Mutt - thank you for your post. No, I would not be as rigid as to say all Brit expats must return home immediately. I am not a xenophobic nationalist, fascist etc etc. What I would say, is that foreign pilots, including Brits, must recognise that the first responsibility of their host nation must be to their own citizens. Therefore, they must go in with their eyes open to any expat work. We all know the realities of work in the Middle East, for example, where nationals who are manifestly less suitable are promoted ahead of expats. I do not condone institutionalised injustice not would I wish to see people who we have invited here discriminated against because of their national origin. What I want to see is the end to the current abuse of our system. And that means that we simply do not employ them in the first place. Once they have been employed, natural justice dictates that we honour our agreements to them.
Tired - thank you also for your comments. To an extent you have hit the nail on the head and caused me to really think through what I think. I do not know what Commonwealth country you were brought up and it does not really matter. Say it is Australia for the sake of argument. There are 2 points I would make. The first is that I am opposed to dual nationality. Many nations in the world do not permit it, and nor should we. (The only exception could be for children of kids of mixed-nationality parentage where I could see an argument for dual citizenship.) Are you British or are your Australian? You cannot be both. If someone wants to be British, then in order to enjoy the benefits and priveleges of citizenship, they should accept the full responsibilities of that including taxation, service in the Armed Forces should it arise, have no overriding allegiance to another nation and in their heart of hearts be well-disposed towards the British nation and its people. The second point is to answer your question about having British parents but be born and brought up in another country. I understand that you also worked in this other country until coming here to pursue your flying career. My short answer is that in your case, as I understand it, you should be allowed to retain citizenship - but only if you return to live here. If, however, you had stayed in that or indeed any other country, your children should not be entitled to British citizenship. By the terms I discussed earlier, you and your family have emigrated and changed allegiance to another nation (which is your perogitive). Your children could not reasonably be said to have any real ties to Britain, and nor would Britain have any responsibilities towards them. We would wish them well, but their citizenship and loyalties would clearly lie in that foreign country. That in essence is the issue of 'flag of convenience' passports. If such children suddenly find the going difficult in their current country, they should have no rights whatsoever to come here as their parents and grandparents made a conscious choice to leave to pastures new and therefore forfeited the rights and responsibilities of being British citizens. They have the responsibility for that and must accept the good or the bad that their decision brings. It is perhaps easier to think of this from the other perspective. We offer instant citizenship to anyone born here - ie the first generation. We can reasonably expect that first generation to make a choice as to their loyalties when they are old enough to do so. We certainly would not offer any citizenship rights to their grandchildren regardless of where they are born. We have no moral responsibilities to provide employment, education, benefits etc etc in such cases. I realise this is a tricky subject, and it is difficult to write down clear, succinct arguments, but as you asked the question I have tried to answer the question accurately.