Can US Husband Gain UK Citizenship?

[Boiler 45,966]

Difficult and very expensive to give up US Citizenship.

[lurdino 9]

The process for your husband to obtain a UK citizenship, on the other hand, is something right now that would take an exceedingly lengthy and expensive process under current UK Tory immigration rule. The UK Supreme Court is currently deciding if some of the harsh requirements for a non-EEA spouse to even enter and live with that UK spouse to start with is in violation of the law. If you're intending on focusing on life stateside for right now, it's a good idea, as perhaps some day things will change in the UK for the better.

Yuna's right. The increasing harshness of the non-EEA immigration rules is the entire reason my partner and I are moving to the states after seven years here in the UK. There are lots of advantages to living in the UK over living in the US, but you'll need a well-paid UK-based job (paying higher than the current Living Wage, that's for sure) and a great deal of cash savings (bonds, property and investments aren't taken into account).

[Boiler 45,966]

Yuna's right. The increasing harshness of the non-EEA immigration rules is the entire reason my partner and I are moving to the states after seven years here in the UK. There are lots of advantages to living in the UK over living in the US, but you'll need a well-paid UK-based job (paying higher than the current Living Wage, that's for sure) and a great deal of cash savings (bonds, property and investments aren't taken into account).

You are there and after 7 years could presumably obtain citizenship. So what is it to you?

For those not familiar, living wage is not that much above minimum wage in the US.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Yuna's right. The increasing harshness of the non-EEA immigration rules is the entire reason my partner and I are moving to the states after seven years here in the UK. There are lots of advantages to living in the UK over living in the US, but you'll need a well-paid UK-based job (paying higher than the current Living Wage, that's for sure) and a great deal of cash savings (bonds, property and investments aren't taken into account).

I hope your partner plans to obtain British citizenship before you leave.

[vpalermo85 62]

Technically the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship and if one were to apply for citizenship to another country voluntarily you could no longer be a US citizen. There is only ONE exception that I discovered and it's because I was looking to see if I could be a dual citizen myself. This exception though doesn't apply to everyone. The US recognizes dual citizenship when it isn't voluntary--for example German citizenship and British citizenship, you're entitled to it at birth because of your blood. Someone in your family was a citizen of the home country and therefore you are entitled to it as well.

As the UK is currently a member of the EU (although that may change depending on what happens with the referendum people are talking about) you could get backdoor citizenship to the UK through the EU as the EU passport is freedom of movement. In my case, my family hails for Sicily and Italy is one of those countries that gives/allows its citizens to obtain their citizenship later on because they can trace their family history/blood to there. All I had to do was prove that my great grandfather on my dad's side (who was born in Italy) didn't renounce his Italy citizenship before his first son was born in the United States.

I may not be explaining this properly as it's confusing when you read it but this is the only way to really get around the problem. During my law school years I worked in a firm with an attorney who worked/specialized in immigration. This only applies to a few countries and you'd have to look extensively at the laws of these countries to find out which have similar laws and your husband would also have to obviously be able to trace his history back to one of these countries somehow.

[lurdino 9]

I hope your partner plans to obtain British citizenship before you leave.

Sadly no. It became financially too draining for us. The first four years she was here on a student visa so it doesn't get taken into consideration.

[Boiler 45,966]

Technically the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship and if one were to apply for citizenship to another country voluntarily you could no longer be a US citizen. There is only ONE exception that I discovered and it's because I was looking to see if I could be a dual citizen myself. This exception though doesn't apply to everyone. The US recognizes dual citizenship when it isn't voluntary--for example German citizenship and British citizenship, you're entitled to it at birth because of your blood. Someone in your family was a citizen of the home country and therefore you are entitled to it as well.

As the UK is currently a member of the EU (although that may change depending on what happens with the referendum people are talking about) you could get backdoor citizenship to the UK through the EU as the EU passport is freedom of movement. In my case, my family hails for Sicily and Italy is one of those countries that gives/allows its citizens to obtain their citizenship later on because they can trace their family history/blood to there. All I had to do was prove that my great grandfather on my dad's side (who was born in Italy) didn't renounce his Italy citizenship before his first son was born in the United States.

I may not be explaining this properly as it's confusing when you read it but this is the only way to really get around the problem. During my law school years I worked in a firm with an attorney who worked/specialized in immigration. This only applies to a few countries and you'd have to look extensively at the laws of these countries to find out which have similar laws and your husband would also have to obviously be able to trace his history back to one of these countries somehow.

Has been discussed many times before, not a problem, know many people who have both.

[yuna628 9,700]

Technically the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship and if one were to apply for citizenship to another country voluntarily you could no longer be a US citizen. There is only ONE exception that I discovered and it's because I was looking to see if I could be a dual citizen myself. This exception though doesn't apply to everyone. The US recognizes dual citizenship when it isn't voluntary--for example German citizenship and British citizenship, you're entitled to it at birth because of your blood. Someone in your family was a citizen of the home country and therefore you are entitled to it as well.

As the UK is currently a member of the EU (although that may change depending on what happens with the referendum people are talking about) you could get backdoor citizenship to the UK through the EU as the EU passport is freedom of movement. In my case, my family hails for Sicily and Italy is one of those countries that gives/allows its citizens to obtain their citizenship later on because they can trace their family history/blood to there. All I had to do was prove that my great grandfather on my dad's side (who was born in Italy) didn't renounce his Italy citizenship before his first son was born in the United States.

I may not be explaining this properly as it's confusing when you read it but this is the only way to really get around the problem. During my law school years I worked in a firm with an attorney who worked/specialized in immigration. This only applies to a few countries and you'd have to look extensively at the laws of these countries to find out which have similar laws and your husband would also have to obviously be able to trace his history back to one of these countries somehow.

I don't know how to explain this better... but unless you physically revoke your US citizenship or do some horrific act that would require most likely Congress or some government entity to strip you of it: you cannot lose your US citizenship by gaining one from the UK whether you obtain it because you moved there with your spouse or because you gained it by having a blood-relationship via parent/grandparent. There is absolutely no problem with being a dual citizen in the US. If you get into trouble overseas or during some sort of draft during wartime, then there would be potential conflicts as you belong to both countries... otherwise, I still don't know why people think they have to give things up they don't have to.

In addition the EU backdoor route or even the Surinder route to enter into a UK citizenship is also still complex, and if the new EU agreement stands (moot if the UK backs out of the EU anyway) it will become more difficult still for a non-EEA residing in an EU member state country to enter the UK with their British-born spouse.

Edited February 28, 2016 by yuna628

[newacct 688]

Technically the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship and if one were to apply for citizenship to another country voluntarily you could no longer be a US citizen. There is only ONE exception that I discovered and it's because I was looking to see if I could be a dual citizen myself. This exception though doesn't apply to everyone. The US recognizes dual citizenship when it isn't voluntary--for example German citizenship and British citizenship, you're entitled to it at birth because of your blood. Someone in your family was a citizen of the home country and therefore you are entitled to it as well.

This is completely wrong. You can apply for another citizenship voluntarily all you want. But unless you want to lose US citizenship, you can't lose it. It's constitutionally protected.

[3rd 84]

Thanks for all the information guys. I think, given that it would be difficult for us to return to the UK and live the kind of life we have here under the current laws, that we'll be staying put for the foreseeable.

But all the advice on flights home and the queues have been hugely helpful!