Proving British Citizenship for Child's first passport.

[Stefan2519]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some help, please.

I am applying of my child's first British passport outside of the UK in Thailand.

I was born in the US to a British father and American mother in 1980, and they were not married at my birth.
My father was born 1952 in London.
My mother was born 1960 in Miami.

When I was 10 years old in 1990 my father and I immigrated to the UK.
My father told me that he had to take me to London to get my citizenship, my father was in the process of divorce and didn't want me sent back to the US. I'm not 100% sure what was done here and he cannot recall either.

I have a British passport and I presume I am naturalized does this sound right?

I am trying to find the best way to find out my status to apply for my child's passport.
My child was born in 2010 and I was also not married at the time we got married a few months later.
We have since had a second child if that matters at all.

Should I apply for:

Immigration status (form NS) would this show my legal status?

Duplicate certificate (form NC) Or should I apply for this?

Or is there an easier way to find out exactly what my status is?
My family still lives in the UK.

Any help much appreciated.

[secret.simon]

I was born in the US to a British father and American mother in 1980, and they were not married at my birth.

When you refer to your father's subsequent divorce, although he was not married to your mother at the time of your birth, did he marry her subsequently? If so, where (in which state if in the US) did he marry her?

I am applying of my child's first British passport outside of the UK in Thailand.

As your child was born outside the UK, there is a good chance that the child is not a British citizen. You were likely a British citizen by descent and therefore cannot pass on your British citizenship to a child born outside the UK. As a general rule of thumb, British citizenship can only be passed on for one generation outside the UK.

There are two options.
a) Move with the child and the other parent to the UK and reside here (all three of you) for three continuous years and then register the child under Section 3(5) ofthe British Nationality Act 1981 as a British citizen. That will make the child a British citizen otherwise than by descent.
b) Register the child now as a British citizen under Section 3(2) of teh British Nationality Act 1981, with proof of you having resided for at least three continuous years in the UK before the birth of the child. Registration under Section 3(2) will make the child a British citizen by descent.

[Stefan2519]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

They were actually married in the UK in 1981 when I was a year old.

The reason I suspect I am naturalized is this :

Under current legislation, British citizenship can normally be passed on through one generation to children born abroad. Such children are British citizens by descent and are generally unable to transmit their citizenship to subsequent generations born abroad.

• Before 1 January 1983 citizenship of the UK & Colonies could only be passed on by a British citizen otherwise than by descent father (and if he was married to the child’s mother).
• From 1 January 1983 British citizenship could be passed on by men (if married to the child’s mother) and women.
• From 1 July 2006 British citizenship could be passed to a child by an unmarried British father

[Stefan2519]

• Before 1 January 1983 citizenship of the UK & Colonies could only be passed on by a British citizen otherwise than by descent father (and if he was married to the child’s mother).

Am I reading that legislation right?
Since they were not married in 1980 when I was born it could not be carried over?

Thanks.

[secret.simon]

They were actually married in the UK in 1981 when I was a year old.

Since your parents did marry, even if after your birth, you would likely have been legitimised by that marriage.

Legitimated children
(1)A person born out of wedlock and legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his parents shall, as from the date of the marriage or of the commencement of this Act, whichever is later, be treated, for the purpose of determining whether he is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, or was a British subject immediately before the commencement of this Act, as if he had been born legitimate.

Even assuming that you were not legitimised by the marriage of your parents, children are not naturalised, but registered as British citizens. And if either parent of a child registered as a British citizen is a British citizen themselves at the time of the child's birth, the child is a British citizen by descent. If you were registered, you would have a registration certificate stating your British citzienship.

If you do not have one, it is likely that you were legimitised by the marriage of your parents and you acquired your British citizenship automatically by law.

So, in either scenario, you are a British citizen by descent and cannot automatically pass on your British citizenship to your child born abroad.

[Stefan2519]

Hi,

Thank you for the reply and information.

How can I know for sure my status?
Is there an application to tell me exactly how I got my citizenship?

If I pay 200 for a Immigration status will this show it?

Regards.

[Stefan2519]

My father did say years ago that he had all the paperwork, but it has been lost.
I arrived in London in 1990 on my US passport.
My father says we spent a couple of days in London dealing with this.

I'm just looking for a way to know exactly my classification.

[secret.simon]

Is there an application to tell me exactly how I got my citizenship?

No. The onus is on you to prove your citizenship.

There is no central database of British citizens. And Home Office records are periodically destroyed in keeping with the Data Protection Act. It is the individual's responsibility to maintain their records.

You can try contacting the National Archives to see if there is a copy of a registration certificate in your name before 1986.

If not, then, as mentioned above, it is likely that you acquired British citizenship automatically on your parents' marriage, which will not leave a trace in any government records. The proof then would be your birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate.

[Stefan2519]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I submitted a search on that site but I'm 100% sure it was done in 1990.
Surprised there is no records kept anywhere else.
Can't even get a duplicate done.

Regards.