ZenAgain

My situation:

Father born in UK in 1932
Father married in Canada in 1958 to Canadian citizen
I was born in 1963 in Canada

Am I a British citizen?

Checking at the gov.uk site say's I am not a Citizen.

https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen

The failing criteria seems to be that I am "Before 1 January 1983".

But some of what I've read I may be British by Descent. Does that not apply if I did not get Citizenship by 1983?

Am I British Citizen or not?

BritInParis

Yes.

Novocastrian

Windbag.

Pulaski

Different rules apply for births from 1983 onwards, but specifically if you were born outside the UK prior to 1983, if your father is a British citizen born in the UK, and your father was married to your mother at the time you were born, then you are a British citizen.

There would be different rules if it was your mother and you were born prior to 1983, or if your parents weren't married, but under your circumstances you are a British citizen.

holly_1948

Yes, as long as your father was still alive and married to your mother on the day you were born then you are a British Citizen. If not it gets more complicated.

ZenAgain

Thanks all for the replies!

poida

I didn't realise it was this straight forward, this means my Mum is eligible for a British Passport (by descent) as her situation is very similar? Dad born in London 1911, married in NZ in 1938 and she born in NZ 1952. All her brothers were born before 1949 and got their British Passorts but she was always told she missed out because she was born after 1949 (and was a girl.) They could have been teasing her or just plain ignorant.

She is coming for a visit next month, should my mum just send in an application for a British Passport and see what happens? Maybe best wait until after her visit if it takes too long.

BritInParis

It does appear that your mother would be a British citizen by descent. The post-1949 birth line of thinking probably came about because New Zealand citizenship didn't start until 1 January 1949 - before that date all New Zealanders were solely British subjects. If she was born in New Zealand in 1952 then she would have become a New Zealand citizen by birth and a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent (now British citizenship) Her sex is irrelevant.

Depends on how long she is staying. She'll need to be interviewed if she's applying for a first British passport as an adult in the UK.

poida

Only for a few weeks and I don't think they can fast-track first time applications. I'll just help her with the forms while she's here and then post them off after she's left.

Thanks for your help BritInParis!

BritInParis

That won't work because she'll be in New Zealand when she is called for an interview in the UK. HMPO recommends six weeks to apply for a first time passport in the UK. She'll be better off applying from New Zealand. She'll need her full birth certificate, her father's full birth certificate and her parents' marriage certificate as a minimum.