Hi there,
Im looking to apply for my first British Passport.
After having a status trace report done it appears I have a claim to a passport.
My claim isn't straightforward though so I was hoping to share it here and get some feedback in case someone has had a similar case. Any sort of reassurance would be nice too
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My Paternal Grandfather was born in the UK in 1927.
He moved to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and became a Citizen of the UK and Colonies.
- section 12(1) British Nationality Act 1948
- Became Citizen Otherwise than by descent
My father was born in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) (1957)
- Became Citizen of UK and Colonies & acquired British Protection
Neither the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia, nor the independence of Zambia effected my fathers position with regards to British Nationality.
He remained a Citizen of the UK and Colonies.
This being the case; my father was a Citizen of the UK and Colonies at the time of my birth in South Africa 1982.
My claim to a Citizenship of UK and Colonies:
A Citizen of the UK and Colonies by virtue of section 5 of the British Nationality Act 1948 is indeed such a Citizen ‘by descent only’. A man who had acquired Citizenship of the UK and Colonies in this manner was able, in the 1/1/1949 to 1/1/1983 period, to pass his nationality to the next generation, in the following circumstances;
- a)Where the subject or his father was born in a territory which was a Protectorate,Protected State, Mandated Territory, Trust Territory, or where the UK exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction over British Subjects there; or
- b)Where at the time of the subject’s birth, his father was in the Service of the UKGovernment and had been recruited for that service in the UK; or
- c)Where the birth of the subject had taken place in a foreign country and had been registered at the local British Consulate; or
- d)Where the subject is born in an independent Commonwealth country where citizenship law has taken effect and the subject fails to acquire the citizenship of that country.
In regard to (a) above, my father was indeed born in a place which was a British Protectorate and therefore the criteria in (a) applied to me.
I therefore acquired Citizenship of the UK and Colonies at birth by virtue of Section 5(1)(a) of the British Nationality Act 1948.
My claim to Right of Abode:
The Immigration Act of 1971
Section 2(1)(b)(ii) goes on to confer the Right of Abode to those born to a parent holding Citizenship of the UK and Colonies and where this parent had acquired their nationality by virtue of their own parents’ births/adoptions in the UK (in my case this would be my paternal grandfather).
In this case, my father held Citizenship of the UK and Colonies at the time of my birth, and his father (my paternal grandfather) was born in the UK.
I therefore acquired the Right of Abode under this section.
Since I was a Citizen of the UK and Colonies with the Right of Abode on 31/12/1982 I would therefore have become a British citizen by operation of law on 01/01/1983. This took place under Section 11(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981
Apologies for the long post.
Thanks
Tim
