RuleBritannia

Hi BritishExpats,

Thanks for looking at this thread, my first time post. I found this forum linked on another forum and wanted to bring my situation to you all for your input, if you'd be so kind!

There are one or two complexities so I'll do my best to provide a detailed OP.

I am in the UK on a visitor visa (Aus/NZ citizen) and aiming to apply for a British Passport within the next month. I've undertaken the 'initial assessment' with a few law firms but did not find them helpful, so I'm planning to proceed with the application on my own. I've spent many hours trying to decipher the relevant laws and will present my claim with reference to them.

The synopsis of the claim I am making is that I am a British citizen by descent through my British citizen mother, both of us born in Australia outside UK, me in 1983 and her in 1951 to a natural-born British citizen, who was in the service of the Crown at the time of her birth (making her a citizen otherwise than by descent, and thus able to pass on citizenship). I am familiar with pathways that lead towards Indefinite Leave to Remain status, but for the purposes of this post I am narrowly focussed on Citizenship status.

My late grandfather was born in the UK in 1923. He served in the Royal Navy from 1939-1958, and served as an exchange officer in the Royal Australian Navy with the approval of the Royal Navy from 1950-1952. He was recruited and completed officer training in the UK.
As evidence of this I have a certified copy of his Entry of Birth from the General Records office, plus records from the Australian national archives of his exchange from the RN, his promotion to Officer recorded in the London Gazette and have requested his complete military service records from the MoD. His occupation is recorded as 'Naval Officer, Royal Navy' on my mother's Australian birth certificate.
My mother was born in Australia in 1951. She holds a British passport, which lists her nationality as 'British Citizen'. She does not recall details well but informs me that she first obtained a British passport in the 1990s, and while she lived in the UK for over 5 years as a child, it appears that she was never registered as a Citizen of the United Kingdom & Colonies as a minor, nor naturalised as one. She does not hold any documents relating to her application from when she received her passport. The National Archives did not find a result when I requested a search of their index for a duplicate citizenship certificate under her name (1949-1986). I have a certified photocopy of her Australian birth certificate and a photocopy of the name page of her British passport in support of this.

Finally there is me, born in continental Europe in 1983, registered as an Australian citizen at the local embassy, not an EU citizen, and now in the UK on a visitor visa. Based on my birth to a British citizen otherwise than by descent, I believe that I have a valid claim to British citizenship by descent and intend to apply for a British passport using a standard application with a supporting letter and evidence. The final pieces of evidence for my claim is the original extract from the Register of Births showing descent from my mother.

That is the most detailed version of my claim, including the laws and evidence supporting it. Its the first time I've put it all together like this so I'm sure there are errors and omissions. There are details which I have deliberately omitted for brevity and relevance, e.g. a full family tree. The complexities I mentioned earlier relate to the quality of the evidence required to prove my claim, and my current visa status. It may be possible to get possession of a copy of my late grandfather's passport and marriage certificate, but I'm not certain as to their relevance to proving my claim. I do not have my mother's British passport, only a photocopy, and the certified photcopy of her birth certificate is over 30 years old. My current visa status is a concern as it only lasts another three months or so, and I am uncertain of the implications of a rejected application for my continued presence in the UK. Leaving the UK to wait for a passport to be processed or to apply for a visa with work rights, while not impossible, is something that I definitely don't want to have to do.

I would appreciate hearing any views from this forum on my claim to citizenship, the legal underpinning, the evidence I have or need to obtain, and the impact on my current status in the UK of a rejected application.

Thanks so much!

BritInParis

Your claim seems pretty straightforward. Helpfully you were born in 1983 so your claim is automatic. The only issue I can see is acquiring the correct paperwork.

In addition to your grandfather’s birth certificate and MOD service record (the latter not strictly necessary but useful) you’ll also need your grandparents’ marriage certificate.

You’ll very likely need an official copy of your mother’s birth certificate as issued in the Australian state or territory in which she was born rather than a photocopy. Does your mother possess such a copy? Getting vital documents out of the Australian authorities is a pain in the rear for non-residents. You’ll likely also want your parent’s’ marriage certificate as evidence of your mother’s change of name assuming she took your father’s name upon marriage.

Assuming you haven’t changed your name since birth then you’ll just need a copy of your birth certificate. This will need to be in English but you are likely to be able to request a multilingual version from the authorities in your country of birth to avoid a costly certified translation.

Could you confirm which country your grandparents married in, your parents married in and where you were born?

(I’m assuming your father is a NZ citizen so he can be discounted.)

RuleBritannia

Thanks for your thoughts, that's really interesting to hear. I was really confused getting the initial assessments from legal firms saying I didn't have a claim and, to be honest, there's been weeks when I've changed my mind two or three times about whether I thought I had a claim based on different readings of the various laws. They never really gave me a satisfactory explanation of why they thought I didn't have a claim, so I kept working on trying to figure out the laws. Getting my head around the meaning of Section 14 of the BNA (1981) was a real stumbling block.

I'm hopeful that you're right about the MoD records being useful rather than necessary, because it seems impossible to predict when they will arrive - it could be a few months or closer to a year. I haven't found anything like there is online where people share how long their visas or passports are taking to be processed. I had looked at making an urgent request for them, but I suppose I can do that if the information is requested by HMPO, and use that request as support for the need for an urgent request.

I had considered my grandparents marriage certificate and will definitely try and get it now that you've mentioned it. I presume my mother would have needed to provide that for her own passport application, but also understand that the assessor won't be able to look at that application from maybe 3 decades ago in deciding my application. I presume it is needed due to the BNA (1948) only allowing males to pass citizenship on to 'legitimate' children?

My name's the same as on my birth certificate, and while my mother did use her married name at times, her maiden name is on both my birth certificate and her current passport so I would hope that my parents marriage certificate wouldn't be necessary for the purpose of proving my mother's change of name.
I was born in Federal Republic of Germany. Both my parents and maternal grandparents were married in Australia, and yes, your closing assumption is quite correct!

jmin

You will need your grandparents' marriage certificate, it will not be available from your mother's old application. Your mother might still have the certificate because they are returned. Your mother was also a CUKC automatically.

Your grandfather a British subject by BNA 1914 1(1)(a)
Your grandfather a CUKC by BNA 1948 12(1)(a)
Your mother a CUKC by BNA 1948 5(1)
Your grandfather a British citizen by BNA 1981 11(1). Grandfather had right of abode by IA 1971 2(1)(a) - birth in the United Kingdom.
Your mother a British citizen by BNA 1981 11(1). Mother had right of abode by IA 1971 2(1)(b)(i) - her father was born in the United Kingdom.
Your mother is a British citizen otherwise than by descent by BNA 1981 14(2)(a). Explain in detail and note that he was recruited in the UK and, in any case, officers are deemed to be recruited in the UK.
You are a British Citizen by BNA 1981 2(1)(a) - your mother is a British citizen otherwise than by descent because your father was in crown service at the time of her birth in Australia.

You will need to show that he was recruited in the UK, which is simple because he was a naval officer and you already have the documentation. If your grandfather traveled on a civilian ship to Australia, that could also help. Do you know whether that's the case (he might have flown)? If it was on a civilian ship I can find the manifest for you, which will also show his occupation. Could the exchange document that you have from the archives give an examiner the impression that he was transferred to the Australian Navy and not on an exchange? If it could not give such an impression, submit the application as soon as you have your grandparents' marriage certificate. Include your evidence, how you are a citizen, and your mother's current passport number. I would not wait on the MoD records which can take up to a year, if they ever arrive. I have put in two requests for MoD records that exist and never received a reply. When/if you do receive it, send it to HMPO if you have not yet received a decision.

BritInParis

British nationality law is easily the most complicated in the world and the Home Office doesn’t make it any easier for the layperson (or the expert for that matter) to wrap their heads around it.

Strictly speaking it shouldn’t be required if your grandfather’s occupation is listed as ‘Naval Officer, Royal Navy’ on your mother’s birth certificate as officers are assumed to have been recruited in the UK (one of the prerequisites) but it’s good you have them on order if the passport examiner decides they want them after all.

Correct.

You might get away with not providing your parents’ marriage certificate in that case. If you were born in Germany then you should be able to request a multilingual birth certificate from the Standesamt where you were born for a nominal fee if you do not already possess a translated version.

pallykin

Your situation sounds similar to mine. I applied to register for British citizenship via Form UKM from the US on 23 March 2023.

This is my family history:

Grandfather born 1895 in India to British subject father serving in the British Army.

I provided evidence of my great grandfather’s British subject status as well as evidence that he was recruited to the British Army in India from the UK: Sandhurst graduate 1884, served in the Durham Light Infantry, seconded to the British army in India in 1887. I used announcements in the London Gazette as well as Hart’s Army List accessed through findmypast.co.uk which is the British Library’s records portal.

I provided marriage certificates for my great grandparents, grandparents, and parents to evidence name changes as well as the fact that they were all married as this was a requirement at the time of all relevant births.

Grandfather lived various places as a child and was brought to the United States at age 8 and remained a US resident his whole life except during WWI. He was a British subject from birth.

Mother was born in 1928 in the US. She was a British subject from birth as her father was a British subject and he held no other citizenship (She was also a US citizen). Dual citizenship was not permitted by either country at this time.

In 1949, changes in UK citizenship law meant that both grandfather and mother became Citizens of the UK and Colonies. The UK permitted dual citizenship from this time.

in 1964, I was born in the US. Had mothers been able to pass on UK citizenship, I would have become a CUKC by descent.

In 1967, the US started recognizing dual citizenship.

In 1972, my family moved to the UK, received ILR in 1977. We moved to the US in 1978.

In 1983, the law changed allowing mothers to pass on UK citizenship to their children born abroad from 1983 onwards. This is also when British citizenship by descent and otherwise by descent came into existence replacing CUKC.

In 2002, the law was changed so that children of British mothers born between 1961 and 1982 could register to become citizens (section 4C). (In 2009 this became 1949-1982)

In later rulings, the Home Office was instructed to interpret section 4C broadly.

The route to acquiring citizenship from mothers has been a long, messy one…

RuleBritannia

Wow, that must have been quite a cover letter?!? I can only imagine the face on the Officer at HMPO opening it.

I'm just at the cover letter stage now, doing my best to include a lot of the helpful contributions with references to specific legislation made by commenters upthread. I'm worried it will turn into a bit of a convoluted novel, though.
Still waiting for my mother's birth certificate to arrive in the mail (any.. day.. now..!) but otherwise I think I am pretty set. Have found plenty of official government gazette references to my grandfather's service in the Royal Navy both before and after my mother's birth in Australia, as well as references to his role with the Royal Australian Navy as an Exchange Officer from the Royal Navy covering the period of her birth. Even some passenger lists from the early 50s.
Any cover letter tips/tricks would be welcome!

Thanks so much for all the contributions so far.

pallykin

I’m happy to be able to help others as I have already been helped…not quite paying it forward, but the same idea…

I started out with referencing section and line of legislation and once I’d convinced myself that my claim was supported, I removed those references to make it more readable. This also assuaged my fear that I would be close but not quite correct. My cover letter was 2 pages, and contained lists of the documents provided, source, and a brief explanation if it wasn’t obvious. I spent about 6 weeks on it and I was tweaking it up to the last minute.

BritInParis

Post it up when you’re finished (removing anything personally identifiable) and let the BE hive mind proof read it for you.

RuleBritannia

Hi guys,

The birth certificate I've been waiting on has arrived so now it's just me holding up the application - I'm putting up what I have so far while I work on my list of citations and documents... I still have to complete a document list to explain various attachments like citations of pages from the various Gazettes, migration records, RAN records in the Australian archives etc so I'm not quite at the point of pulling the trigger. I'm sorry I can't work out how to upload a file so I'll just put it in as a quote and hope for the best!
(Edit: Names and some other details have been changed to protect the innocent.)
I appreciate any feedback, good, bad or ugly!

jmin

This cover letter serves to provide additional details and evidence relating to my paper application for a British Passport. I am a British Citizen by x because my grandfather was in crown service with the Royal Navy at the time of my mother's birth, the recruitment having occurred in the United Kingdom. See supporting evidence below and in attachment. Have this first so when they're reading it they know what you're claiming without having to get to the very end. Otherwise it is confusing, the examiner will have to read it twice, and they are more likely to become confused.


My maternal grandfather, John Smith (deceased 2020), was born in Cornwall, on 5 November 1923. He enlisted in the Royal Navy (RN) IN THE UNITED KINGDOM at the age of 16, served through World War II continuously from X date until he retired in 1956 with the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. He was selected for Permanent Commission in 1945, with official records available of his career promotions to Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Year), Sub-Lieutenant (Year), Lieutenant (Year), and Lieutenant-Commander (Year) and retirement gazetted within the Confidential Navy List and Admiralty section of the London Gazette (Year).

Family history indicates that John was recruited to the RN as a Boy Seaman upon completion of his General Certificate of Education at Cornwall High School in 1939, with his first appointment at HMS Ganges in Harwich. A formal application for his Service Records from the Ministry of Defence is in progress at the time of this application (Reference: SXX-2435689265, 13 March 2023). The application can proceed absent the service records because I have enclosed independent proof of x,y,z (your military service claims). My claim is supported even absent the pending service records.

In 1946, on shore leave from deployment while deployed to the Far East with the British Pacific Fleet, John married my maternal grandmother Betty Green (deceased 2015) in Sydney, Australia. What was Betty Green's citizenship?John and Betty’s marriage, as well as John’s Lieutenant rank with the RN are recorded contemporaneously in the social pages and family notices in two Sydney newspapers. See attachments ("Social page from x dated, family notice from y paper dated).

(Move this below the following paragraph or incorporate this it into it). In 1950, John was appointed as an Exchange Officer on loan to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the RN. Official records of this appointment are provided from the Commonwealth Gazette in Australia and RAN service records held by the National Archives of Australia. The Commonwealth Gazette records his appointment as an Exchange Officer from the RN in 1950, promotion to Lt. Cmdr, and the termination of this appointment in 1952 with reversion to RN (Reversion to the RN implies he was in the RAN, use something else like in 1952 he was ordered to his next RN duty station in X)


Evidence of my grandfather being in Crown/designated service at the time of my mother’s birth is found in her birth certificate, where my grandfather's rank/profession is listed as “Naval Officer. Royal Navy.” (Change the order to make this first since this is what matters most for your own claim, grandfather being in Crown service at time of mother's birth) RAN service records record comments John’s role as “Exchange Officer” “on loan from RN” “for 2 years” and “reverts to RN”. (I think leave out the 'reverts' part, add some commentary about the records make clear that at all times he remained in service with RN). Further contemporaneous evidence of this overseas Crown/designated service at the time of my mother’s birth in Australia in 1950 is found in Australian and British migration records. Explain that exchange service means that you grandfather was at all times an officer in the Royal Navy and never an officer in the Australian Navy. Therefore, at the time of your mother's birth your grandfather was serving the crown in the Royal Navy. Australian records show my grandfather’s arrival in Australia in 1950 destined for “Flinders Naval Depot, Melbourne” (RAN training base HMAS Cerberus) with his wife and son. British records show his return to England in 1952, occupation listed as Naval Officer, once again with his wife and son, and with an additional listed passenger, M A Smith, my mother as a child, aged 1. The officially arranged nature of these voyages is evidenced by notations of the vessel names and passage dates entered in John’s RAN service records.

John, my maternal grandfather, was a natural born-British subject by British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 1(1)(a) - Because he was born in x UK on x date

My mother, Mary Smith, is a British citizen and passport holder (#XXXYYYZZZ). She was born in Sydney, Australia, on 25 December 1950, to John and Betty Smith while John was in Crown Service with the Royal Navy. John and Betty Smith are the parents listed in her birth certificate, marriage certificate, and marriage registry extract.

She held right of abode by the Immigration Act 1971 2(1)(b)(i) – because her father was a CUKC by birth having been born in x United Kingdom

She is a British citizen otherwise than by descent by the British Nationality Act 1981 14(2)(a) - Because, as shown on her birth certificate at the time of her birth along with with the other records provided, my grandfather was in Crown service in the Royal Navy with the recruitment having taken place in the United Kingdom.

A person born outside the United Kingdom before commencement is not a British citizen " by descent" by virtue of subsection (1)(b) or (e) if his father was at the time of his birth serving outside the United Kingdom — in service of a description mentioned in subsection (3), his recruitment for the service in question having taken place in the United Kingdom.

The service is mentioned in subsection (3) - insert this text - and the recruitment took place in the UK - mention again how you know that his recruitment took place in the UK.

I was born in Hamelin, Germany on 1 April 1983 to Dean Stuart and Mary Smith. They were married 26 January 1984 in Sydney, Australia. Dean Stuart and Mary Smith are the parents listed in my birth certificate and Australian Embassy birth registry extract. I wonder if you should even mention the marriage or if you do phrase it to show how your eligibility does not depend on your parents being married at the time of your birth.

I think it's fine because you have the birth certificate mentioning Royal Navy, but where the claim relies solely on Gazette notices and not a service record, it's a good idea to show the examiner how they can independently access the gazette notice. I would include links to the copies of the gazette notices you are including.

When the gazette notice is not publicly accessible, meaning it's in a paper or microfilm archive, having an archive employee or an independent researcher confirm it is a true record could be helpful. Otherwise, they are relying on your word that it is a true copy.

RuleBritannia

🙏

RuleBritannia

Thanks for taking the time to review my letter, I think the suggested revisions are extremely helpful and would certainly aid an assessing officer in understanding my claim.

After seeing the comments about reversion and getting a bit worried, I'm realising that I'm tip-toeing around subsection (3) re: designated service in the letter - it might be noticeable that I have written "Crown/designated service", as if trying to cover my bases. I've just done a bit more online investigation into the "Australia, New Zealand and Malaya Defence Organisation" and curiously it looks like the only existing references to such an organisation are in discussions of this section of British nationality law. There is certainly an Australian Defence Organisation that exists, which is an umbrella organisation for the Australian Defence Force (Army, Air Force, Navy) and the Government Department, and I wonder if the New Zealand and Malaya references are likewise to historical structure of the Defence Forces of those respective Commonwealth Nations?

Having come across this helpful link in another thread (https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ality-act-1981) I can see that designated service includes "service in pursuance of an appointment outside the UK in respect of which the person concerned is on secondment from Crown service under the government of the UK", with secondment from Crown service defined as "if they were in such service but are for the time being in temporary service elsewhere under arrangements whereby they are to return to Crown service when that temporary service ends".

I can appreciate the point about avoiding undue emphasis on the 'reversion' to Royal Navy for the avoidance of confusion, and I agree it could be interpreted as a 'return' to Crown service. However if I were to emphasise references to the temporary nature of the RAN service (one of the RAN records states: 'Date lent from RN (EXCHANGE): XX/XX/195X' 'Period: 2 YEARS'), potentially to the Australia, New Zealand and Malaya Defence Organisation (Australia), does this 'reversion' to RN then become a strength instead a weakness, because it dovetails nicely with the definition of designated service under the Annex A to Chapter 4 (Service Designated under Section 2(3) of the BNA 1981)? - 'on secondment from Crown service' 'temporary service under arrangements whereby they are to return to Crown service'.

I wonder if anyone has any more information on this mysterious 'Australia, New Zealand and Malaya Defence Organisation'? Is it really three separate organisations? I'm not sure if this is getting esoteric or the sort of thing that could make or break an application!! Argh!

Also, I have a 15in x 19in (37cm x 49cm) newspaper page from an archive that shows the family notices that contemporaneously corroborate the certified copy of my grandparents marriage. The print is very small! If I print it at full size, it would be A2 (or a 4x A4 poster). Could anyone suggest the best way to present this to HMPO? The archive watermark is only in the bottom right-hand corner and it's about 15 pounds to print a single A2 page at Ryman! The archive does convert the whole page to 50 A4 pages with individual columns but I feel that it is then removed from the context (Newspaper title, date, page number, etc).

jmin

Yes, that would be a strength. Remind them that "lent" means that he would return to his RN service, so it is covered, and he did return to RN service. "Persons are on "secondment" from Crown service if they were in such service but are for the time being in temporary service elsewhere under arrangements whereby they are to return to Crown service when that temporary service ends." which means that - according to the Home Office - it is crown/designated service.

The Australia, New Zealand and Malaya Defence Organisation is listed as service designated under 2(3) of the British Nationality Act. It's not three separate organisations although your grandfather might have joined just before New Zealand joined. Eventually, it became the Five Power Defence Arrangements (which is not designated and occurred long after your grandfather's service ended). Was the service for this organisation? If it was mention that and refer them to the designated service organisation list, you could include a copy of it since it's one or two pages. Even if it was not this organisation, his service would also be covered by "Service in pursuance of an appointment outside the United Kingdom in respect of which the person concerned is on secondment from Crown service under the government of the United Kingdom or of a qualifying territory."

[/QUOTE]

Besides their marriage, this proves that he was in service with the RN, when he was recruited, and so on? Print it on A4. Remember that you have a birth certificate listing your grandfather's occupation which is the most important piece of evidence you have since it proves that he was in service at the time of your mother's birth. The rest of it supports that he had uninterrupted service in the RN, having been recruited for it in the UK. You have enough for the claim.

what do the gazette entries say?

RuleBritannia

Great, I can amend that.
I guess my focus on this A/NZ/M Defence Organisation is that I can't see the Royal Australian Navy included in the list at 3A in the Annex A to Chapter 4, although the RAN does form part of the Australian Defence Organisation, which is not separately listed from the A/NZ/M DO but could be considered a component part. Is it accurate to say that this is not relevant, since the service qualifies as 'designated' by fulfilling point 2 as discussed (on temporary secondment from Crown service elsewhere under arrangements whereby they are to return to Crown service).

The newspaper provides contemporaneous evidence from a secondary source, which I understand to be valued by HMPO when original documents can not be provided (I have certified copies of grandfather's birth cert, grandparents marriage cert, mother's birth cert, parents marriage cert.

The newspaper clippings have the following text which I think is helpful:
WEDDINGS: Date, location, by Rev. X, daughter of X, of X, to Lieut. John Smith, R.N., son of X, of X, England
SOCIAL NEWS: RN parties for departing RN officers: Newlyweds will soon be apart for a while are Lieut. John Smith and his bride; Lieut. Smith will be departing this week.
The Gazette entries have the following text:
Entry #1: Lieut. John Smith is appointed on loan from the Royal Navy (Exchange Officer), with seniority in rank of X/X/195X, dated X/X/195X.
Entry #2: Promotions - Lieutenants ... John Smith ... are promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, dated X/X/195X
Entry #3: Termination of appointments - The appointments of the following are terminated on reversion to the Royal Navy - Lieutenant Commander John Smith, dated X/X/195X

Another curly issue is that I have two different versions of my mother's birth cert from the 50s and I'm not sure whether to send both or just the one that arrived most recently. The most recent one appears to be a scan of an entry into a book or birth register, with a hand written number in the left-hand column of the register. The other copy looks more like a form, with printed fields and hand-written text in the fields. This copy, which I'm guessing is the short form certificate, is a little more clearly legible but was certified nearly 20 years ago. Any thoughts on which ones to send?