British through Descent

[kiraneh]

Hey folks,

So my father was a naturalized british citizen (born in India). He arrived in the UK around 1962. He held a UK passport, received his pension from the UK etc. I was born in 1988 in Canada. I lived in the UK briefly for 2 years, I have my National Insurance number (if that matters).

Am I eligible to apply for a British Passport or Citizenship through my father?

He was married to my mother (a Canadian) at the time of my birth. The other issue is I don't have his naturalization records since he only kept his passport.

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi,
It sounds like you are a British citizen. You will need your long-form birth certificate (the version that states the names of your parents) and his old passport to apply.

 

[kiraneh]

Thanks Riley! I took a look at his passport and it actually says "British Overseas Citizen" which I presume is because he was born in a British Colony. I'm not sure if this changes anything though..

 

[Riley Haas]

It does, actually.

British nationality law is exceptionally complicated. But the short of it is that you are a British Overseas Citizen by descent, not a British citizen. And that bad news is that this means you may not have the "right of abode" i.e. permission to live in the UK without doing anything else.

What does this mean? You would have to immigrate to Britain (as a BOC) to acquire full British citizenship. Sorry for the bad news.

 

[anamaste]

The most recent reply would seem to suggest to me that I would not qualify to receive a British Passport. The details are -- I was born in 1944 in the colony of Newfoundland which is now the province of Canada, having joined Canada 01 April 1949. At the age of 5 I lost what I assume was my 'British Citizenship'. My parent and their parents were all born on the island ( in the colony of Newfoundland). I have today made an initial inquiry of the IMMIGROUP. INC and await their response. However, it occurred to me that perhaps a similar situation existed and throught this Forum might be able to assist. Thank You. George M

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi George,
I work for Immigroup. You're better off waiting for a response from that email - as an expert will respond - but from what you've described, your family would have lost their UK citizenship when Newfoundland joined Canada. Sorry.

Riley