LDL707

My great-grandfather was born in Scotland in 1898. He moved to the United States as a young boy, and did not naturalize until he was in his 40s. It is my belief that he was certainly a British subject until his naturalization.

My grandfather was born in the United States in 1922. Under Section 1(b)(i) of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act of 1914 (descent through the legitimate male line), he was a British subject. It is my understanding that he did not lose this when his father naturalized, because he was already over the age of 21, and thus not included in his father's naturalization.

My grandfather married my grandmother in 1947. (My grandmother was also American born, but not British by birth.) It is my understanding that this marriage resulted in my grandmother automatically becoming a British subject by marriage under Section 10 of the 1914 Act.

When the British Nationality Act of 1948 took effect, I believe they both became CUKCs (my grandfather under Section 12(2) and my grandmother under Section 12(5)). According to Section 12(8), my grandfather became a CUKC by descent only.

It does not appear, though, that there was a similar provision that applied to my grandmother. (This seems reasonable, since at the time, a woman couldn't pass citizenship to her children anyway, so a law regulating that wouldn't make sense in the first place.) In fact, the definition of CUKC by descent seems to excluded her directly, since her father was not born in the UK.

My mother was born in 1957, in the United States. Her father was a CUKC by descent, so he was unable to pass citizenship form to his children. My grandmother was unable to pass her citizenship to her children because she was a woman.

If the genders of my grandparents were reversed--that is, if my grandmother had been a CUKC by descent and my grandfather had been a CUKC otherwise than by descent--my mother would have been a citizen at birth.

I have several questions. First, is my understanding of the legal statuses of the above people correct? Second, under the new laws that address historical legislative discrimination, does my mother have the ability to register as a British citizen today? Third, if my mother had been a British citizen by descent at the time of my birth in 1982, she would have had the option to register my birth with the consulate and thus secure citizenship for me. If my mother is indeed able to register, am I then able to register as well?

In looking through the guidance for form UKM, my mother seems to meet all of the requirements. (Namely, she was born before 1983, she would have become a CUKC by descent if citizenship was transferable by mothers, and one of her father's parents was a citizen by birth.) But it doesn't look like I would qualify, since my grandmother's citizenship was due to marriage before 1949, which was automatic and not registered. Is it considered citizenship by registration, or would citizenship by marriage not count?

BritInParis

It would appear your mother has a claim to registration under Section 4C (Form UKM) however you may wish to consider registration under Section 4L (Form ARD).

w0mbat

I am no expert however like BritInParis I think it seems your mother might now be eligible for BC by descent from her mother. Generally however, I think that means she would not have been able to then pass that citizenship on to you since you are a step further away (double descent). But please do NOT take my advice on this subject. I think you also could explore non-standard UKM routes to see if any might apply to you. If you have not already done this, then you could start by googling the 3 words British nationality assessment - and that will bring up one or more free online enquiry forms you could fill out. At least one immigration law firm (offering the online form) also offers to provide a free expert assessment based on the data you input to the form... meaning you can receive an immigration lawyers simple assessment about whether or not your own Registration has a good chance of success or not. Unfortunately not all immigration lawyers have first hand experience of non-standard routes so be certain to look for immigration lawyers websites that specifically state they are experienced with non-standard UKM routes. Good luck!

mikelincs

BritinParis is the Go To expert for this sort of question on this forum.

LDL707

In doing that, do I need all the documents for both applications? Or can I get them for my mom's UKM application, and then submit ARD with her newly issued citizenship certificate for my own application?

Also, there's one thing that has me a bit concerned. Under the 1971 Immigration Act, I wouldn't have had right of abode through my mother, since neither my mother nor her parents were born in the UK. It looks like I wouldn't have become a British Citizen in 1983, but rather a British Overseas Citizen. Am I still eligible to become a British citizen today? Does that disqualify me? Or does it mean I can only become a BOC?

BritInParis

Entirely up to you how you want to play. Your application will not rely on your mother’s successful registration.

The wording of Section 4L is very broad and makes no requirement that you hold ROA in order to qualify for British citizenship.

LDL707

Doesn't the 1981 BNA have that requirement though? A CUKC who didn't have ROA didn't become a British Citizen on 1 January 1983.

4L seems as though it only allows people who would have become citizens if not for legislative unfairness to now become citizens. Even if women were treated the same as men, I wouldn't have had ROA through my mother or her parents, and thus wouldn't have become a British Citizen. Why would I have the ability to become one now?

(As an aside, my paternal grandmother was born in the UK, but I'd prefer not to go that route, since it opens the question of why my father--a CUKC by descent at the time of my birth--didn't register my birth with the Consulate, and why the government should believe that my parents would have exercised that option if my mother was a CUKC by descent at the time of my birth.)

carl_robson

BritInParis first of all, let me thank you for all of your advice on this forum! I’ve learnt a tonne from you as I helped friends with their 4L applications. We applied on the basis that they’d have become CUKCs by consular registration (all born before 1983, maternal great-grandmother born in the UK, all subsequent generations in Peru). I read afterwards that the scope of this legislation wasn’t to rectify the situation of those who could have become British Overseas citizens, which would have been the case for them, as ROA would have stopped with their mother. You mention above that the scope of 4L is written in broad terms, so I wondered whether you’d heard of any successful applications based on the above? Thanks so much!

BritInParis

It does but that’s a separate consideration from Section 4L itself.

How did your father become a CUKC by descent?

BritInParis

Section 4L is only designed to deal with historical unfairness based on gender rather than grant citizenship to those who would not otherwise have a claim. British citizenship typically cannot be passed beyond the first generation born abroad.

Consular birth registration for the second generation born abroad means a person with a UK-born grandparent can now be registered as a British citizen if they were previously unable to exercise this option but a great-grandparent born in the UK would indicate they are the third generation born abroad and are therefore very unlikely to have a claim regardless of historical unfairness.

carl_robson

BritInParis thanks so much for the quick response - I did think that would be the case but we thought it was worth trying as the guidance mentions being prevented from becoming a CUKC. It’s a long shot but worth it for £80! We also explained that their mother would have moved to the UK prior to their births, as well as afterwards while they were minors, due to the military dictatorship and subsequent civil war in Peru, had she been granted the same citizenship rights as her cousins who descend from male, UK-born ancestors (all of whom still hold UK passports, with the right of abode, to this day). She has very aware of this for decades and submitted an affidavit with their applications covering all the context. I suspect a lot depends on the caseworker assigned and whether they consider this argument to be reasonable/plausible. We shall hopefully know soon!