Am I A British Citizen?

[mshanga]

Hello Everyone!

I had a quick question about citizenship. I'm a 21 year old American citizen, looking to become a British citizen by descent if possible. I do not currently possess a British passport or citizenship to my knowledge. However, my mother had British citizenship for many years until recently becoming an American citizen. She was born a British Citizen, but was born in Northern Rhodesia (a British colony at the time). She was born in 1962, and the country only become independent from England two years later. She maintained a passport and British citizenship for many years, and I believe she could still re-apply for a renewed British passport now. Do I qualify for citizenship by descent as her daughter? How would I even begin this process and where could I find out more information? The reason this claim is so ambiguous is because of her birth on a British colony rather than in the U.K.

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

[Wanderer]

These cases are extremely complicated, you'd be best to contact a competent immigration lawyer who specialises in this sort of thing.

I suspect she may have been born a British Citizen of the UK and Colonies, a very different animal to BC proper and usually not very useful unless you can additionally prove close ties to the UK.

Also recovering any documentation from what is now Zambia I think will be pretty difficult I'd imagine, if they exist at all which I feel is why you'll need specialist help with this one.

[ban.s]

You may wish to check you British nationality status :

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... us-form-ns

[mshanga]

Thanks Wanderer.

I also have grandparents who were born in Scotland, and much of my family on my father's side still resides in the U.K. Would this help my case? Furthermore, is it impossible to claim citizenship by descent if my mother is indeed a British citizen of the U.K. and colonies?

[secret.simon]

You mentioned that your father's family is resident in the UK. Is your father British? You could claim citizenship from him.

What was the last British passport held by your mother and when and where was it issued?

As Wanderer mentioned, your mother was likely a CUKC (Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies). After 1983, with the passage of the British Nationality Act 1981, any CUKC without a direct link to the UK became a British Overseas citizen. British Overseas citizens can not pass on their citizenship to their children, unless their children are stateless.

British Overseas Citizens are unique in that their nationality status is not associated with the right of residence anywhere in the world

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Ov ... itizenship

The caveat is she may have remained a British citizen if her parents were born in the UK. But if the latter were the case, she would be a British citizen by descent and hence unable to pass on her citizenship to you.

Again, most of this information is gleaned from Wikipedia and online resources and as Wanderer said, you are best off consulting an immigration lawyer for professional advice.

Another option, which would require settling in the UK for atleast five years, is to apply for a UK Ancestry visa.

[Wanderer]

Need to be a Commonwealth Citizen to apply for Ancestry Visa, pretty sure...

[secret.simon]

I stand corrected. You need to have an existing Commonwealth citizenship to apply for an Ancestry visa. So, that route appears to be closed too. You may want to look at a route through your father's side of the family.

[mshanga]

Yea I initially wanted to go the ancestry visa route, however being a U.S. citizen closes that to me. My father was not born in the U.K. unfortunately, so I only have my mother's British Citizenship to go by. This is all so frustrating! I'm not sure if she is a British Citizen or Citizen of UK and Colonies, as her passport just says "British Citizen." I suppose I'd have to really consult a lawyer about all this to get the complete truth, but it isn't looking to likely that I have a claim now.

[mshanga]

Also forgot to mention- the last British passport my mother was issued is from 1997, and it expired in 2007. Under nationality is just says "British Citizen."

[secret.simon]

If her passport says "British Citizen", she is a full British Citizen. The next step would be to find out if she is British by descent or British otherwise than by descent. If the former, she can not pass on her citizenship. If the latter, you were born British by descent.

You can submit Form NS to the UKBA, who would be able to confirm the details and advise you on whether you are already British by descent.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_2014.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... update.pdf