Exercising Right of Abode

[rbm]

I am a Canadian citizen with a Right of Abode stamp in my Cdn. passport (actually a "right to claim Right of Abode"). I wish to exercise that right and obtain a UK passport for myself and my family (all Canadian citizens). We have been living outside Canada for many years. I have been given contrary advice from different consulates. Must I register with the immigration people, live in the UK for 5 years and become a UK resident taxpayer before entitlement arises. Can anyone reliably confirm that this is the present criterion?
Bruce

[JAJ]

I am a Canadian citizen with a Right of Abode stamp in my Cdn. passport (actually a "right to claim Right of Abode"). I wish to exercise that right and obtain a UK passport for myself and my family (all Canadian citizens). We have been living outside Canada for many years. I have been given contrary advice from different consulates. Must I register with the immigration people, live in the UK for 5 years and become a UK resident taxpayer before entitlement arises.

You have two options:

1. Register now as a British citizen by descent. Your wife and children can move to the UK on settlement visas. Wife can become naturalised British after 3 years, children can be registered as British once settled in the UK (if aged under 13) or after 2 years (if aged 13-17).

2. Move to the UK with your Right of Abode stamp. Bring your family on spouse visas. After 5 years, whole family can become naturalised British.

In your circumstance, option 1 seems preferable. However it can only be possible if you were born on or after 8 February 1961 and (generally) your mother was born or naturalised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man or Channel Islands.

If born before that date, option 2 is the only way to go.

Bear in mind that either way, your family can only get British citizenship by living in the UK.

[rbm]

Thanks JAJ,
Yes. option 1 is it for me. I am British patrial thro' my mother who was English. Do you know if I would have to pay British income tax as a UK resident for those pre-citizenship 5 years? Could I live in France and satisfy the requirements thro' its connection in the EU? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[Christophe]

Thanks JAJ,
Yes. option 1 is it for me. I am British patrial thro' my mother who was English. Do you know if I would have to pay British income tax as a UK resident for those pre-citizenship 5 years? Could I live in France and satisfy the requirements thro' its connection in the EU? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Essentially (and simply put) if you're living the UK and earning money there you are liable to pay UK income tax. If you're living in France and earning money there, you would be liable to pay French income tax. Time spent living in France could not count towards your family's time needed to become British citizens: you would already be a British citizen, having registered as one.

The only thing to remember about registering as a British citizen is that you will be a British citizen by descent, and that status cannot be changed. This does not matter except that any future children you may have who are born outside the UK would not be automatically British citizens. If you live in the UK and then naturalise as a British citizen on that basis (five years down the track), you would be a British citizen otherwise than by descent. (If your wife becomes a British citizen in due course, she will be a British citizen otherwise than by descent.)

(Note too that your current status of having the right of abode in the UK gives you an absolute right to live and work in the UK, the same as a British citizen has.)

[rbm]

Thanks Christophe- very helpful.
Bruce

[JAJ]

Thanks JAJ,
Yes. option 1 is it for me. I am British patrial thro' my mother who was English. Do you know if I would have to pay British income tax as a UK resident for those pre-citizenship 5 years?

If you live in the United Kingdom, you will pay British taxes.

And if you take "option 1" you register as a British citizen without needing any residence in the United Kingdom. Your family will need to live in the United Kingdom to become British. You won't.

Could I live in France and satisfy the requirements thro' its connection in the EU?

Could you become a British citizen by living in France? In a word - NO!

And there is no guarantee you'd get to become a French citizen either. That depends on French law.

And if you live in France - you pay French taxes.

Best solution is to bring your family to live in the U.K. for 3 years, and they can get British passports. Then you could move to France if you liked.

[rbm]

Thanks JAJ,
This is excellent news. It seems that if I register my Right of Abode/claim it, I become a UK citizen immediately even if I reside in France or for example Thailand. I do have an English address. My son who has been in school in England for 7 years (as a Canadian with a school visa) could attend a UK university for 3 three years after I registered and earn his UK citizenship. Have I got that right? I don't what to hog your time but I certainly appreciate your responsive, relevant answers. Thanks

[rbm]

I have been in touch with the local UK embassy. They tell me that
(1)I should look at the relevant website (which is not helpful on this subject as far as I can detect), and
(2) that I must initiate my claim to convert my Right of Abode into full citizenship/UK passport by way of obtaining "Naturalisation Papers" from London. Does this accord with the knowledge/experience of this forum? Grateful for guidance. Thanks.
Bruce

[JAJ]

Thanks JAJ,
This is excellent news. It seems that if I register my Right of Abode/claim it, I become a UK citizen immediately

No. You are completely confused.

Obtaining a Right of Abode stamp in your Canadian passport, or obtaining a Certificate of Registration as a British citizen are two separate things.

even if I reside in France or for example Thailand. I do have an English address. My son who has been in school in England for 7 years (as a Canadian with a school visa) could attend a UK university for 3 three years after I registered and earn his UK citizenship. Have I got that right?

How old is your son? And when were you born?

[JAJ]

I have been in touch with the local UK embassy. They tell me that
(1)I should look at the relevant website (which is not helpful on this subject as far as I can detect), and
(2) that I must initiate my claim to convert my Right of Abode into full citizenship/UK passport by way of obtaining "Naturalisation Papers" from London.

Start here:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... e/guideukm

[rbm]

I was born 1947 in Canada. I am 60, a retired HK government civil servant. I was employed by the HK government from 1987-2007. I have had a valid Right of Abode certificate in my Cdn passport for years. My mom is English born. My son is 18, born in HK (1988)and carries both a HKBNO and a Cdn passport. He has attended school in England for 7 years and will start university there in September. His degree will take 3 years. I would like to obtain a UK passport for both he and I.

It was the UK embassy here that advised me that to successfully apply for a pasport I must complete the "naturalisation" process. Does this clarify the issues? I will follow that url you gave me, JAJ. Thanks.

[Christophe]

It was the UK embassy here that advised me that to successfully apply for a pasport I must complete the "naturalisation" process. Does this clarify the issues? I will follow that url you gave me, JAJ. Thanks.

Given your date of birth, to apply for a British passport, you must naturalise as a British citizen. The only way for you to do that is to live in the UK for 5 years and then apply for naturalisation.

For historical reasons, people born to a UK-born mother after 1961 can register immediately as British citizens, but that concession does not apply to those born before that.

[JAJ]

I was born 1947 in Canada. I am 60, a retired HK government civil servant. I was employed by the HK government from 1987-2007. I have had a valid Right of Abode certificate in my Cdn passport for years. My mom is English born. My son is 18, born in HK (1988)and carries both a HKBNO and a Cdn passport. He has attended school in England for 7 years and will start university there in September. His degree will take 3 years. I would like to obtain a UK passport for both he and I.

As someone else has said, you would need to move to the UK and live there for 5 years to become a naturalised British citizen. (or 3 years if by chance you're married to a British citizen).

Do you plan to do this?

As for your son, he may be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after he has completed 10 years legal residence in the UK. You should investigate whether he qualifies for this - they do look at how much time he has spent away and it is not straightforward.

Alternatively, and especially if you are planning to move to Britain, you may be able to sponsor him for some kind of settlement visa.

You may need to get some good professional advice on this.

Your son's BNO status gives him a small advantage - if he does get ILR, then 1 year later he can apply for registration as a British citizen. This is a simpler process than naturalisation.

[rbm]

Thanks JAJ. Seems to be a complicated system. Your explanations are clear and precise. I will go ahead and get some prof. advice.
Thanks again.
Bruce

[sakura]

My son is 18, born in HK (1988)and carries both a HKBNO and a Cdn passport. He has attended school in England for 7 years and will start university there in September. His degree will take 3 years. I would like to obtain a UK passport for both he and I.

During the 7 years in the UK, did your son ever leave for a long period of time, or did his visa expire whilst he was outside the UK and thus have to renew it, or get a new visa? Was he in public school?

[rbm]

Hi Sakura,
Yes he has been a boarder at a public school (a "private" school to we Canadians). He has only left the Uk during regular school holidays nor has his visa expired during such absences. Does this give him a leg up?