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Dual Citizenship

15:04 / 03.03.03

I'm trying to figure out whether it's possible or even desirable, since my father was born in Scotland, for me to get a dual US/UK citizenship. I want it the way I want an international driver's license, for the James Bondiness of it, but I'm also harboring some expat fantasies. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of reliable info on the web (though I am, at this moment, in mid-search). Anyone know or think anything about this?

15:13 / 03.03.03

And, of course, 90 seconds later, I find this. But there's still the matter of whether it's worthwhile. Would you do it?

15:29 / 03.03.03

I've got dual Australian/Italian citizenship, two of the most highly desirable citizenships I'm sure you'll agree, and they certainly add a dash of James Bond to my life. Unfortunately it leans a little towards George Lazenby, whereas with your Scottish roots you get to be Sean Connery.

I use my Italian passport to live and work in the UK but it's also handy for travelling in Europe, so that's 2 reasons right there. And once you've got the passport, it's there forever, whenever you need it. And you'll be able to use the phrase, "my other passport"; you can't put a price on that. I even have a nifty two-passport plastic wallet. All this could be yours Qalyn ...

15:36 / 03.03.03

You may as well get it. The passport's good for 10 years, and you never know when it will come in handy... and unlike having Greek citizenship or something, you won't get unexpectedly drafted by your new country!

(damn you all! I'm going to have to marry an Austrian to get my EU citizenship... not that that's a bad thing, of course, but...)

15:48 / 03.03.03

Getting a UK passport might not be as handy as you think -- US authorities tend to have an almost arrogant distrust of any american seeking dual citzenship - if you get UK citizenship you may well be stripped/forced to renounce your US citizenship...

16:23 / 03.03.03

Do it! Fair Caledonia is calling out for you, what with Jack McConnell (Scotland's Heid Yin) recently inviting y'all to come in for a wee dram. Clearly your Scottish genes are percolating under your kilt and attuned to the contemporary Scottish Zeitgeist.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with all the pretty, clever people having recently migrated to London. We didn't mean to start a panic in our homeland, honest.

16:59 / 03.03.03

From the article:

In the 20 years from 1981 its population fell by 2%. But there is a more worrying statistic: the number of under-15s fell by 18%, and the number of people over 75 rocketed. Scotland not only has a falling population, but a rapidly ageing one too. To combat this, McConnell is in talks with David Blunkett about encouraging a higher proportion of those entering Britain legally, with visas to work, to head for Scotland.

So...if I managed to figure out how to get a legal working visa, by this time next year I could be living (it up) in Scotland? They are actively looking for skilled people to move, live and work there? Hot Damn!!!

Wonder if they need office managers out there, I'm really good at that...

if you get UK citizenship you may well be stripped/forced to renounce your US citizenship... – sleazenation

That wouldn't surprise me, although dual Irish/US citizenship seems to be easier to get...The bartender at my local is working on dual Italian/US, I should ask him how that's going.

I've no chance of dual *anything*, both of my parents are born here.

19:52 / 03.03.03

Babooshka, according to the British Immigration and Nationality Directorate linked to above, you are eligible if your grandparents were UK citizens... though maybe not if they naturalized to the US. I wasn't looking for that angle.

sleazenation, I've heard some testimony to the contrary. The State Dept isn't wild about the idea and might drag its feet a little, but hasn't offered actual bureaucratic resistence in years. Of course, the testimony in question involved dual citizenship with Canada, so maybe that's a special case.

23:36 / 03.03.03

If you have both, you can go to Cuba with no real trouble. Via Canada or Mexico. I have an uncle in Florida who's also a UK citizen. He flips between passports as the mood/situation warrants (there are some places where the British are better liked and some places where Americans are preferred). If possible, I say do it - just for the James Bondiness alone.

00:41 / 04.03.03

I've got dual, US and Canadian. It's proved handy on a couple of occasions, though I'm lazy enough that I just tend to travel as a Yank. But it's good to know my Brothers In Maple are waiting, should the US prove too dire a home.

wembley can change in 28 days

06:23 / 04.03.03

I'll have dual Finnish and Canadian by the end of the year, God willing and a fast infield. Lordy, I'm just drooling over the prospect of an EU passport!

07:59 / 04.03.03

I've got dual too, UK and New Zealand. Not quite so useful, unless I want to head to NZ or Australia, but it still makes me feel very cosmopolitan and Citizen Of The World-ish.

14:14 / 04.03.03

I had a chance to get a South African passport, but didn't pursue it because at the time, you know, apartheid and all that. Who the hell wants a passport from a country with international sanctions against it?
And now I've heard that South Africa counts as a Commonwealth country again. Is that true? What does *that* mean, anyway?

Officially, when you become naturalized as a US citizen, you rescind and abandon all other loyalties and citizenships. That, of course, is only according to the US government. My parents kept two passports for a while when I was growing up, but never bothered to keep up with it after the sanctions kicked in - why bother?
If I recall, though, the US State Department really had no pull with the South African gov't as far as which passport we used in whichever airport we happened to be in.

pointless and uncalled for

14:15 / 04.03.03

British-Canadian, which is the coolest duality of all.

So many cool people come from both countries; Celine Dion, Peter Stringfellow to name but a few.

16:01 / 04.03.03

The Commonwealth was roughly what the British Empire became. It was formed in 1931 and until 1946 was called The British Commonwealth Of Nations. Its a free association of sovereign states comprising Great Britain and a number of its former dependencies who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical cooperation and who acknowledge the British monarch as symbolic head of their association.

Basically its a bit of a club for the mutial benefit of the members, who can vote out anyone who starts acting in a naughty fashion (such as zimbabwe) - various members have left voulentarily (such as Ireland) because of their distaaste for the english crown - but membership can bring many rewards such as favourable visa status with other commonwealth members

16:21 / 04.03.03

From what I've heard, it is a LOT easier to get work visas and the rest for the UK if you're from a commonwealth passport compared to an American. Americans are apparently put through more hoops and whatnot if they try.

And you can get fun 'working holiday' visas too if you're a member.

08:15 / 05.03.03

And you get to compete in the Commonwealth Games! When there was discussion of Australia becoming a republic a few years back, one concern which was often raised was whether we could still go to the Commonwealth Games (because we get to win that one). Never let politics get in the way of a good game of sport.