ILR Stamp on US passport needed after receiving UK citizenship?

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping to have UK citizenship/passport in a few months.  Sometime after that my US passport will expire.

I know its optional to have the ILR stamp put on the new US passport.  However, isn't the ILR completely irrelevant once you've got UK citizenship?

Thanks, Paul

You will just carry two passports like we do for my Daughter who is British & American. She enters the US on her US passport and enters the UK on her UK passport. When we travel elsewhere we just use her UK passport.

UK citizens are entitled to UK passports and are expected to use them to enter the UK, and I should have thought that by the time your US passport expires, if by then you have UK citizenship, your ILR would have become null and void, since only non-UK citizens need or can get ILR. Thus you would not be able to get any new US passport stamped. Of course, if anyone knows different...

Just a point of clarification... Having Citzenship does not mean you have a British Passport.  You will have to apply for a British Passport after you receive your citizenship and you will have to appear in person for your first British Passport.

Contrex is right.  Any ILR you may have ceases to be valid once you have citizenship...which means that you cannot try to re-enter the UK on a US passport with an ILR stamp after you have been granted citizenship but before you have the British passport.

I think you may be thinking of the Right of Abode stamp.  These are no longer issued to people who are able to get British passports.  In short, once you naturalise you have to get the British passport in order to be able to re-enter the UK.

Vicky

Thanks, Vicky, for putting it more clearly than I did. Leave to remain is lapsed by the acquisition of citizenship, the effective expiry date being the same as the ceremony date.

So should those of us waiting on naturalisation apps take this as a heads-up that we had best not plan any travel in the 3 weeks or so after our ceremonies?  I hadn't even thought of that as a constraint.

So should those of us waiting on naturalisation apps take this as a heads-up that we had best not plan any travel in the 3 weeks or so after our ceremonies?  I hadn't even thought of that as a constraint.

That's what I understand. Having an ILR stamp wouldn't even play a role in this though, as they require you to mail your passport off to get the British one. I believe.

The relevant information is here: http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply-first-born-out-uk.asp

They need the passport your entered the UK on and your naturalisation certificate.

There is no fast track for first time Passport applicants: http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/interviews-more-time.asp

So, this means you will be without a passport until both your passports are returned.

The relevant information is here: http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply-first-born-out-uk.asp

They need the passport your entered the UK on and your naturalisation certificate.

Thanks, this is really helpful. 

Does anyone know whether "the passport your entered the UK on" can be an expired passport?  I entered the UK in 2000 and my passport expired on August 2000.  It would be a huge relief to me if I could submit my expired passport (which is the one I entered on) rather than my current/valid one.

I know the answer would appear to be obvious but I would feel reassured to have someone else who has actually been through this (or who has assisted someone else through this) to confirm the information.

Does anyone know whether "the passport your entered the UK on" can be an expired passport?  I entered the UK in 2000 and my passport expired on August 2000.  It would be a huge relief to me if I could submit my expired passport (which is the one I entered on) rather than my current/valid one.

I know the answer would appear to be obvious but I would feel reassured to have someone else who has actually been through this (or who has assisted someone else through this) to confirm the information.

Well, mine was expired by quite a few years when I made my naturalization application.  They want to see the entry stamp from the time that your "naturalization countdown clock" began. 

If you are applying via the Naturalization Checking Service, however, they will make copies of the relevant pages of your passport, and give you the passport back in any case.

Thanks all for your help.  I hadn't realized the travel constraints associated with this.  According to the website you need to set aside 6 weeks (because an interview is required) to get your UK passport.  Kind of a drag for those of us that travel frequently.

Well, mine was expired by quite a few years when I made my naturalization application.  They want to see the entry stamp from the time that your "naturalization countdown clock" began. 

If you are applying via the Naturalization Checking Service, however, they will make copies of the relevant pages of your passport, and give you the passport back in any case.

Chanah, that is different then applying for your passport.  When applying for a passport, they need the passport that shows when you last entered the country.  So unless LipBalmAddict entered and hasn't left the UK since 2000 then that is the passport she should send, otherwise it is the one where she last entered the UK.  Once you have your naturalisation document they don't care about how long you have been in the UK.

Can you travel on your ILR stamp while your naturalisation application is being considered? If so, can you call and get an idea of when your application will be finalised so you won't be out of the country when you have to sign up for your citizenship ceremony?

Considering that the application is supposed to take up to 7 months to approve but it seems to be taking around 3 months, based on what people on this board are saying.

Yes, you can travel on your ILR while the naturalisation is being considered.  You are not British until you have attended the ceremony and have the certificate, so it is between the ceremony and before the British passport is granted that you cannot travel.

Vicky