AM75

Hi, I'm currently trying to apply for my son's first UK passport and am having issues with the Passport Office. My situation is as follows:

I am a British citizen born in the UK in May 1983. My mother was born overseas and came to the UK when she was a few months old with her parents. My father came later to the UK in his late teens and married my mother in the UK the year before I was born. My mother had a UK passport at the time of my birth. My father obtained a UK passport many years after my birth.

I moved overseas and had a child in 2015. My assumption was/is that he will be British by descent so I applied for a UK passport as there is a relatively high chance that we will move back in the next few years. My wife is not British but we were married in the UK and had our first child there.

After I sent the application, I received the following message from the Passport Office:
"Please send the following documents: Evidence of the Child's Paternal grandparents claim to British Nationality. Please provide their birth certificates and, in the case of grandfather, the marriage certificate to the child's grandmother. This does not apply if the grandparent British Nationality is based on registration, naturalisation or their immigration status. In this case please provide the registration or naturalisation certificates or evidence of Indefinite Leave to Remain at the time of your Birth"

I tried to call the Passport Office directly. Unfortunately, they were't very helpful and told me it's my responsibility to prove my son is entitled to citizenship which is fine but I don't know where to look for this!

From this, I surmise that I need to get hold of either the registration or naturalisation certificates of my mother (paternal grandmother). How can I go about this? My mother doesn't remember having one of these in her possession and any issues related to passport applications etc were dealt with by her father who has long since passed away. I assume in order for her to have a UK passport in the first place (early 1980s) she must have held some kind of evidence of citizenship but what this evidence is, she and I have no idea. I am aware that searches can be made online but its difficult to know where to start! Thanks for any advice that you may have

BritInParis

What nationality did your parents hold when they first arrived in the UK?

AM75

My father was a Pakistani citizen. My mother was born in Uganda so I assume this was her nationality; she came to the UK when she was a few weeks old.

BritInParis

Were your mother and her parents also of South Asian descent?

AM75

Yes, my grandparents were originally from India and travelled to Kenya/Uganda for work

BritInParis

And what year did they move to the UK?

AM75

It would have been in 1962, most likely between March and June

BritInParis

Try searching for your parents online at the National Archives: Naturalisation and British citizenship - The National Archives

AM75

Thanks for advice so far. I have completed a search for both my parents at the National Archives. Unfortunately there is no record for them, although the email I received did state that not all of the records have survived.

After calling the Passport Office again, they have asked me to send in my mothers passport from the time of my birth. I did some research online and as her Passport was stamped with "British Subject: Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" and was issued between 1973 and 1983, on the 1st January she would have automatically become either a British Citizen or a British Overseas Citizen. There is no right of abode mentioned.

Regardless of whether she was classified as a British citizen or as a British Overseas citizen, isn't this a moot point? I found the following on the gov.uk website

5. Born in the UK after 1983
You’re automatically a British citizen if you were born in the UK after 1 January 1983 and 1 of your parents was a British citizen or settled here at that time. You don’t need to register.

As my mother was settled in the UK at this time and I was born after January 1983 in the UK, regardless if she was classified as a British/ British Overseas citizen, doesn't it mean that I am a British citizen otherwise by descent and therefore should be able to pass this nationality on to my son, regardless of where he was born?

BritInParis

'Settled' in this instance has a legal meaning; that is, you are free of immigration control. This normally means having Right of Abode in the UK or holding Indefinite Leave to Remain. If your mother was a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and held Right of Abode in the UK on 31 December 1982 then she would have automatically become a British Citizen on 1 January 1983. British Overseas Citizens have no automatic right to live in the UK - they would need a visa to reside in the UK.

Does your mother's CUKC passport contain any stamps or visas that might indicate her immigration status on 31 December 1982?

AM75

Apologies for the incorrect info, I have asked my mother to check ALL pages of her passport and the following statement is printed on page 5
"Holder has the right of abode in the United Kingdom"
I assume from your reply that this means she would have automatically become a British Citizen on 1st January 1983? I'm hoping this will be enough evidence for the Passport Office? As I wrote in my original post, I am aware he would be British by descent and that his nationality won't automatically pass onto his future children

BritInParis

If they have asked you to check your mother's passport then one would assume it would suffice. Your son is a British citizen by descent - that status is fixed and nothing you could do now would be able to retrospectively change it.

AM75

I am asking her to send her original passport along with a covering letter explaining everything. Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated.