US and British Dual Citizenship

Posted onNovember 20, 2023

If you are an American citizen, you probably don’t want to lose your US citizenship. London Immigration Solicitors can offer the best of both worlds: British citizenship whilst retaining your US passport and nationality.

This is known as dual citizenship or dual nationality. Some countries don’t allow it. The US and the UK do.

If you want to settle in the UK and you are from the US our British Citizenship Solicitors can help you with a naturalisation application.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and British Citizenship Lawyers

For immigration law and British citizenship advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The advantages of dual citizenship

If you have dual nationality, you get the benefits of British citizenship without losing the advantages of US citizenship. Dual citizenship, or dual nationality, allows you to hold 2 citizenships at the same time.

The benefits of British citizenship are:

You can live and work in the UK without restriction. If you secure indefinite leave to remain you cannot leave the UK for 2 years or more without having to apply for a Returning Visa
You are entitled to a British passport
You can vote in British elections
You can claim state and public benefits if you meet the eligibility criteria for each benefit
You are entitled to NHS healthcare without having to pay the immigration health surcharge

There is one travel point to note. If you are in the US the British consulate won't help you if you get into trouble whilst in the US. If you renounce your US citizenship when securing British citizenship, the UK government will help you whilst you are in the US even though you were previously a US citizen.

Automatic British citizenship

In the UK you don’t acquire British citizenship. You must make an application for naturalisation.

If you have assumed that you will acquire British citizenship through:

Marriage to a British citizen and entering the UK on a Spouse Visa
Entering a civil partnership with a British citizen
Living and working in the UK for over 10 years
Investing in the UK
Being awarded a Global Talent Visa or setting up a successful business in the UK

Then you will not do so

Whatever your situation you will need to apply for nationality if you want to gain British citizenship.

Our British Citizenship Lawyers can help you with your application and advise you on the eligibility criteria. Call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Apply for dual US and British citizenship

There is no separate application for dual citizenship. What you must do is make a standard application for British citizenship and not renounce your American citizenship.

If you lived in America before moving to the UK but you are not a US citizen you need to check if your country of nationality allows dual nationality.

For example, Australia and Canada allow dual nationality but the United Arab Emirates and China do not do so.

Eligibility criteria for British citizenship

To meet the eligibility criteria for British citizenship you must:

Meet the residence requirement – normally 5 years in the UK. There are rules about permitted absences from the UK during the 5-year residence requirement. Our British citizenship lawyers can advise you on whether you meet the residence requirement criteria and advise you on the paperwork needed to prove you meet the residence requirement
Have indefinite leave to remain status – if you don’t already have this our Immigration Solicitors can assist with your indefinite leave to remain application
Pass a British citizenship test – but you do not need to retake this test if you have indefinite leave to remain and passed the Life in the UK test
Meet the good character requirement – if you are worried about driving offences or other matters our British Citizenship Solicitors can advise you on whether any matters of concern to you are likely to affect your naturalisation application and how best to deal with it

For some nationalities, there is also an English language requirement. US citizens are exempt from sitting a test because they come from a mainly English-speaking country.

Next steps

If you want to find out more about settling in the UK and applying for indefinite leave to remain or British citizenship as a US citizen then our expert Immigration Solicitors can help.

The individual immigration team is recommended in the 2024 edition of the Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession for the quality of our immigration advice.

We can talk you through the British citizenship application process and address any concerns that you might have. For example, about how you will be taxed if you have dual UK and US citizenship or whether you will meet the good character requirement. We will then submit your naturalisation application and ensure that the Home Office has all the necessary information and paperwork to process your British citizenship application.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and British Citizenship Lawyers

For immigration law and British citizenship advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

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