nicky11

Hello,

So like I mentioned in my intro, a friend of mine recommended I ask on here about my possible British Passport eligibility. Hopefully someone on here can help out, as I have tried a few other methods, but ended up with nothing. I will try to provide all the information possible.

My situation is as follows. I was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1986 and I am trying to figure out if I can obtain a British Passport through my mother. She was born in Lima, Peru in 1953, my Grandmother was born in England and my Grandfather was Czech, but naturalized British in 1950 (he also served as a volunteer in the British Air Force). My mothers birth certificate states "Births within the district of the British Consul at Lima", from what I read means that she is British by Registration, which is different to British by Descent. She also lived in England for 3 years when she attended the Legat School of Ballet. So, she has had a British Passport her whole life and it even says "British Citizen".

I also came across this: "Born to a British Mother after January 1st 1983. If you were born inside or outside the UK on January 1, 1983 or later, and your mother was a British Citizen (other than through descent) at the time of your birth, you are a British citizen by descent and can apply for a British Passport.

There will probably be more information needed, but does anyone think it is possible to get a British Passport. Also what would be the case for my brothers who were born in 1981 and 1976?

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it and hope I am not much of a bother.

Nicky

BritInParis

When did your mother live in the UK? Your mother's consular birth certificate, does it mention anything regarding her eligibility for Citizenship of the UK and Colonies or a reference to a section of law, e.g. Section 5 BNA 1948? What was your grandfather's occupation when your mother was born?

nicky11

Hello BritInParis,

My mother lived in England from 1966-1969. From what I see on the birth certificate, my Grandfather was a merchant at the time. The only reference to a section of law that I see is in the section of "Rank,profession or occupation of father, and claim to citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies" which says "Merchant...Born in Prague on 19th November, 1915....Naturalization Certificate No. BNA 11458 issued at Home Office on 1st March, 1950"

If it helps, I can upload or PM the picture of the birth certificate.

Nicky

BritInParis

Your grandfather was Walter Galat?

nicky11

No, my Grandfathers name was Bedrich Richard Muller.

BritInParis

Ah, I see. Your grandfather's certificate was issued on 1 March 1950 but he didn't take his oath of allegiance until 9 March 1950. Not that it matters much since your mother wasn't born until 1953.

Your mother will be British by descent. The certificate she holds is a consular birth certificate; this means that her birth was registered with the British Consul in Lima. Being a British citizen by registration means that someone submits an application to the Home Office and becomes a citizen the day the application is approved/oath of allegiance is taken, similar to naturalisation.

You are currently unlikely to be a British citizen. Since your mother spent three years in the UK before you were born then she could've registered you as a British citizen before you turned 18. If she did not do this then this route is no longer available to you.

You say you were born in Ecuador - is your father Ecuadorian?

nicky11

This was what I was afraid of. I was hoping that having this consular birth certificate would be the equivalent of being naturalized. It is like that in my case, as I am born in Ecuador but registered in the Peruvian consulate, giving me Peruvian nationality. My father is actually Peruvian.

BritInParis

Other than your maternal grandparents, do you have any other recent ancestors born in either an European or Commonwealth country?

nicky11

I know my paternal grandmother's father was Croatian, and about 15 years ago my uncle (my fathers brother) was able to get a Croatian passport for himself and his children. Unfortunately at the time, my father did not think that it would be necessary or worthwhile to have, so he did not do the same. I am not sure whether it is still possible to apply for that anymore though.

I know my mother looked into the Czech citizenship, but as my grandfather did not register her, she is not able to obtain that nationality either.

By the way, I really appreciate your help with clearing all this up. It's a shame that I would not be able to obtain British citizenship, I had quite some hope that my mother was not British by descent

BritInParis

PM me a scan of your mother's consular birth certificate if you like. I could have a look and see if there's anything else relevant.

BritInParis

Thanks for sending me your mother's consular birth certificate. Unfortunately I don't think you qualify unless your mother was working for the British government, the EU or an international organisation like the UN when you were born. You could have been registered as a child as your mother had spent three consecutive years in the UK before you were born but once you turned 18 I'm afraid that window closes.

If Czech citizenship is a no-go then Croatian would be worth pursuing since Croatia is now an EU member. Providing you do it before Brexit you could use a Croatian passport to move to the UK to live and work. Then after 5-6 years you could naturalise as a British citizen in your own right.

If you couldn't get Croatian citizenship then an alternative would be to move to Spain. As a Ecuadorian/Peruvian citizen you would only need two years of residence before becoming eligible for Spanish citizenship and thus an EU passport.

nicky11

I was afraid it would come down to my mother being British by descent, I really was hoping that there would have been a way to take advantage of her citizenship. Oh well, I guess I will have to look into the Croatian, hopefully it is still possible and they are not one of the countries that make you speak the language.

I really appreciate your help BIP, thank you for taking the time to look over my case. I will definitely look into these options you gave me, as I do have the intention to live and work in Europe and hopefully it can work out to be in the UK. That way like you say I can eventually naturalize, and at least my mother can be happy one of her sons was able to get the citizenship.

Cheers