UK/Japanese dual citizenship

[kuma]

Lots of interesting points in this thread.

One small comment:

Even if you had say Dual UK - Aus citizenship, you must travel in and out of the UK on your British Passport, and you are not entitled to the protection of Aus Consular Services whilst in the UK, and vice versa...

My understanding is that the UK has a recommendation rather than a requirement that dual nationals (of the UK and another country) enter the UK on their British passports (if they indeed possess British passports):
https://questions-statements.parliament ... 9-03/41847

This refers to a British Citizen arriving in the UK and claiming to be a British Citizen, though he may be travelling on a different travel document.
It entitles the British Citizen to enter the country as a British Citizen, though the travel document may not be a British Passport.
This is different than entering the country as a Foreign National.
Why would one get a Visa, or even a 90 Day Visa Waiver to enter the UK as a Foreign National if one has Right of Abode?
Unless, maybe, you don't have a valid passport or proof of British Citizenship...
A Standard UK Visa @ GBP100 is about the same price as a British Passport application...

This brings up an interesting question: If you arrived in the UK with a Japanese Passport and proof of British Citizenship; Birth Certificate, etc., would they stamp your Japanese Passport with a Visa Waiver, Permanent Right to Remain, or not stamp it at all and just let you go ???

https://www.gov.uk/dual-citizenship
Travelling abroad
As a dual national you cannot get diplomatic help from the British government when you are in the other country where you hold citizenship.
For example, if you hold both British and Chinese citizenship you cannot get diplomatic help from the UK when you’re in China.

In contrast, the US appears to have a requirement for US citizens to use their US passport when entering the US:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel ... ality.html

Also
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel ... elers.html
Limited Assistance Abroad: Local authorities may not recognize your U.S. citizenship especially if you do not enter a country using your U.S. passport. The U.S. embassy or consulate’s ability to provide consular assistance may be limited.

I'd imagine that many parents of Japanese-British children born in Japan obtain Japanese passports before British ones. (The wait, expense, and the need to send all passports to the UK while processing may make the UK application unappetising.) A sub-set of these families presumably visit the UK with the children using Japanese passports.

On the surface, it seems nonsensical for a British citizen to enter the UK on a non-British passport, but I do not doubt that it is the practical reality for many dual national children born outside the UK.

[Tkydon]

I'd imagine that many parents of Japanese-British children born in Japan obtain Japanese passports before British ones. (The wait, expense, and the need to send all passports to the UK while processing may make the UK application unappetising.) A sub-set of these families presumably visit the UK with the children using Japanese passports.

On the surface, it seems nonsensical for a British citizen to enter the UK on a non-British passport, but I do not doubt that it is the practical reality for many dual national children born outside the UK.

Recent Experience...

You do not need to send the original of the applicant's Japanese Passport. A Photocopy of all pages is acceptable.

For a child born in Japan to a British Citizen Parent born in the UK or Dependent Territories, is a British Citizen by Decent, and you need to provide the original of the Japanese Birth Certificate, 出生届受理証明書, and a certified translation by a Registered Certified Translator.
Even if the child's birth is registered at the British Embassy or Consulate and you have a Consular Birth Certificate, this is not acceptable for the Passport application...

You then need to provide the Birth Certificate and Photocopy of the Passport of the British Citizen parent, and if that is the father, the Marriage Certificate proving marriage to the mother, and if that is in Japanese, a certified translation by a Registered Certified Translator.


The alternative to a Passport is to apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode (form ROA), to be attached to a foreign passport.

[kuma]

I'd imagine that many parents of Japanese-British children born in Japan obtain Japanese passports before British ones. (The wait, expense, and the need to send all passports to the UK while processing may make the UK application unappetising.) A sub-set of these families presumably visit the UK with the children using Japanese passports.

On the surface, it seems nonsensical for a British citizen to enter the UK on a non-British passport, but I do not doubt that it is the practical reality for many dual national children born outside the UK.

Recent Experience...

You do not need to send the original of the applicant's Japanese Passport. A Photocopy of all pages is acceptable.

For a child born in Japan to a British Citizen Parent born in the UK or Dependent Territories, is a British Citizen by Decent, and you need to provide the original of the Japanese Birth Certificate, 出生届受理証明書, and a certified translation by a Registered Certified Translator.
Even if the child's birth is registered at the British Embassy or Consulate and you have a Consular Birth Certificate, this is not acceptable for the Passport application...

You then need to provide the Birth Certificate and Photocopy of the Passport of the British Citizen parent, and if that is the father, the Marriage Certificate proving marriage to the mother, and if that is in Japanese, a certified translation by a Registered Certified Translator.


The alternative to a Passport is to apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode (form ROA), to be attached to a foreign passport.

Thanks for the post following your recent experience, and for the correction to my post.

In haste, I'd overstated the difficulty of obtaining a British passport. Hopefully peak difficulty has passed (some real horror stories over the last 18 months in the media); pleased to see in another thread someone reporting a reasonable turnaround time.

Yes, photocopy of all pages in colour of the non-British passport required rather than the original: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... s-guidance
(With the note that the passport office states 'We retain the right to ask for the original passport. We will let you know by email or post
if we need you to send it to us.')

My experience: one of my parents was terminally ill in the UK when my firstborn (British-Japanese dual national) was due in Japan; wanted the least burdensome passport solution to travel; JP passport was brilliantly unburdensome (cheap; application checked in full by staff; issued in a week); UK rules seem to allow for dual nationals to enter on non-UK passport (as opposed to US policy upthread).

Noted re Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode (form ROA).