judyv

A couple of months ago I wrote this on the forum:

I was born in Kenya in 1956 to British born parents. My birth was registered at the British High Commission in Nakuru 4 days after by birth.

My 2 children were born in Israel after 1983 and when they were 2 and 3 respectively I tried to register them as British citizens at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv - only to be told that this was not possible as I was condsidered British by Descent following changes in British Nationality Law in 1981. I was deeply shocked, but was told nothing could be done.

I would like to tell anyone who may be in a similar situation to this that I engaged the services of a first rate immigration lawyer in England. He presented my case to the Home Office and yesterday I was informed that the HO now considers me "British other than by descent" and therefore both my children (who are now 25 and 27) have finally gained British citizenship!

It was a long and frustrating haul, I was constantly told that I had no chance of changing my status from BBD to BOTBD but my fantastic lawyer managed it. So, if you have a difficult immigration problem please write to me personally and I will be happy to recommend my lawyer to you.

Perth

That is indeed remarkable! Congratulations!

JAJ

Interesting. What exactly have the Home Office done? Have they considered your children British since they were born, or have they issued them with Certificates of Registration.

Either way, they will need to make sure they are issued with documentation from the Home Office of their status. They will need this to get British passports, and also in case their passports are ever lost.

judyv

My boys were issued with a "Status letter - IPS notification". The letter states that the bearer is a British citizen under section 2 1a of the British Nationality Act 1981.

In the same letter it states "Mother is a British citizen "otherwise than by descent" as she held the Right of Abode under section 2 1b i AND section 2 1d of the Immigration Act 1971 and is therefore beyond the scope of section 14 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

I imagine that if I am classified as British other than by descent that makes my sons British by descent by birth - thus rendering them immediately eligible for British passports.

My lawyer says he was able to obtain this for me BECAUSE I was born specifically in Kenya - people born in other colonies may not be able to do this. He is an expert in British Colonial law and proposed a very specific interpretation of the law that was apparently accepted by the Home Office.

BritInParis

From memory, Kenya was a special case because upon independence its constitution did not grant Kenyan citizenship to those born in Kenya to parents who were both born outside Kenya.

judyv

Yes - that is certainly true. Although if that is the case I wonder why I was classified as British by descent in the first place - there were plenty of other Brit expats like me in my school in Kenya so it wasn't just my own personal problem.

Anyway, the main thing is my kids finally got the recognition we were desperate for after 26 years!

BritInParis

That would be Tel Aviv's mistake. Under normal circumstances you would have been British by descent, but your circumstances relating to your birth in Kenya changes that. You should have been allowed to register your boys at the BE in Tel Aviv as they have always been British by descent through you and the status letter from IPS is a confirmation of this.

judyv

yes - when they were 2 and 3 respectively I went to the BE in Tel Aviv to get them put on my passport . I was told that it was impossible because I had not registered the children within a year of their birth and that nothing could be done.

I got loads of documents together proving my British ancestry and appealed to the Home Office through Tel Aviv. My request was refused. They told me I had to go and live in England with the kids and then they could be naturalised. I thought that was the end of it and tried to reconcile myself to the situation. It caused many problems over the years and we all felt very bitter about it.

Recently I contacted this amazing lawyer as a sort of last ditch attempt and he told me we had a chance. It took a while and not a little money but we were finally successful.

The really annoying thing is that the Tel Aviv embassy had the discretion to grant them the citizenship when they were small - even though we missed the registration deadline. My lawyer told me this. (Many people missed the deadline as it was not publicised- no Internet then and it was a relatively new law (1981) and many people didn't know about it)

You could say all's well that ends well but my kids and I would have been spared a lot of grief and anguish over the years if the BE in Tel Aviv had just taken the trouble to learn the new law.

GwynethS

Congratulations, we are in a very similar situation. I think what happened here is that you were always British otherwise than by descent since you were born in Kenya, but it can be complicated to get the government to acknlowdge this because Kenya is no longer a colony?
I would love your lawyers information!

judyv

I would be happy to help you in any way possible. Perhaps you could send me a private email and we can correspond privately about the matter.