If you are a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British overseas citizen, a British subject or a British national (overseas), you may give up your citizenship or status if you:

• already have another citizenship or nationality; or
• are going to get another citizenship or nationality after you have given up your British citizenship, British overseas territories citizenship, British overseas citizenship, British subject status or British national (overseas) status.

In addition to this, you must also be:

• aged 18 or over (but if you are under 18 and have been married, we will treat you as meeting the age requirement); and
• of sound mind (but if you are not of sound mind, you may still be allowed to give up your British citizenship or other British nationality if it would be in your best interests).

You may need to give up more than one citizenship

If you are a British citizen, you may also be a British overseas territories citizen, a British national (overseas), a British overseas citizen, or a British subject.

If you were a British overseas territories citizen, a British dependent territories citizen, a British national (overseas), or a British overseas citizen, and you then registered or were naturalised as a British citizen, you did not automatically lose your original citizenship and you should therefore check whether you need to give up any other citizenship you may have.

However, if you were a British subject, you lost that status when you gained another citizenship or nationality, unless you were a former citizen of Eire who had been a British subject before 1949.

If you were a British dependent territories citizen only because you had a connection with Hong Kong immediately before 1 July 1997, you stopped being a British dependent territories citizen on that date.

If you became a British national (overseas), you now cannot be a British overseas territories citizen solely by connection with the former dependent territory of Hong Kong. You can be a British overseas territories citizen only if you have that citizenship by connection with another British overseas territory.

(Before 26 February 2002, British overseas territories and British overseas territories citizenship were known as British dependent territories and British dependent territories citizenship.)

How to give up your citizenship

You can give up your British citizenship, British overseas territories citizenship, British overseas citizenship, British subject status or British national (overseas) status by completing the declaration on form RN. If you hold more than one of these citizenships, you can give them up together on one form.

You will stop being a British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British overseas citizen, British subject or British national (overseas) on the date your declaration is registered by the Home Secretary. The date will be shown on your copy of the form.

The declaration affects only your status and does not affect the status of any other member of your existing family.

If we register your declaration because you expect to gain another citizenship, you must do that within six month of the registration. If you do not, the registration will not take effect and you will remain a British citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British overseas citizen, British subject or British national (overseas).

Resuming your citizenship after giving it up

If you give up British citizenship or British overseas territories citizenship, you are allowed (only once) to resume that citizenship if it was necessary for you to give it up so that you could keep or gain some other citizenship. For details of how to do this, see resuming citizenship.

If you give up British citizenship more than once, or for another reason, the Home Secretary may allow you to resume your citizenship, depending on the circumstances.

If you give up British overseas territories citizenship more than once, or for another reason, the Governor of the British overseas territory concerned may allow you to resume your citizenship, depending on the circumstances.

If you give up British overseas citizenship, British subject status or British national (overseas) status, you cannot resume it.