One of the stipulations of naturalisation is that you intend to make the UK your permanent home at the time of application, it is right at the front  of the guide AN (new) under HOW DO YOU QUALIFY, having said that once you have citizenship you have the same rights as other citizens and you can leave the country. Holding ILR only imposes more restrictions on absence from UK but as a citizen with a UK passport you can come and go as you please.

If you intend to leave as soon as you get it, effectively you are falsifying your application.

The HO has the right to remove citizenship in exceptional circunstances

Thank you for the info Mrs G. We do not intend to leave right away, but as a doctor it it getting increasingly difficult for him to find work as he is quite senior. I am sure you have been reading about the unfair application systems and rules for foreign doctors. Therefore there might be a possibilty that we will end up leaving within a few months of getting our citizenship. What do you think is a reasonable time frame? I know this is a difficult question to quantify.

I think there is no such thing as 'reasonable time frame'. What Mrg G. was saying that you can leave the country at anytime, even a day after receiving your citizenship and may never come back again; This does not affect your citizenship. However, if your intention is not to settle here then you are not supposed to make an application for citizenship.

This is a moral issue rather than a legal one.

E Fidan
Administrator

Thank you Mr Fidan for you frank answer. I agree with you that this is a moral issue rather than a legal one. For the time being we will be residing here as we have been here for the last 11 years and hope to stay as we have made this country our home. I asked this question because unfortunately it seems that our application for BN has coincided with the plight of many indian/ foreign doctors here. We were very fortunate to qualify for ILR just when the HO placed immigration restrictions on doctors working and coming to work here. The bottom line is that if my husband eventually cannot gain active employment then we may have to leave in the future and I did not know if there were restrictions on this. We are keeping a very close eye on how events unfold after the Junior Doctors march this morning in London. We hope that the application system will be reviewed and that my husband will be able entitled to a fair screening system. It is a very stressful time for us all and we can only hope things work out.

Hello

We will be eligible for citizenship in August 2007 and may be emigrating after that due to lack of jobs here for my husband. Are there any stipulations regarding leaving the UK? Do I have to stay for a certain time or enter into the UK over a period of time. Any advice will be useful.

Thanks

Hello Mr Fidan

Please can I ask you to delete this entire topic of discussion on my behalf.This would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks