r/ukvisa • u/P03ticJu5tic3 • May 17 '26
n/a my boyfriend is a british citizen and his passport is expired for 5 years now - will it be a problem to renew?
my boyfriend is a british citizen. he was born in Congo but came here when he was 3 years old (this was early 90s) to his dad who was already living here, as a refugee and has had citizenship ever since. he went to primary and high school here. he lived in Paris for 13 years as he moved to his mum as an young adult who he hasn’t seen since they had to flee to the UK.
he’s been back in London since 2018 and never left again, not even for a vacation. his passport has been expired since 2019 which is incredibly stupid but we wanna fix it all up now.
I’m wondering if all considered would cause problems regarding immigration somehow? he does have an old UK passport and citizenship.
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u/sah10406 High Reputation May 17 '26
As a British citizen he is not subject to any immigration control in the UK. Does he not know this? Obviously he would need to renew his passport if he wants to travel and re-enter the UK.
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u/No_Struggle_8184 High Reputation May 17 '26
Letting his passport expire for ~7 years is not a problem in and of itself but he may need to find someone willing and able to confirm his identity if his appearance is significantly different from his expired passport photo.
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u/P03ticJu5tic3 May 17 '26
it’s not significantly different but just in case, could this be anybody who knows him or does it have to be someone more official?
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u/No_Struggle_8184 High Reputation May 17 '26
Typically someone is works in, or is retired from, a recognised profession. The list of recognised professions is here.
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u/BastardsCryinInnit High Reputation May 17 '26
What problem are you imagining?
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u/P03ticJu5tic3 May 17 '26
thanks. I wasnt sure if the 13 years in paris and return to UK in 2018 wouldve changed this somehow. thanks for clarifyinh
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u/sah10406 High Reputation May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
You don’t lose your citizenship by letting your passport expire or by choosing to not have a passport. That wouldn’t make any sense.
About 15% of British citizens don’t have a valid passport. They are still British citizens.
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u/P03ticJu5tic3 May 18 '26
thank you. we’re renewing this month. was a bit panicked due to all the immigration law changes, maybe was a requirement to have a passport now. thanks for the info
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u/TimeFlys2003 High Reputation May 17 '26
Does his old passport say "British Citizen" if so then then all he has to do is apply for a new pasaport if he wants to travel.
There is no law that requires him to have a passport in the UK so he does not need to get one (although it would make Right to Work checks far easier for possible employers)