United Kingdom passport application

[Flashback]

Probably a fairly niche question, but hoping maybe someone has some insight.

I'm about to kick off the process for getting my UK Citizenship (I've had ILR for a few years now) so I can get my passport. However, this requirement will scupper me every time due to the amount of travel I do:

Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or 'settled status'

Apply for British citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) - form AN, who's eligible, fees and how to apply.

www.gov.uk

Time you’ve spent outside the UK​

You should not have:

• spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application
• spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

In fact, I'll fail on both of those points unless I don't travel for 12 months or so and even then it's cutting it fine.

Any thoughts/advice on how well that requirement is actually looked at?

 

[Pushka]

Probably a fairly niche question, but hoping maybe someone has some insight.

I'm about to kick off the process for getting my UK Citizenship (I've had ILR for a few years now) so I can get my passport. However, this requirement will scupper me every time due to the amount of travel I do:

Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or 'settled status'

Apply for British citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) - form AN, who's eligible, fees and how to apply.

www.gov.uk

Time you’ve spent outside the UK​

You should not have:

• spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application
• spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

In fact, I'll fail on both of those points unless I don't travel for 12 months or so and even then it's cutting it fine.

Any thoughts/advice on how well that requirement is actually looked at?

When you travel to Europe, pre Brexit, did that get recorded anywhere?

 

[Flashback]

When you travel to Europe, pre Brexit, did that get recorded anywhere?

I would imagine it would be the same as post Brexit, I can't think of why that would have changed anything...?

 

[Pushka]

I would imagine it would be the same as post Brexit, I can't think of why that would have changed anything...?

doh. Was thinking you were on UK passport. So thoughts were you had free access pre Brexit.

So our grandkids in Australia received UK passports and they hadn’t even been to the UK. We (Aussies) had to provide our birth certificates for them to get their UK citizenship. It’s weird.

 

[Archipelago]

doh. Was thinking you were on UK passport. So thoughts were you had free access pre Brexit.

So our grandkids in Australia received UK passports and they hadn’t even been to the UK. We (Aussies) had to provide our birth certificates for them to get their UK citizenship. It’s weird.

OP is asking about getting citizenship through ILR, not getting passports through grandparents born in the UK.

Totally unrelated

 

[Pushka]

OP is asking about getting citizenship through ILR, not getting passports through grandparents born in the UK.

Totally unrelated

Thanks. I pointing out the process of obtaining UK citizenship. DIL is British. I’m not. But my birth certificate was required. Flashback might need his parents birth certificates too.

So you can’t assist then?

 

[Lynda2475]

Any thoughts/advice on how well that requirement is actually looked at?

As the details of your (i assume Aussie) passport that has the ILR attached is recorded each time you exit the UK, I wouldn't bank on them not checking and it wouldn't be wise to tell a porky on an official application.

Whilst ILR is supposed to be persistent, you can actually lose it if you spend 2 years straight outside of the UK, so if they are enforcing that i would expect that they will look at your travel history whilst you have had the ILR.

Guess the decision is do you value international travel for more than 90 days/year over becoming a POM?

 

[Flashback]

Thanks. I pointing out the process of obtaining UK citizenship. DIL is British. I’m not. But my birth certificate was required. Flashback might need his parents birth certificates too.

So you can’t assist then?

I don't think my folks birth certificates would be of much help, given they both only hold Australian citizenship!

As the details of your (i assume Aussie) passport that has the ILR attached is recorded each time you exit the UK, I wouldn't bank on them not checking and it wouldn't be wise to tell a porky on an official application.

Whilst ILR is supposed to be persistent, you can actually lose it if you spend 2 years straight outside of the UK, so if they are enforcing that i would expect that they will look at your travel history whilst you have had the ILR.

Guess the decision is do you value international travel for more than 90 days/year over becoming a POM?

No one suggested telling any porkies on the application.

Reading further, it's not a hard and fast limit in any case and given I own property in the UK it seems the extra days shouldn't be a problem. Work travel can be deducted from the total too, which also helps.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115156/Guide_AN_Naturalisation_Booklet_The_Requirements_and_The_Process.pdf

 

[Pushka]

I don't think my folks birth certificates would be of much help, given they both only hold Australian citizenship!

Neither did I, makes no sense, but we were still required, as Australian citizens, to send our Aussie birth certificates when DIL, who was a Brit, applied for her children's UK citizenship and passports. Might be worth delving into the details of further requirements because they can take a while to obtain and then they have to be mailed to a particular address in Home Office that has your application number incorporated into the actual address.

Post automatically merged: Jun 23, 2023

I don't think my folks birth certificates would be of much help, given they both only hold Australian citizenship!

No one suggested telling any porkies on the application.

Reading further, it's not a hard and fast limit in any case and given I own property in the UK it seems the extra days shouldn't be a problem. Work travel can be deducted from the total too, which also helps.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1115156/Guide_AN_Naturalisation_Booklet_The_Requirements_and_The_Process.pdf

So work consumes a lot of your travel time then.

 

[Flashback]

Neither did I, makes no sense, but we were still required, as Australian citizens, to send our Aussie birth certificates when DIL, who was a Brit, applied for her children's UK citizenship and passports. Might be worth delving into the details of further requirements because they can take a while to obtain and then they have to be mailed to a particular address in Home Office that has your application number incorporated into the actual address.

Post automatically merged: Jun 23, 2023

So work consumes a lot of your travel time then.

My leisure travel tends to be more, but work trips (when I have to go visit clients on site) tend to be anywhere from 2-6 weeks.

Have looked over the requirements and nothing I can see is needed re: birth certs for proof of ID or anything else.