Advice for becoming a British Citizen

Amara

Why so many people say "Life in UK" test is so hard? I've passed it last year and only preparation I took was reading these tests online. Yes, some questions are hard , but most of them are not. A lot of them are just about common sense ("There's no place for terrorism in UK , true or false?)or general knowledge of British life (Is it true British people traditionally eat Sunday Roast on Christmas Day) (Who is head of state, multiply choice).
OP, have more faith in your wife . Many people passed this test, she'll do it too.

InsideInsurance

London50 wrote: »

Personally I cannot see the point, I have lived in the UK for more years than I care to count but was not born here {or in Europe} and have never wanted or needed British Citizenship. I worked all my adult life in the UK, paid my taxes and never claimed benefits for the whole of my working life. The only slight problem I have is getting my passport renewed each time as it has to be done through the embassy in the UK so there are a few forms to fill.

I guess it depends where in the world you are from and how much you like travelling. Certainly some countries passports open a lot more doors than others without the need for visas etc.

Wife to enter the USA on her UK passport was 5 minutes filling in the ESTA form and 10 minute wait for the decision to be made.

For her to enter on her other passport she'd have to apply for visa, have an interview in the US embassy in London and prove that she has sufficient links to the UK to satisfy them that she'd be returning here after getting there.

Prior to getting her BC she had PR as a non-EU family member of an EU citizen. Despite having the PR stamp in her passport she was challenged on a number of occasions at UK immigration on how she'd obtained PR and on one occasion was detained almost 2 hours after declaring that she wasnt entitled to PR in her circumstances with the rest of her uni class mates having gone through and waiting on the coach for her. Needless to say the did come back waive her through immigration and never apologized for their "mistake"

London50

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I guess it depends where in the world you are from and how much you like travelling. Certainly some countries passports open a lot more doors than others without the need for visas etc.

Wife to enter the USA on her UK passport was 5 minutes filling in the ESTA form and 10 minute wait for the decision to be made.

For her to enter on her other passport she'd have to apply for visa, have an interview in the US embassy in London and prove that she has sufficient links to the UK to satisfy them that she'd be returning here after getting there.

Prior to getting her BC she had PR as a non-EU family member of an EU citizen. Despite having the PR stamp in her passport she was challenged on a number of occasions at UK immigration on how she'd obtained PR and on one occasion was detained almost 2 hours after declaring that she wasnt entitled to PR in her circumstances with the rest of her uni class mates having gone through and waiting on the coach for her. Needless to say the did come back waive her through immigration and never apologized for their "mistake"

Yes I agree, it is swings and roundabouts, I have only had one time when returning to the UK from France that I had a problem but managed to get it sorted in the end.
I was born across the pond so to speak and due to a number of factors was unable to give the information required to get either British or dual citizenship so did not bother. Over my lifetime I have traveled to many countries {and still do}but apart from that one time {at Dover off the ferry with my works party} I have never had a problem or setback :0)

InsideInsurance

London50 wrote: »

Yes I agree, it is swings and roundabouts, I have only had one time when returning to the UK from France that I had a problem but managed to get it sorted in the end.
I was born across the pond so to speak and due to a number of factors was unable to give the information required to get either British or dual citizenship so did not bother. Over my lifetime I have traveled to many countries {and still do}but apart from that one time {at Dover off the ferry with my works party} I have never had a problem or setback :0)

Having a North American passport then I'd agree its fairly pointless getting BC as US or Can is going to be as welcomed in almost all the same countries as a UK one - possibly Cuba or such as an exception for the US. I was actually surprised how many Americans and other western Europeans there were at the ceremony for when the wife became British.

She on the other hand comes from, in her own words, a "3rd world country" and so in many countries she has to have a visa where as as a BC she can enter freely. Of cause the fact her old passport was hand written with two extensions hand written into the middle of the passport never helped border crossings - the consulate was forever running out of supplies hence extending old ones for 5 years instead of giving new ones.

afly

Yes I've been in a similar situation and all I'll say is if you intend on having encounters with the UKBA prepare yourself for confusion, frustration and anger. You'll also be provided with a significantly lighter wallet, but as long as you have enough cash to keep throwing at it you can always get what you want

continualdiamond

To me it's not worth it, especially at the cost of £800 to become a citizen and then the cost of getting a passport.

Just seems a silly price to pay all for a passport and I say that because I'm not entitled to one either despite having lived here since 2003. I'm also married to a British citizen and my daughter also has a UK passport.

I wanted to have dual (on an Aussie passport) but am just sticking to being on my Aussie passport. Was a tad annoying when this year I had to renew my passport which then also = having to pay for another right of abode (my mum's British). I had to submit and pay all over again as the evidence is only valid for the duration of the passport it is in.

Thankfully when we all recently visited Australia we were all able to go through the same passport queue on going to Australia and returning to the UK.

morocha

Hi,
I have passed the life in the uk test first time, it was not hard. Paper wise, it didn't take long to fill them in... Just paperwork really.
I became a British citizen in 2009 after being held so many times in uk immigration because of my argentine nationality, also having a daughter we thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
I am glad I've done it then(fees go up every year)... It also allows me to travel and move in the eu later on in life and we have plans of doing this in the future.
Wish you luck.