Vegemite Kids

I was born in Australia of a 4th generation Aussie father and a UK born mother who gave up her passport to marry my father and move to OZ with him.

Am I entitled to apply for a UK passport by descent, even though my mother gave gave up her british passport in the early 1960's and now only holds an Australian passport?

Have looked at the UKBA website but it doesnt mention anything about a parent who has given up their UK passport.

Does anybody know?

Lorac05

Unless your mother renounced UK citizenship then just giving up your passport does not take UK citizenship away. She can I believe hold both UK and Aussie citizenship at the same time. I do not however know the rules for gaining UK citizenship by descent though. Hopefully someone else will come along and clarify that for you.

quoll

What Lorac said - it is unlikely that she would have formally renounced her UK citizenship just to become an Australian I would have thought.

My husband just got his citizenship by descent approved although his mum had been in Aus since the early 20s having been taken there by her parents from UK. AFAIK she never had a UK passport. It was a relatively painless process and he was just required to provide her birth certificate and his own along with his passport, get a couple of reliable referees who could vouch for him and it took just under 3 months but he lodged here in UK. Form UKM is what you require

I would think your mum could just apply for a new passport - my friend let hers lapse for about 30 years before she decided it was easier to travel with it in some places and got hers renewed about 5 years ago without hassles.

So, looks like you could be in luck, just check with your mum that she didnt officially sign away her citizenship at any stage.

roaringmouse

Check this page on the UKBA website to see if you're eligible for the registration route already mentioned. Currently it's unclear by what you've said if your mother lost her British citizenship, or just didn't maintain a British passport.

JAJ

Even if the mother handed her British passport over to the Australian authorities in the 1960s, this did not cause loss of British citizenship.

It's very unlikely she went to the British High Commission to formally sign away her British citizenship. Normally - that is something she would remember. If she did, her name would probably be on a file of renunciations at the Home Office.

roaringmouse

Yes I agree, which is why it's unclear as the OP wrote her mother "gave up" her British passport (active) rather than saying she let it expire and not obtain another (passive).

Hawk13

If I've read the rules correctly, you can get yours through your UK grandfather but you need birth certificates and marriage documents.

JAJ

No - you cannot normally claim British citizenship through a grandparent. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but not many.
(best one can usually hope for in that situation is an ancestry visa).

Hawk13

I thought (sounds like I thought wrong) that if I was born in UK then my kids can claim citizenship (and get a passport which they have) and their kids would be eligible too through the male grandparent. Did they change that? or have I always been misinformed? Just out of curiosity, what would the exceptions be?

pennylessinindia

I think you potential grand kids would get any citizenship through their parents. Which one would depend a number of things but sadly not you . .

Tr1boy

Others with more knowledge than me will chip in I'm sure. But a friend in Oz went through the process for his kids a couple of years ago and I'm pretty sure you can only do the descendants thing for your own kids. It doesn't pass down to their kids in the future.

gpiero

Hi -

Just been through this for my son. Apparently you can't double descend any more (Grandparents can't do it for Grandchildren) but, in essence, all you need is your birth certificate, your mom's birth certificate and any passport you already appear on.

Not sure how this works with a passport that has been cancelled, but I'm pretty sure you just need to prove your mom was born in the UK.

Gpiero

Archibald00

I would think your mum could just apply for a new passport - my friend let hers lapse for about 30 years before she decided it was easier to travel with it in some places and got hers renewed about 5 years ago without hassles.