Working Overseas- Effect on British Naturalisation

[Xzibit1]

Hi,
I am due to apply for British Naturalisation in July 2007. I currently work in UK.

I note that one of the conditions is that the applicant should make the UK their permanent home, or continue to work overseas with a British Company or Work Overseas with an International Organisation of which the UK is a member.

I have managed to get a job with a non UK company overseas and want to leave the UK as soon as I submit my naturalisation application in July 2007, using the Nationalicay Checking Service (NCS).

1. As I am going to work overseas with a non UK body, will this affect my British Naturalisation application?

2. Alternatively could I take a sabbatical from my current UK employer and still go and work overseas, so that on my Nationality Form, I am still technically employed by a UK company?

Please advise.

Thanks
Xzibit

[JAJ]

Unless you are married to a British citizen, it's recommended to read these policy instructions from the Home Office:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary

[SYH]

I think the preceding year, particularly the last 6 months you should stay put in the UK, I am a contractor and I have lots of friends who want to be naturalised. However the area of work we are in, requires a bit of travel and sometimes we are heavily sought after for work abroad. We have all agreed we can work around the issue of temp assignments abroad where we commute, meaning fly in monday leave Friday and some even have rented flats because its cheaper than being in a hotel for 4 nights but no one will accept an assignement outside the uk in the last 6 months before applying for naturalisation.
I dont know how the home office checks on your prior residences, if they go to the address, ask questions of people living in the area and your work employment but everytime I apply I make sure I am in the country at the time of the application and I have been there for a couple of months in a specific location and I STAY there until I get the approval. My application usually comes back in one month which always makes me wonder if they check at all but I dont leave it chance and neither should you.

[Dawie]

I note that one of the conditions is that the applicant should make the UK their permanent home, or continue to work overseas with a British Company or Work Overseas with an International Organisation of which the UK is a member.

The condition is that you intend to make the UK your home. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from permanently leaving the UK the day after you obtain your British passport. People's intentionschange all the time.

I think the preceding year, particularly the last 6 months you should stay put in the UK, I am a contractor and I have lots of friends who want to be naturalised. However the area of work we are in, requires a bit of travel and sometimes we are heavily sought after for work abroad. We have all agreed we can work around the issue of temp assignments abroad where we commute, meaning fly in monday leave Friday and some even have rented flats because its cheaper than being in a hotel for 4 nights but no one will accept an assignement outside the uk in the last 6 months before applying for naturalisation.

There are very clear residency rules indicating exactly how many days out of each year in the preceding 5 years before you apply for naturalisation you are allowed to spend outside of the UK without prejudicing your naturalisation application. This includes concessions for work-related absences. There is absolutely no reason to not accept an assignment outside the UK in the last 6 months before your application as long as you can produce evidence that the absence was indeed work-related.

I dont know how the home office checks on your prior residences, if they go to the address, ask questions of people living in the area and your work employment but everytime I apply I make sure I am in the country at the time of the application and I have been there for a couple of months in a specific location and I STAY there until I get the approval. My application usually comes back in one month which always makes me wonder if they check at all but I dont leave it chance and neither should you.

Everytime you apply? You seem to be implying that you regularly apply for naturalisation? What exactly are applying for?

[SYH]

Dawie
I agree that you in principle you should be allowed to work outside the UK, just that it is better to be safe than sorry
Second, what is the point of nitpicking my response, I wasn't speaking about just naturalisation, i was speaking of renewals of work permit which depending on the ho can be issued yearly or you can be given a 5 year permit. Your residency is still always an issue per application including up to naturalisation.

[Dawie]

Your response was inaccurate and misleading.

[SYH]

what part is inaccurate? just saying so doesn't make it true, nor is it enlightening.

[Dawie]

I've already pointed out which part of your response was inaccurate.

a) There is no residency requirement for the renewal of a work permit. The word "absence" is not mentioned once in either Form FLR(IED) or the guidance notes for Form FLR(IED). Nor is there any place to list any of your absences.

b) There are residency requirements for ILR and naturalisation but there are many concessions available to those who exceed these limits due to work obligations. It's a not a case of better to be safe than sorry. If you can prove that your excess absences are due to work obligations there won't be any problem, simple as that.

[SYH]

OK I see there is no room for debate with you.
Rules are one thing and can be very comforting
How they are administered is quite another and that's when people face the harsh reality.
If it makes you feel better I will phrase it this way
I am from the school and it is my opinion to be better safe than sorry, considering the people who have posted about problems for being outside of the uk, that is why I say it.
So let's leave it like that.

[sunnyday]

One question though,

say if he does leave the UK after naturalisation and he has dual nationality, will the UK authority 'take away' his UK citizenship?

There are some rules imposed by the scandinavian countries saying that if one has lost ties with the country, eg, has not lived in the country for certain time, then he may lose right to have the nationality.

[Dawie]

No, the only way a UK citizen can lose their UK citizenship is if they renounce it through a formal declaration, or if it is found they they received their citizenship through some form of deception, or if they are involved in an act of terrorism or treason.

Also, even under these circumstances, the reality is that they can only take away your UK citizenship if doing so does not render you stateless.

[Christophe]

One question though,

say if he does leave the UK after naturalisation and he has dual nationality, will the UK authority 'take away' his UK citizenship?

There are some rules imposed by the scandinavian countries saying that if one has lost ties with the country, eg, has not lived in the country for certain time, then he may lose right to have the nationality.

No, as noted above, that is not so. It is true that when a person naturalises, he or she states that the intention is to continue to reside in the UK (unless married to a British citizen, in which case that provision doesn't apply). However, this does not mean that naturalised citizens have to stay residing the UK for ever: plans and circumstances change and such a declaration can be made quite legitimately even if, in the future, it happens that the person moves. But that has to be the intention at the time.

That caveat aside, there are no ordinary circumstances in which British citizenship can be removed from someone against his or her will - there are certain recent anti-terrorism provisions, but they are not important to most people (and incidentally, these provisions apply equally to naturalised and natural-born British citizens), and there are also provisions to remove citizenship if it was obtained fraudulently. Beyond that, not. It is possible to renounce British citizenship voluntarily, should you so wish; this must be done using the forms prescribed by law and regulation.

Also, as noted above, British citizenship cannot be removed or renounced if that would render the person stateless.

[SYH]

If you can prove that your excess absences are due to work obligations there won't be any problem, simple as that.

Can you cite where this guicance is?

[sunnyday]

One question though,

say if he does leave the UK after naturalisation and he has dual nationality, will the UK authority 'take away' his UK citizenship?

There are some rules imposed by the scandinavian countries saying that if one has lost ties with the country, eg, has not lived in the country for certain time, then he may lose right to have the nationality.

No, as noted above, that is not so. It is true that when a person naturalises, he or she states that the intention is to continue to reside in the UK (unless married to a British citizen, in which case that provision doesn't apply). However, this does not mean that naturalised citizens have to stay residing the UK for ever: plans and circumstances change and such a declaration can be made quite legitimately even if, in the future, it happens that the person moves. But that has to be the intention at the time.

That caveat aside, there are no ordinary circumstances in which British citizenship can be removed from someone against his or her will - there are certain recent anti-terrorism provisions, but they are not important to most people (and incidentally, these provisions apply equally to naturalised and natural-born British citizens), and there are also provisions to remove citizenship if it was obtained fraudulently. Beyond that, not. It is possible to renounce British citizenship voluntarily, should you so wish; this must be done using the forms prescribed by law and regulation.

Also, as noted above, British citizenship cannot be removed or renounced if that would render the person stateless.

I see. That's why I made an assumption on a dual national. but it's all very clear now. Thanks folks.

[JAJ]

One question though,
say if he does leave the UK after naturalisation and he has dual nationality, will the UK authority 'take away' his UK citizenship?

Britain used to have a law like this - repealed in 1964.

There are some rules imposed by the scandinavian countries saying that if one has lost ties with the country, eg, has not lived in the country for certain time, then he may lose right to have the nationality.

As I understand it, these Scandinavian laws affect children born overseas to parents from that country, rather than those who have become naturalised citizens.

[SYH]

If you can prove that your excess absences are due to work obligations there won't be any problem, simple as that.

Can you cite where this guidance is?

Hi there I think this question has gotten lost
Where is the guidance that indicates work related absences won't count against you for ILR approval or Naturalisation

[Dawie]

This document, page 6, Paragraph 4.1.2 c

[SYH]

Sorry I don't see it
Can you provide the link so I am sure I am going to the right document?

[Christophe]

Sorry I don't see it
Can you provide the link so I am sure I am going to the right document?

Link is on the word "This" at ths start of Dawie's post (a bit hard to see in the small font, I must admit).

[SYH]

Thanks Christophe for pointing it out

[davidm]

As I understand it, these Scandinavian laws affect children born overseas to parents from that country, rather than those who have become naturalised citizens.

These laws apply to children born to at least one Scandinavian parent where the child has never lived in the respective Scandinavian country- the child loses the Scandinavian citizenship at the age of 22 automatically unless s/he lodges an application to retain the citizenship. The application to retain citizenship has to be made between the ages of 21 and 22. AFAIK, this is the case for Norway, Sweden and Denmark at least.

[Dawie]

This of course assumes that the person holds an additional citizenship.

[Christophe]

This of course assumes that the person holds an additional citizenship.

Does it? I suppose id does in the case of Nordic countries. Not all countries have any requirement that you cannot lose your citizenship if you don't have (or won't attain) another. For example, a US citizen can reounce US citizenship even if that will render the person stateless. Most people would say that this would be an extraordinarily foolish thing to do, but that's a separate matter.