First UK Passport

Hi, my wife has been granted UK citizenship. Thanks to all the help from people on here. You've been amazingly generous with replying to questions.

We're currently in Europe on a long holiday. We can spend more than 3 months as I have an EU passport

We need to go back for the citizenship ceremony before September. What's the shortest time we could be in the UK for before resuming our Europe trip?
Does my wife have to stay in the UK and wait for a UK passport before travelling? Can she leave and then have the UK passport posted when it arrives before re-entering? What happens if you try and renter with a US passport once you're a British citizen?

Thanks

I'd misread something. I see you have to send in your US passport to apply for a UK passport.
Can you leave the country before doing this and then get the UK one sent out to you?

Hi, my wife has been granted UK citizenship.
...

We need to go back for the citizenship ceremony before September. 

Then your wife has not been granted British citizenship. What she received was a letter to attend a citizenship ceremony within 3 months. She will not become a British Citizen until she attends her Citizenship ceremony and swears her oath of allegiance. She will be presented with her Certificate of Naturalisation at her ceremony.
https://www.gov.uk/citizenship-ceremonies

Has she booked her ceremony with a council, to ensure she gets a place before her deadline? Once booked, the Home Office then sends a Certificate of Naturalisation to the Council she selected and you need to make sure you have left time for this too. If she misses her deadline, will she meet the residency requirements for a British Citizenship application if she has been outside the UK for a while?

What happens if you try and renter with a US passport once you're a British citizen?

Is this correct? In earlier posts you said she was an Australian Citizen and that neither of you were US citizens. This year the UK is ending the 'letting citizens of all the many non-visa countries they have listed, being allowed to board a plane to the UK', as the UK has brought in ETAs (just like Australia, NZ and the US have). It will be a case of when Australia (and the US) is added to the list this year, of counties where their citizens must have an ETA before travel to the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-and-borders-bill-electronic-travel-authorisation-factsheet/nationality-and-borders-bill-electronic-travel-authorisation-factsheet

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta#who-can-apply

Your wife holds ILR (at the moment) and has a BRP to enter the UK, however, when your wife swears her oath at her ceremony, her ILR is gone (invalid) as she has become a British Citizen and she must return her BRP within 5 days.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-indefinite-leave-to-remain/after-you-get-your-certificate

Those holding a valid ILR need to apply for an e-visa by the end of this year as the UK is getting rid of BRPs and going online.


Those with a British Citizen passport obviously don't need to apply for an e-visa (or an ETA) to board a plane to the UK.

Can your wife return to the UK, book her Citizenship Ceremony ASAP and then stay in the UK while she sends off for and has received her British Citizen passport?

There are a few threads on here where people had holidays planned before they knew when they would receive their letter of invitation to book their Citizenship ceremony, but in the end they applied for a British Citizen passport and received this before they left the UK to go on holiday. Hassle over.

Nothing has changed from when you asked in March
https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=101244.msg1327652#msg1327652

Thanks. Yes she's Australian, id forgotten id mentioned it before and thought it might confuse people as it's an American forum. I forgot how thorough the answers are. Also forgot id asked the same question before, so apologies for that. Terrible memory.

Wife's got ceremony booked she'll go back for and then apply for a passport the following day.

Another curve ball we got today. We spoke with some friends who are UK citizens but haven't got UK passports. They've been in and out of the country numerous times on their Australian passports. They shouldn't be doing this should they? They had no idea it might not be allowed.

Another curve ball we got today. We spoke with some friends who are UK citizens but haven't got UK passports. They've been in and out of the country numerous times on their Australian passports. They shouldn't be doing this should they? They had no idea it might not be allowed.

From one of the gov.co.uk links above, they should be using a British Citizen passport. They likely relied on the fact that Australia is one of the very many countries, where the UK allows their citizens to ask for entry to visit at the border and therefore the airline allows them to board a flight to the UK. I can't see how they will be able to board a flight to the UK with an Australian passport, when Australia is added to the UK list of their citizens needing an ETA?

Nor will they be able to apply for an ETA to be able board a flight to the UK because they are British Citizens.

I doubt they are the only ones doing this and they probably didn't take note of the Borders and Nationality Bill (then became an Act), which as you can read on the links above, brought in the ETAs from this year. These ETAs were also in the March 2023 Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules and mentioned on this site  https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=100713.0

Good idea that your wife is going to apply for a British Passport ASAP. The change to e-visas from a paper system and BRPs, a wet ILR stamp in an old passport or a vignette, will also likely make many who were happy to remain on ILR for years, apply for British Citizenship and then get a passport. The UK is going digital and a British Citizen passport is much easier to show airlines, landlords, the benefit agencies etc.

Another curve ball we got today. We spoke with some friends who are UK citizens but haven't got UK passports. They've been in and out of the country numerous times on their Australian passports. They shouldn't be doing this should they? They had no idea it might not be allowed.

    This matches my anecdotal experience when my wife and I travelled to France after getting our naturalisation certificates and before getting our UK passports.  The border guards were perfectly fine with us entering the UK with just our certificates.  They were happy to see that we wanted to be British and it was all friendly.  After all, unless you've joined ISIS you've got the right to enter no matter what.  After the ceremony, she'll be as British as they are. 

I can't comment on the legal bits, just my experience.   Also, we were driving instead of flying. 

    This matches my anecdotal experience when my wife and I travelled to France after getting our naturalisation certificates and before getting our UK passports.  The border guards were perfectly fine with us entering the UK with just our certificates.  They were happy to see that we wanted to be British and it was all friendly.  After all, unless you've joined ISIS you've got the right to enter no matter what.  After the ceremony, she'll be as British as they are. 

I can't comment on the legal bits, just my experience.   Also, we were driving instead of flying. 

Anybody with British Citizenship can enter the UK if they can get to the border, even those who have "joined ISIS". If you are talking about those who have had their British Citizenship removed/revoked; especially when the exit data showed they were outside the UK; there are many reasons why British citizenship is removed.