Question on country abbreviations

[winchside]

Is it okay to use the abbreviation UK for the country, or should one use United Kingdom (or just England)?

winch

[PMM]

Hi

Is it okay to use the abbreviation UK for the country, or should one use United Kingdom (or just England)?

winch

Well 1st of all the UK is not a country, so use England.  Write the name in full.

PMM

[Karlshammar]

The country is the United Kingdom, not England. Even the drop-downs on the CIC website for application status check, for example, uses "United Kingdom." My sponsor (wife) is from the U.K. and my immigration lawyer told me to list it as United Kingdom on our forms. Not sure where you got this idea from, PMM?

[PMM]

HI

The country is the United Kingdom, not England. Even the drop-downs on the CIC website for application status check, for example, uses "United Kingdom." My sponsor (wife) is from the U.K. and my immigration lawyer told me to list it as United Kingdom on our forms. Not sure where you got this idea from, PMM?

Well since England, Scotland Northern Ireland and Wales are countries that form the United Kingdom.  Try imputing United Kingdom in Ecas and you wont get a result.

From: http://www.llrx.com/features/uk.htm#UK%20Legal%20System

The UK Legal System

Background and Constitution

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of four countries forming three distinct jurisdictions each having its own court system and legal profession: England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom was established in 1801 with the union of Great Britain and Ireland, but only achieved its present form in 1922 with the partition of Ireland and the establishment of the independent Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland).

Now if the UK was one country you would think that there would only be one set of laws?  So if 4 countries aren't countries in your thinking, what are they 4 countries making up on country?  4 provinces?

PMM

[Karlshammar]

They're distinct jurisdictions as they are all part of the UK, yes, but the actual state they belong to is the United Kingdom. The states of the USA are also separate jurisdictions with their own laws, bar associations, court systems, etc. But they are not separate countries.

Also if you look at a PR card it will say the nationality is British and if you look in a British passport it will have the nationality code GBR and it will say United Kingdom (the word England appears nowhere).