British Overseas Passport - what does this mean?

Dhrucku

Hi guys,

So my dad has got a BOP and has had one for decades.

He is now 60 years old and realised that although "the holder is entitled to re-admission to the United Kingdom" (shown in a page on his passport) he does not have the right of abode in the UK which is

"Rights as a British overseas citizen:

You can:
-hold a British passport
-get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts

Unless you’re also a British citizen:

-you’re still subject to immigration controls - you don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
-you aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)

I've bolded the bit which sits of concern to us as he is currently looking to travel to India but there is no strict advice on what he should do as the majority of the documentation / advice points towards those with an ordinary British Passport (like me).

Some questions:
- he's travelled to India before in 2011 and had a normal Visa (similar to the one I would have to use, do authorities / border control REALLY pay keen attention to British Overseas Citizens and treat them differently from those with Ordinary Passports?)
- As he doesn't strictly have the right to abode in the UK, would he have difficulty, in the current climate, getting back into the UK through immigration control? My immediate response is no because he has lived and worked in the UK for > 40 years (paid taxes, NI Insurance, Pensions etc.) but letter of the law says as above regardless of previous activity in the UK. Is it really this black and white should it come to the court of law? Is there some leeway given here to BOCs as it really is a grey area, especially since my dad has left it years to even realise this and should've applied for an ordinary passport a long time ago

Future steps would be for my dad to apply for an ordinary British passport before he retires at 65 for access to his pension without question but I've learned this will incur a hefty £1163 fee together with oath taking and biometrics etc. This all seems very, very overkill for someone who has lived / worked in the UK for > 40 years and lived by the letter of the law for this amount of time.

What are your thoughts on this please and any help would be wholly appreciated as my dad is feeling down on this.

Thanks.

Voyager2002

First step: ask your Dad if he kept his old expired passports and have a good look in all of them. See what stamps the British authorities have placed in them: there may well be something saying that he has ILR ("Indefinite Leave to Remain"), and there should certainly be something to say on what basis he was allowed into the UK when he came back from his last holiday abroad. If that says that he was admitted as a tourist, then technically he is an illegal immigrant and needs to regularise his status.

You mentioned the question of pensions: once you know his immigration status you can determine what he can and cannot claim: not only the state pension but pension credit, and other possible benefits.

All in all, you might find that the cost of becoming a British Citizen might be a very worthwhile investment.

Dhrucku

Voyager2002 wrote: »

First step: ask your Dad if he kept his old expired passports and have a good look in all of them. See what stamps the British authorities have placed in them: there may well be something saying that he has ILR ("Indefinite Leave to Remain"), and there should certainly be something to say on what basis he was allowed into the UK when he came back from his last holiday abroad. If that says that he was admitted as a tourist, then technically he is an illegal immigrant and needs to regularise his status.

You mentioned the question of pensions: once you know his immigration status you can determine what he can and cannot claim: not only the state pension but pension credit, and other possible benefits.

All in all, you might find that the cost of becoming a British Citizen might be a very worthwhile investment.

He does have his old passports and contained within them is the ILR you refer to so I'll check out what it says. I'm not sure from his last visit away on what grounds he was admitted back into the UK as he went through the photo scan through border control with no questions.

I feel that there is no real "control" on this and it's more of a case by case basis when it comes up with immigration control on whether or not they really want to enforce the laws. But to be honest my father has never had a problem in travelling to India, Canada on this passport because it looks like the authorities don't really know what it means...

Further to this, is this the form to regularise / register in line with how long he has been here?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-register-as-a-british-citizen-form-bota

Voyager2002

Dhrucku wrote: »

He does have his old passports and contained within them is the ILR you refer to so I'll check out what it says. I'm not sure from his last visit away on what grounds he was admitted back into the UK as he went through the photo scan through border control with no questions.

I feel that there is no real "control" on this and it's more of a case by case basis when it comes up with immigration control on whether or not they really want to enforce the laws. But to be honest my father has never had a problem in travelling to India, Canada on this passport because it looks like the authorities don't really know what it means...

Further to this, is this the form to regularise / register in line with how long he has been here?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-register-as-a-british-citizen-form-bota

It is a relief to know that he has ILR and so is here legally... When he last passed UK Immigration the computer would have matched his passport and photo with the details that they hold for him: the control worked and had he not been allowed in then someone would have stopped him.

I think you need to contact an agency that gives immigration advice: possibly the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants or the better-funded UK Council... He might need to do something every so often to renew his ILR, or it might be his for life -- and if he renews his passport he should ensure that an ILR stamp is in his current passport.

Anyway, there are differences between British Citizens and people with ILR in terms of entitlement to benefits and public services. Try to check whether any of these differences matter to him so that you can decide whether it is worth the cost of citizenship. The agencies who advise on whether citizenship is worthwhile can also confirm that the link is to the correct form.

andrewmp

Voyager2002 wrote: »

It is a relief to know that he has ILR and so is here legally... When he last passed UK Immigration the computer would have matched his passport and photo with the details that they hold for him: the control worked and had he not been allowed in then someone would have stopped him.

I think you need to contact an agency that gives immigration advice: possibly the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants or the better-funded UK Council... He might need to do something every so often to renew his ILR, or it might be his for life -- and if he renews his passport he should ensure that an ILR stamp is in his current passport.

Anyway, there are differences between British Citizens and people with ILR in terms of entitlement to benefits and public services. Try to check whether any of these differences matter to him so that you can decide whether it is worth the cost of citizenship. The agencies who advise on whether citizenship is worthwhile can also confirm that the link is to the correct form.

Usually, prior to bio cards and the likes which changed things....

ILR is for life, when you travel you travel with current passport and old passport containing the ILR vignet documentation thingy. There's no need to transfer it.

As he's lived here for more than 5 years and has ILR, he can apply for citizenship if he wants, although he's not obligated to.

That's how it works/worked for immigrants using their foreign passports at least.

Dhrucku

I'd like to mention that he also has everything I have e.g. NI number, P45s, payslips, bills, P60s and even a mortgage free house for god's sake, everything you'd assume a citizen to have.

He also has the right to vote being ILR and not a British Citizen!

"A major difference between ILR and UK citizenship is that while ILR can lapse if you stay away from the UK for longer than two years, British citizenship is for life. This means you can exit and re-enter the UK as you please with no restrictions whatsoever. Once you are a British citizen, you also have the right to vote."

smudge56

Depends where and when he was born. And if the country he was born in is now independent and where he was when country became independent. citizens of British dependent territories are British citizens also.
https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen/y/before-1-january-1983

eDicky

Your father is eligible to register for British Citizenship as long as he has no other nationality. He is already eligible to vote and is UK resident for tax purposes.

His Indefinite Leave to Remain is valid for life, regardless of time spent outside the UK. (This differs to the ILR held by other nationalities.) Although a British Overseas Citizen does not have automatic right of abode, in your father's case his status, with ILR and history of residence etc, is not much different to a British Citizen and there is no chance that he would be denied entry on returning from a trip.

I can't imagine there would be a problem with receiving his pension, but it would be worth making sure.

As for how his status is viewed by the EU, all UK nationals will be losing their EU citizenship and automatic rights to live and work anywhere within the EU next year, so any difference will no longer be relevant.

Dhrucku

Thank you all for the comments.

My dad just received his visa to go on holiday today and once he's back we will apply for him to become registered as a British Citizen so that there's no question as to his citizenship and entitlements once he reaches retirement. It's 1k to him and a bit of form filling / biometric work at the Post Office, totally worth it.

smudge56

He may be entitled to a British passport as well as his British overseas passport it just depends on circumstances such as where he was born. Where was he when the that country became independent etc. It’s quite complicated but if you phone the helpline and ask them to put you though to the customer service management team they will be able to advise you. The call centre aren’t qualified to give you that advice but the management team have experts in that fieldIt’s good that he has all his old passports etc as a lot of documentation is required. Call centre number is 08002220000. Good luck

Dhrucku

smudge56 wrote: »

He may be entitled to a British passport as well as his British overseas passport it just depends on circumstances such as where he was born. Where was he when the that country became independent etc. It’s quite complicated but if you phone the helpline and ask them to put you though to the customer service management team they will be able to advise you. The call centre aren’t qualified to give you that advice but the management team have experts in that fieldIt’s good that he has all his old passports etc as a lot of documentation is required. Call centre number is 08002220000. Good luck

Who exactly are these call centres?