Giving up citizenship

[Sudden]

Thanks all for the views. It isn't really an option to keep both and not tell India about it. It's against the laws (and since i'm a solicitor, it could have some repercussions down the road) and boarding a plane in India to the UK requires showing them your visa at multiple points. Since I would only have the passport, it would be pretty easily detectable. There's no visa in the passport as there is a separate biometric card for that, which i'll be required to give up when applying for the British passport.

@Aldav - UK allows dual citizenship so not a problem from that side; only from the Indian side. I (briefly) looked into regaining it once lost, and I THINK it should be straightforward enough...just requires me to be resident in India for a year. Need to investigate that part more though.

@jimbeam - I'll doublecheck, but i'm pretty sure it is only agricultural property. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[englishpremier]

Unless your citizenship forces you to unfairly pay additional taxes back home, or is chasing you for some kind of draft I don't see why you'd ever give it up. Who knows what might happen in the future.

EDIT - fair enough, if you're a Solicitor.

 

[Destination]

Thanks all for the views. It isn't really an option to keep both and not tell India about it. It's against the laws (and since i'm a solicitor, it could have some repercussions down the road) and boarding a plane in India to the UK requires showing them your visa at multiple points. Since I would only have the passport, it would be pretty easily detectable. There's no visa in the passport as there is a separate biometric card for that, which i'll be required to give up when applying for the British passport.

Are you quite certain you have to give up the biometric card?
It might be a different situation now, and of course your biometric visa may be different, but under the old indefinite leave to remain rules within the UK, you had an indefinite leave to remain visa sticker on your passport, this was never surrendered when you gained British nationality.
I assume the card process is now different if you know you have to surrender it.

Then it'll simply be a case of make your choice and stick with it.

 

[coolsurfer]

Yup I'm pretty sure whilst you can't buy agricultural property as a uk citizen you can still inherit it from your family back home. My grandad is a paper millionaire with a ton of farm land....too bad he's got dementia and my dads brother (back in India) clearly manipulated wills and ownership so my dad will get jack and neither will I. Oh well, my philosophy is to make my own money

 

[Sudden]

Just as a minor update...decided to pull the trigger and apply. Fee got deducted today, so hopefully all get sorted out in the next 5-6 months. Then need to apply to surrender Indian passport, which shall be a sad day, but practically, just makes so much more sense.

 

[Rosbif]

Yessss, that's it, come to the darkside

 

[PapaLazaru]

Just as a minor update...decided to pull the trigger and apply. Fee got deducted today, so hopefully all get sorted out in the next 5-6 months. Then need to apply to surrender Indian passport, which shall be a sad day, but practically, just makes so much more sense.

But, but what if you are on a plane and hijacked by terrorists? You've not thought this through man!

 

[Rosbif]

Be warned, if you become a British citizen you're basically a dead man walking, please, listen to ParaLazaru, god, oh god why

 

[Angilion]

[..]
@Aldav - UK allows dual citizenship so not a problem from that side; only from the Indian side. I (briefly) looked into regaining it once lost, and I THINK it should be straightforward enough...just requires me to be resident in India for a year. Need to investigate that part more though.

You mentioned having some concern that possible changes in UK law in the future might cause you problems in the future, which is one of the two reasons why you're considering changing your citizenship from India to UK.

So why aren't you concerned that possible changes in Indian law in the future might cause you problems regaining Indian citizenship at some point in the future? The requirements for it today might not be the same as the requirements for it at some unknown time in the future, so even if you do investigate the requirements now that won't necessarily be relevant.

I'm not a fan of convenience citizenship. If you're Indian, have Indian citizenship. If you're British, have UK citizenship.

 

[Clipsey]

Dual Citizen here.

When applying for US, 'you must surrender your right (or citizenship) to all other countries and pledge allegiance' or something along those lines.
Yeah sure......
Like others, you can keep both.

 

[Cosimo]

If you were on a plane that gets hijacked by terrorists and they confiscate everyone's passport, I'd rather hand over an Indian passport than a British one.

Do you bother flying?

 

[drakioned]

I'm not a fan of convenience citizenship. If you're Indian, have Indian citizenship. If you're British, have UK citizenship.

Convenience citizenship is much cheaper.

It was cheaper to apply to British citizenship than to have the Home Office move a stamp from my old passport to my new passport.

I don't know any British people who be happy to pay large sums every passport renewal to move a stamp in a passport.

 

[Sudden]

Yessss, that's it, come to the darkside

I'm going to be so annoyed if UK leaves the EU and I can't travel anyway there!

Be warned, if you become a British citizen you're basically a dead man walking, please, listen to ParaLazaru, god, oh god why

Where were you two when I asked about it first?! Oh dear God, what have I done?!

You mentioned having some concern that possible changes in UK law in the future might cause you problems in the future, which is one of the two reasons why you're considering changing your citizenship from India to UK.

So why aren't you concerned that possible changes in Indian law in the future might cause you problems regaining Indian citizenship at some point in the future? The requirements for it today might not be the same as the requirements for it at some unknown time in the future, so even if you do investigate the requirements now that won't necessarily be relevant.

I'm not a fan of convenience citizenship. If you're Indian, have Indian citizenship. If you're British, have UK citizenship.

Looking at the trend generally in the UK, it's becoming more restrictive. Looking at the trend in India, it's opening up. Of course I can't be certain, but it is an educated guess based on seeing how things have changed over a number of years. Furthermore, generally speaking, countries do not deny citizenship to those born there.

It haa cost me a significant amount of time and hassle to just travel around Europe. Sometimes missing out on holidays with friends because it would take me a month to get a visa. Not to mention taking time off work etc. to do so. The sheer time involved in it is crazy + all the various people who need to help with getting me the required documents. I think you're severely underestimating the convenience element.

Given your views, how do you reconcile the concept of dual citizenship?

 

[Sankari]

(In before 'send them back...')

Send 'em back! With a British passport... so they can... um... come back again.

 

[IronWarrior]

If you were on a plane that gets hijacked by terrorists and they confiscate everyone's passport, I'd rather hand over an Indian passport than a British one.

Likely OP will be the one taking all the passports.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

There many reasons to have dual or multi citizenship. Many countries do not allow ownership of land, certain voting rights among other things. Many people also get dual citizenship out of safety or to avoid prejudice when there is a abrasive relationship between the country you are staying in and the country you have citizenship in, for example i know a handful of people who obtained British citizenship for them and their family when there was Irish-English strife in the UK.

As a child i was on my fathers diplomatic Filipino passport, then obtained an Italian one after i was too old to be on it. When i turned 18 i obtained an English one to vote as well as to make my university application easier and much more recently i revived my Filipino citizenship because i have several trips to the Philippines planed where it would be easier to navigate the places i will be visiting with a local passport.

 

[tom_e]

Dual Citizen here.

When applying for US, 'you must surrender your right (or citizenship) to all other countries and pledge allegiance' or something along those lines.
Yeah sure......
Like others, you can keep both.

Expect a visit from the FBI now they have your confession.

 

[Evian]

Why? I can't see that helping anyone much.

I'm sure the plane will be diverted if they see an Indian passport.

 

[mid_gen]

Hoping Germany will offer a fast track to citizenship for UK nationals in the event of a leave vote. Chances of bureaucracy moving that quickly are slim though. German efficiency, no idea where this myth came from.

Frankly couldn't give two ***** about the UK but I want to remain an EU citizen.

 

[Kylevdm]

I am a dual national (british and non EU), have been British for about 10 years now but hold both passports. I only declare whichever citizenship is most helpful in every day life. I have often arrived in a country where my birth nationality is more useful using its passport coming back home to the UK using my British (which I believe is a legal requirement).

I also have a EU ID which I use when traveling within Europe but still need by UK passport to get back home.

I guess it all depends on what you are wanting to do, if you are staying in the UK for the foreseeable future and call it home then I would encourage you to get a British passport. If you have kids they will presumable be born here and will therefore be British citizens anyway.

I thought it would be an issue with getting some jobs, but the real problem is not having citizenship with another country but being born else where.