expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« on: May 14, 2007, 08:12:55 AM » |
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How many of you Expats here in the UK have actually thought about... or become... a Brit citizen?
I've been 'good to go' for years now. And I've been toying with the idea of the dual citizenship thing. But one thing that really does stick in my throat. I'm not sure I want to be a SUBJECT of anyone.
I know it may be silly, but for some reason the shades of my American Revolution ancestors rise up in front of me and scream... 'How DARE you, you Daughter of the American Revolution'
Has one else faced this???
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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britsci
New member
Posts: 24
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« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2007, 10:26:18 AM » |
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From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_subject"British citizens are not British subjects under the 1981 Act." If I have read it correctly, the legal definition of "British subject" is falling into disuse. At present, once (if) you acquire British citizenship you cannot be a subject as well. In a broader, more informal, meaning of the word, the same point has worried me in the past. I am British-born and a British citizen. I refuse to be anybody's "subject". |
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qrypt
Qryptacular & not really a Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 5,439
the great vampire squid round the face of humanity
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« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2007, 10:58:20 AM » |
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Call it what you like, Britsci - becoming a citizen means declaring one's fealty to the Queen. I don't think I could do it with a straight face.
Of course, if I don't do it soon, and it becomes a question of declaring fealty to King Chuck, I'm quite sure I would burst out laughing.
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"I'm tired of being your love slave!"
"Does that mean I'm not going to get my coffee?"
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iomhaigh
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« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2007, 11:25:04 AM » |
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Why not do it?
UK citizenship = EU citizenship, which means you can work in the rest of the EU.
I'm not one to be much invested in national identities, at least so far as they are "given" to me by the countries involved.
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I am the very model of a modern major general.
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transtasman1
New member
Posts: 27
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« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2007, 10:30:30 PM » |
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Call it what you like, Britsci - becoming a citizen means declaring one's fealty to the Queen. I don't think I could do it with a straight face.
Sure does. Although I am a British citizen I recently took dual citizenship in another Commonwealth country and had to pledge allegiance to the Queen which, as an anti-Monarchist, did bite. BUT it's all BS, so you should cross your fingers and enjoy the benefits, as noted, of an EU passport if you have the chance. |
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science_expat
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« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2007, 06:52:01 AM » |
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I just moved my mouth randomly and let anyone watching assume that I was swearing fealty.
And now I have an EU passport!
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It's not procrastination. It's "just in time" delivery.
Nutso is the new normal.
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babbinacara
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« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2007, 04:11:34 AM » |
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I "became a Brit" (sucked it up and said the oath, got the passport) some time ago, fortunately before the current requirement that one memorize The Big Book of UK Values. Since then, if anyone has inquired where I come from, I have stammered, unsure what to say.
Until yesterday. Someone asked me; and maybe it was because I found this person, and the question, deeply irritating, but I didn't hesitate at all. "I'm British."
Now I'm unsure what to think.
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science_expat
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« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2007, 04:32:35 AM » |
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I would always answer that I'm an American.
But I use my British passport more often than my American one.
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It's not procrastination. It's "just in time" delivery.
Nutso is the new normal.
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2007, 05:55:25 AM » |
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Well... I passed the test with no difficulty. It's coming up with the 664 quid to pay for the citizenship papers that's a problem!
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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science_expat
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« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2007, 06:00:15 AM » |
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Ouch!
I think it £250 or less when I did it. IND is definitely not encouraging applications....
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It's not procrastination. It's "just in time" delivery.
Nutso is the new normal.
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empyrean_aisles
Sesquipedalian
Senior member
Posts: 522
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« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2007, 06:26:54 AM » |
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As a Commonwealth citizen I'm already a 'subject' of the Queen (or not, depending on the 1981 Act mentioned earlier) and I have to say, this doesn't bother me in the slightest compared to the benefits of being able to work and live anywhere in the EU.
I quite like having a hybridised identity/nationality and being able to confound people who say, "So, do you feel British or EmpyreanIslander?" by smiling and asking them, "Why does it have to be one or the other?"
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I just need to have my cake in a safe white place today.
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