Forum Immigration UK

[LeddZepp]

Greetings,

I'm creating this topic to discover whether or not I am a British citizen, and am querying for any thoughts as to what I should do in order to register my citizenship so I can apply for a British Citizen passport in the UK.

My details are as follows:

* I was born in Australia on 04/07/1994 and hold an Australian passport and Australian birth certificate, both of my parents are British Citizens otherwise than by descent.

* I am currently residing in the UK (England) with my father on a holiday visa, and I used my only current Australian passport to get into the country.

* My parents are both born in the UK and were married at the time of my birth, my father holds a current British passport

[texkourgan]

The Guide to London and it's section on passports and visas in the UK helps you acquaint yourself with citizenship. The forums also have several similar threads.

For your specific situation, I went to the UK Border Agency's page on "Who can apply for British citizenship and other forms of British nationality?" - http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... igibility/. This took me to the section "Children born abroad to parents who are British by descent and who have lived in the United Kingdom in the past" http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... ornabroad/

It states:
"This page explains how a child born and living outside the United Kingdom whose parent is a British citizen by descent can meet the requirements to be registered as a British citizen.

A child will have an entitlement to be registered under section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 if:
they were born outside the United Kingdom; or
they were born after 21 May 2002 outside any of the British overseas territories; and
they were born to parents, one or both of whom are British citizens by descent; and
the parent who is British by descent was born to a parent (the child's grandparent) who was a British citizen otherwise than by descent (or would have been but for their death); and
the parent who is British by descent lived in the United Kingdom at any time before the child's birth for a continuous period of three years*; and
during the period they were living in the United Kingdom the parent was not absent for more than 270 days; and
the application is made before the child's 18th birthday."

It appears that you are 18? It seems that may be a problem. British nationality law is complicated, and you are advised to read the Guide NS or obtain professional advice (such as those registered with the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner) on your claim before applying for a nationality status certificate using Form NS.

Does anyone else have advice or experience in this area?

[ladyjulian]

LeddZepp, you are a British citizen from the information you have given. As long as your parents were married at the time of your birth, and they are citizens otherwise than by descent, you are entitled to apply for a British passport (assuming your country of origin allows dual nationality). There is no need to register as you are already British by descent.

The information about this is on the UKBA website here.

One point though: if you apply for a passport you are British by descent and you will NOT be able to pass on your British nationality to your own children (save for some circumstances when they are born in the UK.) If you are living in the UK permanently, you may want to look into acquiring permanent residence and then applying to naturalise, as this will make you a citizen otherwise than by descent which would allow you to pass on your nationality. This may or may not bother you!

[gstutzle]

"It is possible to hold citizenship of two or more countries if the law of those countries allow. This is known as dual, or multiple, citizenship.
People can become dual citizens automatically, or after being granted citizenship of another country.
For example, an Australian citizen may automatically gain citizenship of another country through marriage, while a permanent resident of Australia may become a dual citizen by becoming an Australian citizen.
Prior to 4 April 2002, Australian citizens who became citizens of another country lost their Australian citizenship automatically."

I know also the UK allows dual citizenship, so your Aussie citizenship will not be lost upon gaining British citizenship.

[ladyjulian]

This is true, but the OP is automatically a British citizen so in his particular circumstances he's not acquiring a new nationality...

[gstutzle]

True yes, there is a difference between being naturalised as a citizen than automatically acquiring a nationality at birth.

So of course there are different rules regarding allowance of dual nationality and their circumstances.

I think one could generally say - It is usually not a problem being multiple nationalities due to birth; however you can lose a nationality of a country if you choose to become naturalised of another, so this is where you need to know the legislation.