UpAway

Thank you very much in advance for any assistance...
I was born in Hong Kong in 1956. I have had a British (then British European) passport for as long as I can remember. I have always understood that I did so because I was born in Hong Kong when it was a British Crown Colony. However, my Father was British (born London) and worked for Boustead's and then Jardine's in Hong Kong for many years as an expat. I have lived in Australia since I was 7. I wish to apply for a British passport for my daughter who is 17. She wants to travel to Scotland to live with her Scottish boyfriend when she turns 18. (Yes, I know !!! :-) ) We have numerous relatives in the UK. So the questions are:
Am I British "other than by descent", in which case, I believe my daughter is "automatically" a British citizen and I should simply apply for a passport for my her ? Or am I British "by descent", in which case.... am I able to Register her as a British Citizen and, if successful, then apply for her passport ?
Please help...

BritInParis

Unless your father was in Crown service when you were born then you would have became a British citizen by descent on 1 January 1983. You would need to have lived in the UK for three continuous years before the birth of your daughter to enable her to be registered as a British citizen and the application must be submitted to the Home Office before she turns 18. If she turns 18 during the application process she will need to attend a citizenship ceremony.

If you wish to confirm your status you can submit a Subject Access Request to HMPO in the UK for £10. You should ask when and under which Section and Act you became a British citizen and whether this makes you a British citizen by descent or otherwise than by descent. You can download the form here.

JAJ

And to be clear, there is no flexibility if application is not made by age 18.


Except that a person born in Hong Kong, who is a British citizen, will always be a British citizen by descent unless, a. the person acquired British citizenship after 1983 by Home Office registration/naturalisation (sometimes not even then), or b. there is Crown/designated service involved.

I'm not sure if it's possible for a HK-born British citizen to be "otherwise than by descent" in any circumstance other than noted above.

Acquisition of British citizenship would normally have been under Section 11(1) of the 1981 Act but this doesn't specify whether someone is British by descent or not, and the Passport Office doesn't care about that.

Gozit

If the OP is a British citizen by descent (his father was born in the UK by the looks of it) could his daughter not apply for an ancestry visa for the UK in her Aus passport?

JAJ

If she is ineligible for Section 3(2) or Section 3(1) registration, or if she misses the deadline to apply, then it appears that Ancestry may still be an option. However, it does require that the purpose of going to the U.K. be to work.

UpAway

Thank you. So looks as if I'm Citizen by descent. In which case, I am assuming that the only option is for her to apply for Ancestry Visa. Thank you for the link to apply for clarification. I will follow that process as well.

UpAway

[QUOTE=JAJ;11310985]And to be clear, there is no flexibility if application is not made by age 18.

Thanks. "Flexibility" in what sense please? The impression I have at the moment is that there is no flexibility in my circumstances. Am I missing something ? Cheers

UpAway

Yes, I hope so

UpAway

So I'm about to start completing the application for her Ancestry Visa. One of the problems is that there appears no way in which she can go to Uni in the UK next year other than as a foreign student (regardless of her citizenship status). So the plan at the moment is for her to work while her BF studies. Hopefully, the Ancestry Visa doesn't require a pre-arranged job to go to.

Gozit

It doesn't... AFAIK it is a very general type visa, very open as well. You just have to be working of some sort, skilled or otherwise, whilst in the UK on it. After 5 years she can get ILR and then after a further 1 year of living in the UK she can get British citizenship.

BritInParis

I did mention this in my initial post but I would suggest for £10 it's worth checking before going down the ancestry visa route just in case there are circumstances that either we or the OP are not aware of regarding his citizenship. If nothing else it's also a useful thing to have on file.

HMPO won't care in regards to the OP but they will want to know what the OP was under the 1948 Act if any of his children apply for British passports.