MN1 and travel

[aprilclub]

It suddenly occured to me that (possibly) I am in a slightly unusual situation

Me and my daughter have applied for BC in April ( my daughter is 12 and applied as MN1) and now we are in India for our holidays. We are getting back on 7th Sep.

We hope to get the approval while we are away. Its not a problem for me, I will do the ceremony once I am back; and till then I am Indian citizen with valid ILR.

But when the registration certificate arrives for my daughter, she becomes UK citizen. If this happens when we are in India; will it cause a problem for her to enter UK ( I am not worried about the Indian end - if they charge a penalty; so be it). But will the UKBA be aware that she has become a UK citizen (even though she has not applied for a passport); and will that be a problem to enter back into UK?

[Jambo]

Assuming she has the correct visa/ILR, this is not an issue. There is no requirement for British citizens to enter using British passport.

[aprilclub]

Thanks Jambo. She does have her ILR, as do I.

(As an aside, and simply to satisfy my idle curiosity here is another question. So, when she gets her UK citizenship, her Indian passport technically lapses immediately. So technically she is travelling on invalid passport. Now while UK govt will not be bothered by this, they surely will be aware that the passport is invalid. Do they not care about that. Or do they simply overlook it)

[Jambo]

Now while UK govt will not be bothered by this, they surely will be aware that the passport is invalid. Do they not care about that. Or do they simply overlook it)

I would not say they are surely aware that the Indian passport is invalid. They might not be familiar with all the rules of other governments. For them, you travel on a genuine passport. They don't know if you stopped being a citizen of that country or not.

[aprilclub]

Now while UK govt will not be bothered by this, they surely will be aware that the passport is invalid. Do they not care about that. Or do they simply overlook it)

I would not say they are surely aware that the Indian passport is invalid. They might not be familiar with all the rules of other governments. For them, you travel on a genuine passport. They don't know if you stopped being a citizen of that country or not.

Thanks Jambo. I can see you line of reasoning.

Another point : does her ILR remain valid even after my daughter has become a UK citizen? If so, when does the ILR actually expire? Is it when she gets the UK passport?
I would have thought that the ILR would expire as soon as she becomes a citizen. But I could be wrong.

[Jambo]

A passport is just a travel document. It should not affect any immigration status.

I don't see any reason the ILR will become invalid although it becomes irrelevant once you are BC. It's like having a Toyota and then buying a Ferrari. I don't see a reason to drive the Toyota again.

[aprilclub]

Thanks Jambo.