I tried to enter the UK with my Bulgarian passport, whether immigration can see I already have an EC and whether I'd be in trouble for not using it.

My reason for preferring to enter as a Bulgarian is that it might be easier if I wanted to find work in the UK afterwards. A follow up question I have is, if I enter as a Canadian and wanted to start a job/get a work permit using the Bulgarian passport, would I need to exit and re-enter the country?

Thank you again.
Roumen

[Mr Rusty]

No, you wouldn't be in any trouble using your Bulgarian passport to enter the UK.
You need to be fully aware of the rights of "A2 nationals" (ie Bulgarian and Romanian citizens) in the UK, when considering your future job prospects. You need to go to the UK Border Agency website and follow the links via Working in the UK and European citizens to the specific information relating to these 2 nationalities.
In brief, while you can produce your Bulgarian passport to enter the UK like any other European citizen, your rights to work here are severely restricted (at the moment). Even if you registered here as a student, your right to work would be limited to the same 20 hours per week to which you are entitled by the visa in your Canadian passport.
Unless your main motivation in getting the student visa was to gain a foothold in the jobs market here rather than actually study, I would be inclined to activate the student visa and take time to look around, and sus out the regulations to which I've pointed above. There's no advantage in waving your Bulgarian passport on arrival, but there would be nothing to stop you applying with this nationality later on, and you wouldn't have to leave the UK to do so.
Who knows, give it a little longer and there may be a relaxation in the A2 regulations, which may be deemed unnecessary in the future.