To be worried about my indefinite leave to remain. Should I get British citizenship?

only in the UK

But a citizen can also vote from abroad
https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-living-abroad

Ok great. But as far I understand, people with ILR cannot vote in general elections or by-elections so they cannot elect their MP. ILR people can vote in local govt elections only.

Not that your sentiment isn't assuring!

But I've voted with IDL since I was 18.
I'm beginning to wonder if maybe noone in authority actually knows what they're doing...

I vote.

I've found this.

They either ignore me and change the subject,

Or, stare me dead in the eye and say we don't mean people like you.

Like they get to choose.

Which I actually find scarier.

An upside of getting citizenship - you’ll be able to vote in general elections and make that little bit less likely those lovely chaps won’t get elected….

I honestly think Reform will win, even if every single naturalised Brit does their “voting duty.”
Had a funny encounter this evening. Mid-conversation it turned out the person I was talking to is a Reform voter. At some point I said: “But you do realise they want me and potentially my DC out of here?” Cue a startled stare, followed by: “No no, they won’t do such a thing.” Bless them.
People vote Reform for very different reasons. I don’t even hold it against them, it is what it is. But there are many of them, and not nearly enough of us to swing things the other way

I can't believe how quickly things are changing for the worse here. It's really depressing. I'm fortunate enough not to be affected, but if anyone close to me was in your position, I'd be worried about them.
If you can afford it, I'd do it. I think the feeling of security would be worth it.

Ah Yeah, that’s unfortunate.

The older the law, the more sexist and racist it gets.
Reform could regress the laws back what they were, but they’d have a hard time doing it.

The citizenship application is cheap compared to visas and ILR. The cost will only go up. That is what I expect Reform to do to slow down applications by making them unaffordable to a regular person. If they win. I hope they do not.

Stop navel gazing and just get the citizenship.

Mumsnet never fails to amuse me.
On one hand, you get endless threads declaring that £35K a year is a “great salary.”
Then there are posters admitting that paying around £2K for citizenship is “a huge amount of money.”
And then, almost in the same breath, others chime in with “anyone earning under £60K is basically a low-paid leech.”

Honestly… 😂

It can be the opposite in fact e.g. the Netherlands

@2024onwardsandup
How would you propose that nationality be first determined if not by place of birth? Are you proposing that there not be nations?

Are you American?! The UK doesn’t have citizenship by place of birth. In fact, most nations do not. British citizenship is by jus sanguinis- by blood- you are born a British citizen if one of your parents is British. There are special rules where certain people can automatically apply (pay) to naturalise if they are for example, born in the UK to parents with ILR and meet residency requirements.

jus solis is citizenship by place (soil) of birth. The United States is among a tiny minority of countries that grant citizenship by place of birth.

I also think if I committed a grave crime (eg murder, terrorist attack) it would be entirely reasonable for my citizenship to be stripped and for me to be deported.

Stripping of citizenship of dual nationals is limited to the kinds of crimes that were thought of as treason. So, it would be joining the armed forces of an enemy. So joining ISIS, or joining Russia’s army would be crimes that cause British citizenship to be stripped, usually while you are abroad fighting against British 🇬🇧 armed forces. Another would be domestic terrorist attacks aka the modern day version of Gunpowder Plot conspiracy to or carrying out an actual attack.

Murder would not result in loss of citizenship.

That's good for the op, and I'm pleased for them.

Unfortunately for me, I was born prior to 1983.
I was moved here with IDL. I've always had it. It's never really been an issue. I had no control over what I was given.

Unless your parents come from a country that doesn't allow dual-citizenship (eg: Lithuania) then get both and have that advantage over your regular UK-born Brit with only a British heritage to choose from.

Then you're covered and can still get all emotional about your heritage at your leisure.

I spent 6 years as a child in the USA but that doesn't count for shit; I'm half-Scottish and lived there as a kid for a few years too and get all emotional at the sound of bagpipes and the Skye Boat Song but that doesn't count for shit either.

Get your UK citizenship, worry about nothing and eat the food you want to eat whenever you want to eat it. Can't see what the problem is.

I meant that she doesn't have to wait, or go through a further process. It's not fees that she objects to.

Its very unlikely that current proposals could go ahead without serious legal challenges, but to be honest I would go for citizenship. To be safe.

I never thought I'd see the day that someone from UK would need to have a spouse visa and earn 29 000 A year to marry someone from Spain ( my family's country of origin).... But here we are....

From what I can tell since 1983 children adopted from os would get uk citizenship in most circumstances if one of the adoptivr parents is British and if not there is a process for registration.

I doubt reform would target those provisions. I wouldn’t agree with it if they did. It’s not a similar scenario to that the OP has proposed.

Nations are fairly new if we're talking the entirety of human history.

Rome didn't give a crap where you were born for example.

But again. I was moved here when I was 6 months old. This has never been my choice, as birth nation is never a child's choice. I feel I'm being punished as a by product of appeasement to racists. And I very much object to that.

An arrest on your ticket will lead to you being deemed ineligible for naturalisation, however worthy the cause.

Fight the good fight once the UK passport is in the purse.

P.S. Japan is ace. Tried it yet?

It’s not based on where you were born, it is based on the citizenship(s) of your parents at birth.

My DC were born in the United States. They were still born British citizens.
My DB kids were born in Singapore. They were still born British citizens.

UK is pretty dystopian, personally I’d get the British citizenship and then look to leave the UK until the racists aren’t running amok in the streets like it is the 1980s again (that’s how mine and my siblings’ children got born outside the UK).
Then you are free to come back whenever, or never.

If you leave the country with just ILR, you lose it like you never had it.

You’re not alone in being worried about this. Two of my friends with ILTR (both born abroad) have recently converted theirs to citizenship / started the process for the same reasons as you cited. Their husbands and children are British (born here) so they’re not taking any chances.

One of them was going to stick with ILTR initially as her home country can be a bit funny about dual citizenship, and she didn’t want to lose her home country’s citizenship as it was an important part of her identity. But with Reform on the horizon it wasn’t worth the risk for her.

I’d get citizenship if I were you too. It’s just not worth the risk ❤️

How would you propose that nationality be first determined if not by place of birth? Are you proposing that there not be nations?

I mean great if we can all get along - but do you genuinely think one great global society would
function effectively???

the entirety of human history suggests not. So if not the nation state with membership determined at first by birth then what other type of grouping do you propose?

assuming we stick with nation states for now cause I very much doubt you can suggest something else - then what other model for membership would you suggest instead of right by birth or by meeting criteria set by demoncratically elected parliament?

I think it is entirely reasonable that there were a bucket load of requirements placed on me to first live in the uk and then get citizenship, including paying for the cost of it. I also think if I committed a grave crime (eg murder, terrorist attack) it would be entirely reasonable for my citizenship to be stripped and for me to be deported.

Why does 6 months give me less of a British right?

Unless it's based on where you were born, and that only.

In English, discrimination based on where you were born is called racism. Technically it's xenophobia. But generally it has always been called racism.

I don’t want to become a British citizen to live under a far right government in this country. I have settled status, but lucky that I can leave the country if Farrage gets in. I’d wish those who can’t leave good luck 🤞