Dual Citizenship Question (still confused)

I have read various post on the fourms including this one http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=10057.0 [nofollow] but I am still confused about what happens if/when I apply to become a UK citizen. My main question are:

1.) If I apply to become a UK citizen will I lose (or be made to give up) my US citizenship ?

Most people seem to be saying "no"  but I have read other post that say "maybe if this or that" and others that simply say "yes because the UK MAKES you give it up in order to become a citizen" so as I said im still pretty confused on this so if anyone can give me a straightforward answer (if there is one)  I would be most greatful.


2.) What do FLR and ILR mean in everyday terms

The technical definition of ILR is (Indef Leave to remain) and from my reading I take that to mean that as long as I follow the rules I can stay in the UK for as long as I want to without becomming a citizen BUT by doing this I have to pay between 335 - 500 pounds each time I renew my ILR which you only need to do when
 
 A.) Your US passport is about to expire.
 B.) Your visa is about to expire.


As far as FLR goes I have no definiton but I am assuming it means pretty much the same as ILR except it has a time limit on it. An example would be your visa which allows you to stay in the country but only for a limited amout of time before you have to renew it.  The fees to renew are however the same as they are for the ILR.

So if both of my assumptions are true then basically an ILR is at most good for 10 years (which is how long my passport is good for) and a FLR is at most good for 2 years (which is the longest anyone can get a visa stamp for "I think") and BOTH of these are mandatory renewal if you do not want to become a citizen.

I hope you can make sense out of my confusion but if not then I will try my best to rephrase it so you can I am not the best at explaining things I know and thanks for your replies in advance.

Mike

You wont lose your US  citizenship unless you appear before the consulate and officially renounce it.  The UK doesnt make you give up your US in any way.  (I'm dual myself.)

The technical definition of ILR is (Indef Leave to remain) and from my reading I take that to mean that as long as I follow the rules I can stay in the UK for as long as I want to without becomming a citizen BUT by doing this I have to pay between 335 - 500 pounds each time I renew my ILR which you only need to do when
 
 A.) Your US passport is about to expire.
 B.) Your visa is about to expire.

So if both of my assumptions are true then basically an ILR is at most good for 10 years (which is how long my passport is good for) and a FLR is at most good for 2 years (which is the longest anyone can get a visa stamp for "I think") and BOTH of these are mandatory renewal if you do not want to become a citizen.

ILR is 'INDEFINITE'.  If you choose not to pay for a new stamp in your new passport, then you will have to carry both your old expired passport and new one around together so that you can show you have the stamp.  I'm sure it's not mandatory to pay for the new stamp.

You absolutely will NOT lose your US citizenship if you become a UK citizen. If you look on the US government website (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html)  you'll see the following "In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship." Basically this means that you need to renounce your US citizenship, otherwise you'll become a dual citizen - US and UK - like many of us on the board.

ILR means that you can work and live anywhere in the UK but you don't get the benefits of EU citizenship. In other words, you can't legally work in Europe outside the UK whereas if you get the UK citizenship you can legally live and work anywhere in the EU, for example Ireland, Spain, Italy....

ILR is 'INDEFINITE'.  If you choose not to pay for a new stamp in your new passport, then you will have to carry both your old expired passport and new one around together so that you can show you have the stamp.  I'm sure it's not mandatory to pay for the new stamp.

I can second that -- I emailed the Home Office and they said it's fine to carry around the old passport containing the ILR -- no need to pay the fee every time you need a new passport.  A copy of that email is around here somewhere....