UK Citizenship

归档 入籍
#1

Hello

I wonder if anyone can help with my immigration matters:

I am a Chinese passport holder, I have obtained UK permanent residency in April 2012, prior to that I had 5 year work permit. My understanding is that I can only apply for UK citizenship after April 2013. I will potentially have a job offer in Dubai late this year as an expat like most the people going to Dubai, I have an intention to return to UK after my contract expire.

I wish to obtain UK citizenship,

  1. Can I leave for Dubai before April 2013 and when is the earliest I can leave UK?
  2. Can I apply for UK citizenship in Dubai
  3. If 2 is true, can I still travel internationally / have my Chinese passport with me during the UK citizenship application?
  4. If I leave for Dubai this year, and away from UK for more than 90 days by April 2013, and I come back in 2 years time with UK permanent residency and stay in UK for 12 months, would I qualify for UK citizenship then?

Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Kind regards

#2

dont think no.2 will work maybe if you’re working for the uk government in dubai (ie military):cn01:

safest way is to get your citizenship before going to dubai, might be able to apply a bit earlier that apr 13. please refer to link below:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/naturalisation/immigrationtimerestrictions/

#3
  1. Yes. however, When apply for the citizenship, you must be in UK and you must meet the condition of not leaving UK for 90 days in last 12 month and other conditions in UKBA website.
  2. No.
  3. N/A.
  4. Yes. However, you must convince UK border staff on why you leave UK more than 90 days and your intention is to settle down in UK.
#4

Thanks for the reply,

If my employer send me to USA for business for over 90 days in the last 12 months running up to my UK citizenship application, would that count against my absence from UK and thus disqualify me for a citizenship application?

Kind regards

#5

As a Chinese , I am contemplating about getting a British passport. What is my option if I want to work in China? Do employer need to sponsor a work permit for me? Would that put my at significant disadvantage against others Chinese nationals? Would they have to pay me expat package for working in China? But on the other side if job require me to travel abroad, having a British passport is a great advantage.

#6

The requirements for naturalisation as British Citizen is solid without any discretion. Simply speaking, if you absence from the UK for more 90 days during the 12 months prior to your naturalisation application, your application will be refused. If you absence from the UK for more than 450 days in total during the 5 years prior to your application, your application will also be refused.

For your case, if you stay in Dubai for more than 2 years, your will need to apply as returning residence provide you have strong connection with the UK, otherwise, you will lose your indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

By Chinese Nationality law, you will lose your Chinese nationality if you become a British Citizen. Therefore if you want to work in China, you will need to obtain work permit and work visa before you enter China. You will be treated as a foreigner. In relation to salary, it will totally depend on your employer’s own policy.

#7

With a UK PR, if I come back to UK for short stay once a year, would I be able to keep the PR for long term?

#8

With regard to your question, i think the answer is no.

Btw, I’m quite confused by some of the replies here. I think if your absence from the UK is ascribed to your UK employer, for example sending you for a business trip or sending you to work as a coordinator for an overseas project, your absence wouldn’t be ‘absence’ because it was your employer’s decision to send you away for a short term (arguable), and you get paid by this UK-based employer.

#9

First case,even I have a UK Permenant residency work abroad as expat over two years I will lose my pr unless I settle back in UK?

Second case, UKBA certainly didn’t elebrate type of absence from UK would disqualify one for citizenship. Looks like Some lawyer are not sure about this neither. Is there anywhere I can get a definitive answer? UKBA doesn’t answer phone and email.

#10

Is there any definitive answer on the above 2 questions on UKBA website?

Many thanks

#11

I am having similar question as yours too, just got my PR last month, and now my employer is planning to send me back to China to open an office there. How will my absents be calculate for the last 12 months when I apply for the UK citizenship in 2013? Will I be limited for 90 days only too?

I tried to find some documents to read from UKBA too, but I can’t find a clear answer. Hope there is any experts can help us here.

Thanks

#12

For Citizenship applications, absence is defined strictly as the days you are away from United Kingdom, no discretion in this case. For application and condition to maintain indefinite leave, there will be some discretion for consider absence, exercised case by case, depend on the situation.

#13

The answer is Yes, you will not be eligible for citizenship if you are away from UK for more than 90 days prior to your citizenship application.