EiBaW

Hi there! My partner and I are planning to move to the UK within the next year & I was just looking at my options as to what to apply for in regard to visas, citizenship etc. I know definitely that I have access to an Ancestry Visa as my paternal grandfather was born in London & was a citizen. My main question is if I have citizenship or not. I've listed some details as frankly I've looked for hours online & I know there's a lot of ifs & buts but I just thought I'd get a bit more perspective.

My grandfather was born in London & moved to Australia at 18months old.
He served in the Australian military (Church militia) between 1939-1945 but he was discharged at some point as his father fell ill & was a farmer which counted as essential services to the war effort. I know this is counted as Crown Service but have found it extremely hard to get specific dates.

My father was born in 1944 in Australia & has British citizenship. What I'm unclear on is if this is by descent or otherwise. He worked with Australia Post for 41 years & was there when I was born in 1987. I'm unsure if this counts as Crown Service regardless of his by descent or otherwise status. I've found articles that state that public utilities under a colonial government are included. Again this is unclear as Australia became a dominion in 1949. I assume not but assumptions are quick exits for lazy minds as they say.

Any help would be appreciated as I am immensely confused. My grandfather isn't here anymore & my father thinks he had already been discharged at his birth but the NAA National Records don't specify, only that he served between those dates which included Dad's birth. Thanks in advance!

BritInParis

Your grandfather would have needed to have been recruited in the UK in order for your father to be British otherwise than by descent. If he emigrated to Australia at 18 months I suspect that is unlikely.

EiBaW

No, he was definitely recruited in Australia. But I have actually found examples of people being eligible through the Australia, NZ & Malaya Defence Force recruited in Australia because it was a British conflict. I'm not sure if this extends to WWII but thought I'd ask.

BritInParis

That would be rather irregular. Do you have a link to these examples?

EiBaW

Not a direct example but a list of inclusions on What Passport .com. I can't post a URL as I'm too new here but if you search for British Citizenship by Double Descent (Crown Service), if it was prior to 1949, Australia is classed as a former British territory & therefore any recruitment done before 1949 is counted as British recruitment.

BritInParis

As that page points out your grandfather would still needed to have been recruited in the UK.

EiBaW

"In most cases, the recruitment must have occurred or initiated in the UK, but there are exceptions to this general rule. For example, management positions or those at officer level can be deemed to have been made from the UK." That's what I'm going off. Either way, I feel as though I'd have to find out exact dates of service and his rank. I know he was in charge of others but don't know to what degree.

BritInParis

British officers are generally deemed to have been recruited in the UK as they would need to attend one of officer training and commissioning centres, e.g. Sandhurst, however it seems your grandfather served in the Australian army. I'm not sure what you mean by 'church militia'. Do you know what unit he served with?

EiBaW

No idea sorry. I'm not even really sure what the church militia is either. I think it had something to do with being recruited for the army through the church as that was the easiest way to reach people in country areas. Dad doesn't know as he was just an infant.

BritInParis

What does the NAA say about your grandfather's service?

EiBaW

Nothing other than that he served in the military between 1939-1945. They don't even specify which service he was in. All I know is he trained troops in Newcastle, NSW & was then discharged due to being needed for essential services. I can get papers to say exactly that but that's it. He never served overseas. I also don't know if he was discharged in reserve or just discharged altogether. I know any claim for British citizenship on my part would be weak but I was just hoping to avoid the naturalisation process if possible.

BritInParis

To be honest, even if you had full records of your grandfather's service, as he wasn't recruited in the UK then it's very unlikely you would qualify for British citizenship. Since an UK Ancestry visa is an option I would focus on getting that if you want to make a move to the UK. Relatively speaking it is a very cheap and easy way to become a British citizen.

HKG3

The Church militia is likely to be something similar to the 'pals battalion' during WWI where men from similar backgrounds were grouped together to form a battalion - for example the Post Office Rifles.