twinfish101

Hey folks, thanks for reading!

Here's the situation. I applied for British citizenship by descent as a child born to a British mother before 1983 through Form UKM in March of this year. I finally heard back from Home Office only to have them request additional paperwork, namely my mom's "CUKC registration/naturalization certificate."

From what I can gather, they want proof that my mom retained or established herself as a British Subject of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) after Jamaica became independent in 1962 (she was born in Jamaica in 1944). This is despite the fact that Jamaica was a British colony when she was born, the fact that she moved to England in 1948 & lived there till around 1974, and the fact that she had multiple British passports. I've submitted a copy of my mom's last British passport that is clearly stamped "British Subject: Citizen of the United Kingdom & Colonies," issued in 1969, but apparently this isn't enough.

It makes no sense to me that they would issue my mom a British passport after 1962 if she wasn't established as a British citizen. My mom doesn't recall ever having to do any additional paperwork after Jamaica was granted its independence, nor does the rest of her Jamaica-born family that remains in England to this day.

I have inquired with the National Archives but they were unable to find any record of a naturalization certificate for her & advised that I try the Passport Office as citizenship/naturalization information should have been submitted with the passport application. Home Office has also said that they will do a status check through the Passport Office. I have sent a request for information to the Passport Office today & will see what they say.

In the meantime, I'm wondering if anyone else can suggest any other stone that I may need to turn? I haven't run across anyone with a similar situation. I understand the general rules about Jamaicans losing their British citizenship when Jamaica received independence in 1962, but it seems like my mom's situation may be a unique one. I fear it may take hiring an attorney to get a definitive answer.

Thanks for any ideas you can provide!

JAJ

As far as I understand, and you'd need to see the U.K. Act granting Jamaica independence to confirm, the fact that your mother was living in the United Kingdom when Jamaica became independent did not in itself exempt her from loss of Citizenship of the U.K. & Colonies (CUKC) if she became a Jamaican citizen at Independence.

Nor is a CUKC passport issued in 1969 conclusive evidence that she retained CUKC. While this suggests she might have retained or re-acquired CUKC, it's also possible that the Passport Office at the time renewed her CUKC passport (by mistake) without checking to see if there was a loss of CUKC in the meantime.

So is there a basis for assuming your mother retained her CUKC status at independence? For example, was her father or paternal grandfather born in the U.K. or a place that remained a colony? Was she married to a man who retained CUKC status? There is further information on the concept of exceptions to loss of CUKC and independence of colonies in the Home Office Nationality Instructions.

By the way, since Jamaica was (and is) a Commonwealth country, if your mother had lost CUKC and then re-acquired it, it would generally have been by registration (with the Home Office) instead of naturalisation.