BillyThornton

Hello,

I came here to ask a question I have asked the UK home office, the passport office and the nationality office in UK. I received 3 different answers and am very confused. Maybe people here can please help me? My mother is British, born 1930 in London. Dad is American. My mother's family resides in the UK. I was born in 1963 in the States when my mother came for a visit. Am I entitled to UK residence or passport or naturalization? The passport office says only if my dad was born in the UK and the home office said it's fine as long as mother was a UK citizen at the time I was born, which I was. The other office said just apply for a passport. Confusing. Mother lives in the States since I was born. She had an eventful holiday in 1963. :-) Any help is really appreciated because I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing.

Thank you, Billy

BritInParis

Hello Billy and welcome to BE.

In answer to your question at the time of your birth Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies could only be passed down the legitimate paternal line. This changed on 1 January 1983 with the commencement of the British Nationality Act 1981. Now the newly renamed British citizenship could be passed down the maternal line regardless of legitimacy as well as the legitimate paternal line. However those born abroad before 1 January 1983 to a British mother were still discriminated against.

This changed in April 2003 when the BNA 1981 was amended and Section 4C was inserted into the Act. This allowed persons born abroad to a British mother between 1961 and 1983 to apply to be registered as British citizens if women had been able to pass on their British citizenship in the same way as men at the time of their birth.

In short, you are therefore not currently a British citizen, but you are able to apply to become a British citizen if you wish. There is no fee to be registered under Section 4C but you will need to attend a citizenship ceremony to swear allegiance to the Queen and the United Kingdom for which a £80 ($120) administration fee is charged.

Once you receive your Certificate of Registration as a British Citizen at your citizenship ceremony you can then use it to apply for your British passport. You will become a British citizen by descent so any children that are born to you outside the United Kingdom are unlikely to be eligible for British citizenship.

You need to apply using Form UKM.

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-...british-mother

BillyThornton

THANK YOU!
It always amazes me how citizens such as yourself know more than government workers. I asked this question in so many ways from the UK offices and nobody told me this. :-( How is it that they couldn't know ? Amazing to think how many people must call these offices and get wrong information that could negatively impact their lives! I appreciate so much your help. I would love to buy a flat near my family in Lincolnshire and this is good news. I'm not sure how with work however I can schedule a trip for the ceremony. This I still have to figure out. I am a veterinarian who doesn't get much time off unfortunately I am a bit of a workaholic. Believe it or not the UK passport office said "just send in a form and see what happens". Good thing I posted here. I will get on this today and let everyone know how it proceeds so I can be of help to someone in the future. I can already smell the kippers on the stove!

God bless and have a wonderful Christmas.

Bill

BritInParis

You're very welcome. The information is out there but the UK government seems to delight in making it as difficult as possible to find what you're looking forward.

Your citizenship ceremony is normally arranged at your local British consulate.

Stephmb

Just read this. Can you help. Husband was born in 1955 in the states to a British mother, dad American, can he apply for British citizenship. Thought I read he had to be from colonies.

BritInParis

If his mother was born in the UK then generally speaking that would make him eligible to apply to be registered as a British citizen as described above.

BillyThornton

Hello everyone,

Can anyone recommend someone I could hire to help me with the paperwork for UKM? For some it may be easy but I could use a little help putting the paperwork together and filling out forms correctly. Some of the questions are confusing and I want to file it correctly the first time. I understanding from reading this forum there are advisors who are qualified. I suppose it doesn't matter if they are US or UK based as long as we could speak or email. Thank you and I hope this is alright to inquire about here.

Thank you,
Billy

BritInParis

You can always ask any questions you may have here first. We may surprise you (and save you money).

mikelincs

I suspect that BritinParis is more than just an ordinary British Citizen where visa and citizenship matters are involved, he seems to have the knowledge that only someone who works/has worked in the relevant area of expertise would have, and he is recognised as the forums resident expert on such matters.

scot47

Franz Kafka based much of his writing on his direct experience of and in the Austro-Hungarian Bureaucracy. It seems to me that this lunatic world of rules and regulations has been brought to a new level of Absurdism in modern Britain.

TAMills

Hello, my name is Tom Mills. I have a similar situation to Billy. I am currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. I believe I am eligible for British Citizenship through my Mother, an native born British citizen (1930 -Durham) when I was born, in 1967. She became an American citizen 3 years after my birth, in 1970, at age 40.

I have printed Form UKM: Application for registration as a British citizen by a person born before 1983 to a British mother, and its accompanying guide. I have all the required documents for successful application, However, my mother passed away in 2007, and I am not able to locate her passport. I do have her birth certificate.

I did heed the same advice given to Billy by someone at the Home Office, and just sent in a passport application with all the documents relating to my mother, only to have it all sent back, except the check, with a statement that I needed to be a British citizen first to apply for a passport.

I was hoping to ask some questions in regard to the application:

1. In regard to section 1.7; National Insurance Number. What is this? Is there an American equivalent?

2. Section 4: Biometric enrollment. If I have not undergone a biometric scan, do I first leave these details blank on the application, submit the application, and then be issued an enrollment letter from you, get the scan, and then submit an addendum to the existing application? Also will your office inform me as to where to make the appointment for the biometric enrollment, or will it be up to myself to locate a facility to perform the scan? I went to my local Homeland security office, and they told me that I would have to apply for a guest visa to obtain the authorization to go back to the HS office to get the scan.

I apologize for such a long-winded inquiry, but I want to make sure I complete this process correctly.
I thank you for your time and advice.
Regards,
Thomas A Mills

BritInParis

Hello Tom,

1. Closest equivalent is a US Social Security Number. Leave it blank.

2. Tick 'No' to both 4.1 and 4.12. You'll be informed about how to submit your biometrics after you have applied.

TAMills

Thank you for your prompt and informative reply! and your patience!

Is there a fee required for the initial application?

Should I also include a canceled passport of mine, and documents related to my mother at this time?

Regards,
Tom Mills

BritInParis

The application itself is free but you'll need to pay an £80 administration charge to cover the cost of your citizenship ceremony. This will be taken during the application process.

You should include all the supporting documents when you post your application form to Liverpool. At a minimum this should be your current US passport, long form birth certificate, your mother's long form birth certificate and her marriage certificate if her name on your birth certificate differs from that on yours. If you have any old British passports belonging to your mother include these too. All these documents need to be originals. It's expensive but you should also consider sending these by a fully insured and tracking courier service.

TAMills

Thank you very much! Again!