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Skip to content When a person is born outside of the United Kingdom but has a British parent, they are eligible for British citizenship by descent.
To learn more about British citizenship by descent and see if you qualify, read on. Get in touch with our expert immigration solicitors at 02033844389 right now to find out more.
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If a person was born outside of the UK but has a British parent, they can become a British citizen. A person who is British by descent would have become a citizen in one of these ways:
A person can have British citizenship by descent or “British citizenship otherwise than by descent.” It is important to know the difference. People who don’t have British citizenship through their family can give it to a child born outside of Britain. A person who is British by descent usually can’t give their status to children who were born outside of the UK.
They don’t have to follow this rule if their parent was born in a crown-designated or EU service. Someone who is not British by descent would have become a citizen by being born, adopted, naturalised, or, most often, registered in the UK or a qualifying region.
When a child is born outside of the UK, British citizenship is usually simply passed down from one generation to the next. In other words, if you were born outside of the UK but one of your parents was a British citizen at the time of your birth, you may immediately become a British citizen.
Because your parent was born or adopted in the UK, got British citizenship on their own, or worked for the Crown at the time of your birth, they can easily give you their citizenship. If your British parent got their citizenship by descent, that doesn’t mean you automatically get British citizenship.
If you are a naturalised citizen by descent, it also depends on when you were born and what your parents’ immigration status was at the time. Your parents must have been British citizens in some other way at the time of your birth if you were born outside the UK on or after July 1, 2006. If they were, then you instantly have British citizenship by descent.
You are automatically a British citizen by descent if you were born outside of the UK between 1983 and June 2006. This is true even if your mother or father wasn’t a British citizen by descent at the time of your birth. However, if your father is British citizen but your mother isn’t, they must have been married at the time.
If you weren’t born in the UK before 1983, you will only be a citizen by blood if your father was British and a citizen of both the UK and its colonies. He must have been married to your mother and be able to give you his citizenship.
