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British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Old Jun 12th 2018, 8:28 am
  #1  
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Default British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Hi everyone, looking for some advice. My great grandparents were both born in Scotland, but my mom was adopted at birth by my grandparents in Durban, South Africa (grandparents were born in South Africa). What are my chances, if any, of applying for a British passport, which would be 3rd generation for me? I can’t seem to find any info on how my moms adoption affects the whole scenario?
‘Thanks for any help on this.
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Old Jun 12th 2018, 12:10 pm
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Probably unlikely but you’ll need to provide the years of birth and genders for everyone before we can decide for sure.
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Old Jun 12th 2018, 12:55 pm
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Thanks for replying BritInParis, birth and genders of my mothers family are as follows:
‘my mother, PH Greig, born 1943
my grandfather, CBW Greig, born 1907
my grandmother, I Simpson, born 1909
I have the birth certificate of my grandfather, where it gives my great grandfather (James D Greig) and great grandmother’s names (Ellen Janet Nicol) and place of birth, being Scotland. Oh dear, I’m so sorry, this is all that I have, I don’t have my great grandparents birth years, I’m actually a little lost on how or where I would get those....
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Old Jun 12th 2018, 9:52 pm
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

And presumably no information is available regarding your mother's birth parents? Which year were you born?
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Old Jun 13th 2018, 4:08 am
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Yes, you are correct, nothing available for birth parents. Forgot about myself: female, born 1970.
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Old Jun 15th 2018, 12:28 am
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Before 1950, UK adoption law did not permit a British subject to adopt any child who was not a British subject so the concept of citizenship via adoption at the time of your mother's adoption did not exist in British nationality law. By virtue of her birth in South Africa your mother would've already been a British subject at birth so it was not an issue. In any case the adoption was made in South Africa, not the UK. Her adoption would not have affected her nationality status. Her parents would've need to have made an application to have her registered a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies before she turned 18 in order for her to continue to be British after 1949.
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Old Jun 15th 2018, 7:19 am
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Thank you BiP, your research ability and wealth of knowledge is just astounding!!
Such interesting info, I have a feeling she probably wasn’t registered, my grandfather had already passed on by that time and my grandmother had many serious health issues therafter. If though, I did want to take a final stab at checking ( because we are such curious beings), how would I go about doing this?

on a separate issue, all is not totally lost, it seems my hubby will qualify for a passport, having a British born and bred mum, as well as a British born and bred grandfather and his birth being 1967, so we could then look at a spousal visa? Very expensive and a lot of complicated documentation, I did want to see if I was able to apply for my own passport using my family history.
‘The more I read on this amazing forum, the more i see that an ancestral visa might be a better option for the spouse, it seems to be a much simpler process as well? Even though hubby qualifies for a passport, can he opt rather for an ancestral visa and apply for permanent residency after 5+ years? Would that work for both of us.
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Old Jun 15th 2018, 9:35 am
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

I’m not sure how to edit.
Just to clarify, hubby would apply for an ancestral visa and I would be his dependent.
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Old Jun 15th 2018, 12:06 pm
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

Originally Posted by Scottlind
Thank you BiP, your research ability and wealth of knowledge is just astounding!!
Such interesting info, I have a feeling she probably wasn’t registered, my grandfather had already passed on by that time and my grandmother had many serious health issues therafter. If though, I did want to take a final stab at checking ( because we are such curious beings), how would I go about doing this?
If your mother is still alive then you can ask her. She may not know about registration but you can ask her if she has ever held a British passport. You can also ask the National Archives to search for a copy of her certificate if it exists.

on a separate issue, all is not totally lost, it seems my hubby will qualify for a passport, having a British born and bred mum, as well as a British born and bred grandfather and his birth being 1967, so we could then look at a spousal visa? Very expensive and a lot of complicated documentation, I did want to see if I was able to apply for my own passport using my family history.
‘The more I read on this amazing forum, the more i see that an ancestral visa might be a better option for the spouse, it seems to be a much simpler process as well? Even though hubby qualifies for a passport, can he opt rather for an ancestral visa and apply for permanent residency after 5+ years? Would that work for both of us.
Originally Posted by Scottlind
I’m not sure how to edit.
Just to clarify, hubby would apply for an ancestral visa and I would be his dependent.
Your husband would be eligible to apply to register as a British citizen if his mother was born in the UK but he was born before 1983. This means that he is not currently a British citizen. Normally he would still have Right of Abode in the UK as a Commonwealth citizen with a British-born mother, meaning he would have to jump through the usual hoops to sponsor you for a spouse visa, but fortunately for you South Africa was not a member of the Commonwealth during the relevant dates. Assuming your husband is a South African citizen and holds no other Commonwealth citizenship, he can instead apply for a UK Ancestry visa and include you as a dependent. A far more simple and cheaper option.

I would 'play' the system in the following manner:

1) Your husband applies for a UK Ancestry visa and includes you as a dependent.

2) You both travel to the UK to live and work for five years.

3) You both apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain at the end of the five year period.

4) As soon as you both receive ILR your husband immediately applies for registration as a British citizen using Form UKM. No English language or Life in the UK test required; current price is £80.

5) As the spouse of a British citizen you can then apply for naturalisation as a British citizen without any further waiting period (normally one year). You would need to comply with the standard requirements for naturalisation and pay the normal fee but you will have 'skipped' the extra year you would normally have to wait. There is also no requirement for you to intend to remain in the UK after naturalisation if you are married to a British citizen if you wanted to return to South Africa or move on elsewhere.
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Old Jun 15th 2018, 4:42 pm
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Default Re: British passport with scottish great grandparents and adopted mom?

This is fantastic information BiP!!
Sadly mom hasn’t been around for many years, I’m pretty sure I’d remember a passport book, but just in case, I’m going to send off a request anyway to the link you kindly provided. Even if it’s just for peace of mind. Besides, I’ll never know unless I try. I’ll drop a message here if there is a positive outcome.
As for the rest of your message, well, I’m still grinning. Really, this is so great. We’ll definitely go with your plan, it makes total sense and is such an easier / less costly route.
Once again, thank you so much for your willingness to help and share information and for steering me in the right direction.
Kind regards
(still grinning!)
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