Eligible for UK Citizenship (JA mother, British great-grandparents)
May 28th 2012, 3:49 pm
#1
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1
Eligible for UK Citizenship (JA mother, British great-grandparents)
Hello,
Sorry if this is being placed in the wrong forum.
Due to personal reasons (boyfriend in UK), I am near desperate to move there, but unfortunately am an American citizen and do not have a lot of options when it comes to finding a job there.
However, my mother is Jamaican, and my great-grandfather (her grandfather) was from England.
Does my mother have a right to apply for UK citizenship because of her grandfather or because she is Jamaican and was born there before independence?
And then, do I have a right to apply?
I was born after January 1983 which matters, I think, from the various pages I have come across with similar questions. But all the information is jumbled up and I cant figure out a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Sorry if this is being placed in the wrong forum.
Due to personal reasons (boyfriend in UK), I am near desperate to move there, but unfortunately am an American citizen and do not have a lot of options when it comes to finding a job there.
However, my mother is Jamaican, and my great-grandfather (her grandfather) was from England.
Does my mother have a right to apply for UK citizenship because of her grandfather or because she is Jamaican and was born there before independence?
And then, do I have a right to apply?
I was born after January 1983 which matters, I think, from the various pages I have come across with similar questions. But all the information is jumbled up and I cant figure out a definitive answer.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Jun 12th 2012, 4:52 am
#2
Retired
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,649
Re: Eligible for UK Citizenship (JA mother, British great-grandparents)
When Jamaica became independent in 1962, Jamaicans ceased to be British and became ... Jamaican citizens. That was the whole point of becoming independent.
Your mother might or might not be a British citizen. Depends on which grandfather (paternal or maternal) was UK born and assuming there were no complications from legitimacy. If she is a British citizen then she is probably a British citizen by descent from 1.1.1983 and hence this isn't going to help you, unless there's something else in the picture that you've not told us about. Such as UK-recruited Crown Service or an ancestor born in somewhere else that remained a colony.
If your mother is only Jamaican, she might still be eligible for an ancestry visa to work in the U.K. - but this probably won't help you. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
You may be able to get a Jamaican passport which might (as a Commonwealth citizen) get you some temporary work visa for the U.K. but as far as I know there are not as many options as a few years ago. And a Jamaican passport isn't much good for travel anywhere else, and as a U.S. citizen, you will find it harder to get a security clearance (important for some careers) if you get a foreign passport - so perhaps not worth it.
Verify all of this with a U.K. immigration attorney as you should never rely on a free forum but on the surface it's not clear what options you have based on facts presented.
Your mother might or might not be a British citizen. Depends on which grandfather (paternal or maternal) was UK born and assuming there were no complications from legitimacy. If she is a British citizen then she is probably a British citizen by descent from 1.1.1983 and hence this isn't going to help you, unless there's something else in the picture that you've not told us about. Such as UK-recruited Crown Service or an ancestor born in somewhere else that remained a colony.
If your mother is only Jamaican, she might still be eligible for an ancestry visa to work in the U.K. - but this probably won't help you. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk
You may be able to get a Jamaican passport which might (as a Commonwealth citizen) get you some temporary work visa for the U.K. but as far as I know there are not as many options as a few years ago. And a Jamaican passport isn't much good for travel anywhere else, and as a U.S. citizen, you will find it harder to get a security clearance (important for some careers) if you get a foreign passport - so perhaps not worth it.
Verify all of this with a U.K. immigration attorney as you should never rely on a free forum but on the surface it's not clear what options you have based on facts presented.
