Changes to UK immigration law over the last few years have opened up a new route to some individuals to apply for British citizenship.
Who may qualify for British citizenship through this new route?
This new option is available to individuals:
- Who were born outside the UK or the Commonwealth prior to 1 January 1983;
- Who have or had a British born grandmother; and
- Where their parents were married at the time of their birth.
Individuals applying under these rules need to demonstrate that the reason they could not have claimed British citizenship before the law was changed was ‘historic legislative unfairness’. Importantly this includes when some immigration laws had a discriminatory impact on women as compared to men (as women were not able to pass on British citizenship to children in the same circumstances as men in some cases in the past).
Could an American get UK citizenship through this route?
These developments have resulted in an increase in citizenship applications in recent years, with US applicants often using this route based on their family heritage. However, the route is also open to other individuals of different nationalities who were born outside the UK and Commonwealth and who otherwise meet the requirements.
In some cases where an individual was born after 1 January 1983 but before 1st January 1988 and who otherwise meets the criteria above, they may still be eligible for British citizenship under this route. It would be important for individuals in that scenario to take specific advice on their eligibility.
What does this mean?
Before 1 January 1983 in families where one parent was a British national, and the other was not, and they were married and had a child overseas together:
- If the mother was the British citizen, the child would not inherit British citizenship;
- If the father was the British citizen, the child could inherit British citizenship.
The British Nationality Act 1948 allowed individuals born outside of the UK to a father who was a British citizen to pass on their citizenship. His children would be British citizens by descent.
A British citizen by descent could then in turn register their children (born before 1 January 1983) within one year of their birth at a UK consulate to make them a British citizen by descent. This allowed grandchildren of British citizens to claim British citizenship based on their grandfather’s citizenship in some cases (whereas a British grandmother could not have passed on citizenship to grandchildren in the same way). Therefore, UK immigration laws allowed some individuals to apply for British citizenship through ‘double descent’ – two generations down – but only if the grandparent was male.
Legislative change
The law was updated in 2003 to allow children born before 1 January 1983 who had a British mother to register to obtain British citizenship that was previously denied to them (since their mother could not pass on her British citizenship).
However, this still left the gap for the grandchildren who were born outside of the UK and Commonwealth before 1 January 1988, who could not be registered at the UK consulate as, at the time of their birth, their parent was not a British citizen by descent (because they had not inherited their mother’s British citizenship).
Immigration law was amended to include a specific route for discretionary applications to be made to close this gap.
How can I claim British citizenship if I have a British born grandmother?
You need to show that:
- You were born outside the UK and Commonwealth before 1 January 1983 (for example you were born in the US and you are a US national);
- You have or had a British born grandmother (for example your grandmother was born in Scotland); and
- Your parents were married at the time of your birth.
This would be a discretionary application, meaning that the Home Office will assess each individual case on its specific facts. The applicant will need to demonstrate that the necessary historic legislative unfairness applies to them and that they meet the criteria. They need to provide supporting evidence. We can assist with this type of application.
As mentioned above, if you were born after 1 January 1983 but before 1 January 1988, you may still be eligible under these discretionary rules. We would recommend that you seek advice if you think this may apply to you.
Webinar
We have recorded a webinar on eligibility for British citizenship through a British grandmother which is available to watch here.
Get in touch
This is a fact specific and complex area of law - if you may be in this situation, or if you would like to discuss whether you could make an application, please contact Brodies' Employment & Immigration lawyers.
