Is there any reason for me to take up citizenship in this country, rather than just being a resident?
My (non eu) passport is due for renewal next month. It’s going to cost around £170 by post to transfer my residency visa into the new passport (or £515 if I want to do it in person and watch the highly skilled staff at work), versus £720 to do the citizenship thing ( plus uk passport etc etc).

Personally I would, you don’t have the two year restriction on leaving the country and returning etc..It (may) make visiting certain countries easier etc etc.. Plus from next year the hoops you have to jump through to get the passport are ridiculous

Depends, I take it you have ILR?

Yeah, can’t think of any benefit except right to work/live in the rest of the eu. Unlikely to be doing that at the moment though.

See above, realised you probably had ILR

watch the highly skilled staff at work

😆

Are you likely to remain in the UK long term? If so I’d say it might be worth it. If you do leave the UK for over 2 years you’ll have to re-apply for ILR before you re-enter…well, out of country so ILE.

Do sympathise as the costs are very high these days…5 odd years ago it was £135 regardless of the application NTL, TOC, SET, FLR etc and I was annoyed when my passport cost £70

Will your home counry allow you to hold dual citierzinship? Some wont.

I’m also in the same boat – my Lithuanian passport is due to expire in about 6 months and debating whether to take the citizenship test. I have lived here for more than 7 years since the age of 13.

Haven’t researched into the costs yet, but if it is £720 as you say, might just stick with my current one… Or is it cheaper for EU citizens?

I can’t see why you’d bother. My wife has been here for 25 years, and travels without hassle on a foreign passport.

Do it. If you leave the UK for >2 years they can decide to revoke your IDL (which makes the name a farce!) and not let you back into the country. Also, you do not know what you may choose to do in future.

I was borne in Devon so have British citizenship, but my folks emigrated to NZ when I was 10 months old. 27 years later, with NZ permanent residency (the equivalent of ILR) but not NZ citizenship I came back here. 7 years later I’m married to an Australian and we want to move to Australia to raise our soon-to-be-born son, but I am waiting on a visa which will determine whether I’m allowed to enter Australia. Had I got NZ citizenship I wouldn’t have this issue and would have saved myself approx £1000.

In the long run, citizenship is by far the better option. Do it. You may only live to regret it later.

Oh, and also check whether you have to transfer the visa. Just because your old passport will not be valid as a travel document does not necessarily mean the visa has to be in the current passport. I’m not entirely sure on this, but worth asking the question.

My wife’s Chinese and now has a permanent residency thing – which included doing the test – but not citizenship. This is a pain as has to get visas to go to countries in the EU – don’t really understand that as we’re in the EU right?! – but if she does get a UK passport she won’t be able to stay a Chinese citizen which I think is a bit rough really as presumably would have to get a visa to visit her own family. Dual citizenship seems the right approach to situations like this IMO.

Just because your old passport will not be valid as a travel document does not necessarily mean the visa has to be in the current passport. I’m not entirely sure on this, but worth asking the question.

Depends on the IO at port. Some can be quite difficult over this if you leave it too long. It use to be that an IO could transfer NTL into your new passport at port instead of submitting an NTL application.

don’t really understand that as we’re in the EU right?!

Yeah but she sounds like she’s got ILR and having ILR doesn’t give you UK citizenship rights…to France, Germany etc she’s still a Chinese national

I believe you have to fit into very specific groups to be eligible for citizenship, for example – one of my parents is from Dublin and has lived here for 50 years but is unable to get citizenship.

Mudshark – China doesn’t do Dual Citizenship with any other country. My wife is also Chinese and we have been looking at this.
She is going to have to choose to be British or Chinese, and as you know both have pros and cons

Oh, and also check whether you have to transfer the visa. Just because your old passport will not be valid as a travel document does not necessarily mean the visa has to be in the current passport. I’m not entirely sure on this, but worth asking the question.

For my current passport the io stamped it at immigration, but I got a telling off, apparently they’d moved to the new system of having to get the stamp at the home office (and having to pay for it) but I didn’t know of the change.

Apparently you can use your old passport as proof of your status even once it’s expired, but some of the officers are right pricks, and I’d hate to be turned away- there’s not much right of appeal when you’re standing at the desk.

So nobody can think of any real reasons aside from right to work in the eu then, assuming I’m going to carry on living here?