Need to travel before applying for passport

[ubiquitous]

I need to travel (3 times actually) in the next 2 months. I've recently been naturalised but have not had the chance to apply for my British passport yet. As I have to send my current Australian passport away for the application, and may not receive it back for 6 weeks, I have been putting off getting the British passport as I've needed my Australian passport for other things (getting my baby daughter Australian citizenship requires me to prove she is Australian via my passport, etc).

I understand that although it's messy, it is possible for me to enter the UK with my Australian passport as there's no law that requires a British citizen to enter on a British passport. I also understand that it's possible to bring my naturalisation certificate and explain that I haven't got my passport yet. Also messy I imagine.

Which is the better course of action in your opinion? Do I pretend to be a regular visitor from Australia? Technically if they ask how long I'll be staying, I can honestly say a week or a couple of weeks because I'll be leaving again for another trip soon after, so there's no danger of overstaying the standard 3 month limit for visitors from Australia. But on the other hand, I am working so I can't say I'm only there for a holiday. I'm not breaking any laws, I assume, by working even though they let me enter as a visitor since I am actually allowed to work. It's just that my entry stamp will not reflect that.

Or should I admit that I recently became British but don't have a British passport yet? As I understand it, they cannot legally prevent me from entering as I'm British. But which is the least troublesome option, especially considering I'll need to do it 3 times in the next 2 months?

[Noetic]

I suspect as soon as they scan your passport the information will come up that UKVI hold on you, at least in theory they should have access to the naturalisation
information on there.

Although many have reported travelling on their BRPs that they should have returns within 5 days without getting caught out so I suspect while the information is in theory accessible if doesn't get displayed on screen as surely people would get fined more often!

[ubiquitous]

For those who were interested (it seemed that judging from the responses, not many), I ended up being completely honest when I re-entered the UK and explained that I simply had not been able to apply for my British passport as I had needed my existing Australian passport for other identification purposes.

They checked my certificate of naturalisation, asked if I still had my biometric residency permit (I said I did not), called their supervisor and finally said that I would be allowed to enter but that I must make applying for my British passport a priority when I am able. All in all, it was done in 5 minutes. I overheard them talking to their colleague in the office to say that they aren't able to let me in as a tourist on my Australian passport any more, which I thought would be my backup plan.

So there you go. Not something I'd happily do regularly, but it seems that you can enter the UK with the certificate of naturalisation if you absolutely must.

[noajthan]

Glad you made it.
As ever, honesty proves the best policy.

[rotor]

Thanks very much for letting us know how it went. Glad it all went well.

[ubiquitous]

Glad you made it.
As ever, honesty proves the best policy.

Indeed, I've generally found UK Border Agency to be friendly and reasonable and I felt comfortable enough to be truthful with them, especially given I am British and it would have to be an extreme situation for them to prevent me entry despite having proof of citizenship.

It seems clear to me that honesty isn't always the best policy when it comes to immigration agencies though. I've had some nasty experiences entering the US, not by being honest or dishonest, but just by their immediate presumption of guilt and extreme lack of civility. Also, I was reading this article the other day about US immigration:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as- ... -1.3753205

It seems that you should NOT be honest and admit that you've smoked marijuana EVER when entering the US, because it could get you banned, even if it was completely legal to smoke it at the time and did not take place in the US. Anyway, it's not directly relevant to this discussion obviously, but just a cautionary tale. Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut and not disclose anything you don't absolutely have to.