Talking about being British – beware of changes in the law for dual nationals when renewing your UK passport!
As someone who worked in
the UK immigration law for more than 10 years, I was very confident when it
came to renewing my UK passport last week at the Passport Office in Victoria in
London
(https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently/book-appointment-pay
). It was
hard work to qualify for British Citizenship at first place, yes, but renewing
after 10 years? The actual passport application (as opposed to Naturalisation application
or indeed permanent residence one) has always been a “formality”. It felt like
a walk in the park. A walk of shame it was – all the way home without a new passport!
As I have dual
nationality, British and Russian, I have had my UK passport since 2007, so it
was now time to renew it. When I applied for it in 2007, I asked for my UK
passport to be issued in my married surname, even though my Russian passport
and my whole immigration case (Fiancée visa – Spouse visa – ILR –
Naturalisation) were in my maiden name. I didn’t change my Russian passport to
my married name because it is a very bureaucratic and lengthy process (see
below). It worked in 2007, and for the last 10 years I have had 2 passports in
2 different names – very “cool”, or so I thought.
Now the new passport
rules require the names to match in all passports for dual nationals. Fairly
recent rules, I was told about 4 months or so. I was told by the Passport Office
official, “You have to go to the Russian
Embassy and change your Russian passport first”. She said it very casually but I already knew it would take
3-4 months, having renewed my Russian passport in 2016. No argument worked, not
even my Certificate of Naturalisation that was issued by the same authority
(The Home office) and had my both names on it. When a security officer started
circling around me, I decided it was time to acknowledge the defeat and leave
the Passport Office. The new rule is, understandably, prevents people from
using different names for the same person which can be confusing for the authorities,
but in my case, I had all the documents (including the marriage certificate) to
prove I am the same person.
I went to the Russian
Embassy, was told I had to apply for a Change of Name first, which would take 4
months. Then for a new passport – another 3-4 months. Interestingly, the
Russian authorities – one of the most bureaucratic in the world – did not mind
my UK passport being in my married name.
The Passport Office in
Victoria also told me they could issue me with a new UK passport in my maiden
surname, matching my Russian passport. I would, however, need to change my name
first by a deed poll! I am deciding what to do ...
I hope this will be
helpful to other dual UK/foreign nationals who need to renew their UK passport,
and hopefully, won’t have the same problem as I had.
If you need to renew your
UK passport fast, please contact us at Multi Travel Visas: http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/same-day-british-passport-renewal.php
email info@multitravelvisas.co.uk , we reply on the same day! Web-site:www.multitravelvisas.co.uk with the visa requirements and clients'
feedbacks. Phone 0871 472 1468 or 07795471483 or text (calls to 0871 number
cost £0.10 per minute).
Our office is located in the City of London, near Monument
station, also close to Bank, Liverpool Street and London Bridge and within easy
reach by DLR from Canary Wharf.
