UKM - Complication??

[shchja]

I have researched UKM a bit, and would like to go through application UKM.

Current residence/citizenship: USA
Born: Tanganyika (now Tanzania) 1959, original birth certificate available

Mother (alive): Born India (no original birth certificate), 1936
Mother married father: 1955 no original marriage certificate
Mother CUKC: 1958 ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE in hand, BNA 1948 Section 6(I) issued in Tanganyika (now Tanzania)
Mother Registration as BC: 2003 (BNA 1981) original certificate in hand
Mother current residence: USA
Mother current passport: Dual British Citizen and USA

Path to UKM seems fairly clear. But.....my Tanganyika birth certificate lists mother's nationality as "Indian, BPP of Tanganyika," which is clearly a typo error because of CUKC of 1 year earlier. It should have stated "CUKC" instead.

Will this present a problem in my application?

Please advice. Thank you.

[secret.simon]

You are not eligible to apply on Form UKM unless your mother was either a CUKC with Right of Abode OR a British Citizen at the time of your birth.

Your mother may or may not have been a CUKC, but she almost certainly did not have Right of Abode unless either she or one of her parents was born in what is now the United Kingdom.

The fact that she registered as a British citizen in 2003 suggest that she had a form of British nationality other than British citizenship before that time. Form UKM only works if the mother was or would have been a British citizen at the time of your birth.

When were you born?

[shchja]

Thank you for your comments.
I was born in 1959
Mother CUKC Original Cert issued 1958 (one year before I was born). BNA, 1948, Section 6 (1). The approved certificate clearly states the following (in caps, but I will not shout)... . I underlined the section I read as a right to abode in UK before and when I was born.

"Application for registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies under Section 6 (1) of the Act, made by an adult British Subject or Citizen of Eire, on the ground of ordinary residence in the United Kingdom or in any of The Channel Island, The Isle of Man, A Colony, a Protectorate, a Protected State to which Section 8 (1) of the Act has been applied or a United Kingdom Trust Territory or on the ground of Crown Service under The Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom."

Thank you again. This is not an urgent or necessarily important matter to me, but nice to have. My wife is a full British citizen, so if needed, I can move to UK with her ...

[shchja]

I believe, mother's CUKC registration was the only way she could have lived (right of abode)in then Tanganyika while married to my father; who presumably was also registered CUKC. But I do not have his registration certificate ...

[sunburn]

Right of Abode was defined after the Immigration Act of 1971. It divided CUKCs into those with Right of Abode, and those without. Those with Right of Abode became British Citizens in 1983 according to BNA 1981. Those without got a British Overseas passport.

Did your mother reside in UK for any significant period of time since her birth, and before yours ? Her being a CUKC is not in itself sufficient - she has to be a CUKC with Right of Abode in order to for UKM eligibility. Please see Chapter 2 of Guide UKM: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... y_2018.pdf

"3. you have right of abode which you acquired because:

(i) your mother was, at the time of your birth, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by birth, legal adoption, naturalisation or registration* in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man; or

(ii) one of your mother’s parents (the definition of “parent” here excludes the father, but includes the mother, of an illegitimate child) was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by birth, legal adoption, naturalisation or registration*in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man at the time of her birth; or

(iii) one of your father’s parents (the definition of “father” and “parent” excludes the father of an illegitimate child) was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by birth, legal adoption, naturalisation or registration* in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man at the time of his birth; or

(iv) you were resident in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of 5 years before1983 and had become settled in the United Kingdom by the end of
that 5 year period; or

(v) you are a woman who, before 1 January 1983, was or had been married to a man with the right of abode in the United Kingdom. "

[secret.simon]

You are quite correct that your mother was registered as a CUKC in Tanganyika. However, to become a British citizen, as sunburn has stated above, your mother would have needed both CUKC status AND Right of Abode in the UK. The latter was defined very specifically with relationship to the UK itself and excluded those who had CUKC only by relationship to a colony or protectorate, like your mother.

She likely became a British Overseas citizen in 1983, being a CUKC without Right of Abode. British Overseas citizens who had not acquired any other citizenship could then register as British citizens after 2002, which your mother did.

[shchja]

Thank you both secret.simon and sunburn. I am beginning to see the complications that eluded my (half-assed) research.

I did not see anywhere in UKM Guide the requirement (or definition) of mother’s RoA. I assumed CUKC conferred that right; but apparently not. I went by 2.3 (i.) of UKM Guide, noting mother’s CUKC “….registration*…,” without paying attention to what follows, namely “…..in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man…..” Presumably if this CUKC registration was done in UK (as opposed to then Tanganyika), she would have RoA. For my edification, would you please confirm that? Also presumably RoA definitions were articulated in IA 1971. Time for me to brush-up on IA 1971.

As an academic exercise, did her 1958 CUKC declaration below give her RoA, but in 1958? Or all British types had RoA at that time?

"Application for registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies under Section 6 (1) of the Act, made by an adult British Subject or Citizen of Eire, on the ground of ordinary residence in the United Kingdom or in any of The Channel Island, The Isle of Man, A Colony, a Protectorate, a Protected State to which Section 8 (1) of the Act has been applied or a United Kingdom Trust Territory or on the ground of Crown Service under The Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom."

Final thing puzzling me is that mother’s BNA 1981 CoR (issued in 2003) conferred her unrestricted “BRITISH CITIZEN.” How can she have this if she did not have RoA earlier?

Thank you for your patience and willingness to educate me.

[sunburn]

"As an academic exercise, did her 1958 CUKC declaration below give her RoA, but in 1958? Or all British types had RoA at that time?"

No. Right of Abode or patriality, is defined separately from CUKC status, which a much larger group of people born in the colonies had . RoA is an immigration artifact and not a nationality one.

Had your mother had RoA, she would have been a British Citizen in 1983, since BNA 1981 converted CUKCs with RoA to British Citizens, and those without RoA to British Overseas citizens (simplifying things a bit). Instead, she registered in 2003, which was a result of a lawsuit in 2002 that accorded BO citizens without right of abode the right to avoid statelessness.

Your original information - the combination of your mother's CUKC status and registration at BC only in 2003 - indicates she did not have RoA when you were born, making you ineligible for UKM registration.

Form UKM requires proof that your mother passed RoA to you at birth, but evidence does not indicate she had it at the time.

[secret.simon]

Sunburn, you are quite knowledgable in this field. Have you gone through it yourself?

Right of Abode or patriality, is defined separately from CUKC status, which a much larger group of people born in the colonies had . RoA is an immigration artifact and not a nationality one.

Had your mother had RoA, she would have been a British Citizen in 1983, since BNA 1981 converted CUKCs with RoA to British Citizens, and those without RoA to British Overseas citizens (simplifying things a bit)….

Your original information - the combination of your mother's CUKC status and registration at BC only in 2003 - indicates she did not have RoA when you were born, making you ineligible for UKM registration.

The quote above sums up the situation pretty accurately.

Presumably if this CUKC registration was done in UK (as opposed to then Tanganyika), she would have RoA.

Correct. For RoA, she needed to have a connection with the UK itself, rather than with a colony or a protectorate.

Time for me to brush-up on IA 1971.

Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 as enacted.

As an academic exercise, did her 1958 CUKC declaration below give her RoA, but in 1958? Or all British types had RoA at that time?

There was no concept of RoA before 1971. All CUKCs could live anywhere in the British Empire as then. As the Empire died, the right to reside (Right of Abode) in the UK was delineated with reference to a connection with the UK itself.

mother’s BNA 1981 CoR (issued in 2003) conferred her unrestricted “BRITISH CITIZEN.” How can she have this if she did not have RoA earlier?

which was a result of a lawsuit in 2002 that accorded BO citizens without right of abode the right to avoid statelessness.

I'm not entirely sure that it was the result of a court case. From the law's point of view, Section 12 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 inserted Section 4B into the British Nationality Act 1981, that allowed British Overseas Citizens to register as British citizens. Your mother must have been one of the first to register. By registering under that Section, your mother's British nationality changed from being a British Overseas Citizen to being a British Citizen.

[sunburn]

secret.simon, thanks! I am a plain vanilla UKM applicant with a British born mother, and was recently approved. I just spent enough time staring at the legalese that I've a basic level of familiarity with the UKM/UKF related rules. I'd be all at sea with regard to any naturalization related queries...

The lawsuit I am quoting is:
UK overseas citizens win right to live in Britain

[secret.simon]

The lawsuit I am quoting is:
UK overseas citizens win right to live in Britain

That's why I did not find the case. The ECJ ruled that it was not a matter for EU law. It did not actually give a judgment requiring BOCs to be given British citizenship. It was more a case of embarrassing the UK government into action than compelling it legally.

[shchja]

Thank you folks. I am learning a lot.

I spoke with my dad, and he informs me that mother's passport prior to her BNA 1981 CoR (issued in 2003) also listed her as "British Citizen," and not "BOC."

Hmm ... will search for the documentation. Do the authorities accept old photocopies as evidence, if originals are no longer available?

[sunburn]

I spoke with my dad, and he informs me that mother's passport prior to her BNA 1981 CoR (issued in 2003) also listed her as "British Citizen," and not "BOC."

You are looking at this from the wrong angle, I feel. None of the facts of your mother's circumstances that you have stated so far indicates your mother had any path to right of abode prior to your birth.

What happened to her in 2003 is not relevant to you. Under which section of Chapter 2 of Guide UKM do you feel she had acquired Right of Abode at the time of your birth ? That's all that matters here.

[secret.simon]

he informs me that mother's passport prior to her BNA 1981 CoR (issued in 2003) also listed her as "British Citizen," and not "BOC."

If that is the case, you should try to find that/those passport(s).

I would imagine that your mother would have submitted her passport to the Home Office as a part of the registration application. They would have noticed if she was a British Citizen and not a British Overseas Citizen. As an aside, the one word "Overseas" could make a lot of difference, but other than that, there was no difference in the passports for British citizens and British Overseas Citizens before 1988.

Secondly, even if she had a passport stating that she was a British citizen, if it was issued in error, that would make no difference to her status. You may be asked to prove the connection to the UK that gave her the Right of Abode at the time of your birth.

Remember that the requirement for Form UKM is that she was a CUKC with Right of Abode (as implemented later) at the time of your birth in 1959.

[shchja]

Thank you again; I am learning so much, and getting "what???.... why???" reactions from my family. Please note this matter of my acquiring BC is an idle exercise; I have no urgent need for it, so please devote time only if it tickles your fancy ...

I bait-clicked on some immigration law firm and filled out a questionnaire. One path that came up was so called "British Citizenship (Annexation upon Indian Independence). If you are familiar with this, and would care to comment ....

I was born 1959 in Tanganyika. On my birth certificate, father and mother listed as "Indian BPP of Tanganyika"

Father born in Zanzibar 1933 (original birth certificate available), which remained under some form British dominion until 1964. Curiously his birth certificate has "Nationality .... British," without any qualifications. I don't know if this alludes to the child (my father) or his parents (my grand parents). perhaps in 1933, there was no distinct granularity of BC, BPP, BOC, etc.

Paternal grandfather born in India early 1900s (birth certificate likely NLA, passport likely can be found). Birth was in Jambuda, Shaurastra District, became part of Bombay State upon Indian Independence, now State of Gujarat

Apparently this is complex and requires professional representation to the HO.

Thank you ...

[sunburn]

The question of your mother's citizenship (or father's) and yours are two separate matters. In their case - specifically your mother's, she gained full British citizenship through registration in 2003. However, she cannot pass that on to a child regardless of when they were born - before or after 2003, unless specific requirements regarding residence in UK are met by her, giving her right of abode to pass on to you.

British citizenship can be 'by descent' or 'otherwise than by descent' (e.g. by birth). Form UKM registration is by descent. In order to achieve it, it is necessary to establish that the person you are claiming it from is British otherwise than by descent and has right of abode.

As has been mentioned multiple times, it is imperative to establish your mother's ties to UK and specifically the UK (not to a colony) for any claim on your part. Having been born in a colony and gained a British passport that way does not offer you a path to using Form UKM. Your mother needs to have met additional conditions specifically at the time of your birth (not later) for you to be eligible.