skyhigh247

Hello!

I have a little surprisingly case. I am white male living in Egypt. My father is Arab but my grandmothers siblings are white, fortunately I got the white skin color gene and I suspect that one of the English soldiers married an Egyptian woman as Britain occupied Egypt for more than 32 years.

Some English soldiers lived in Egyptian villages near to my grandmother area for a while and most of my grand mother’s family members have white skin although all Egyptian are tanned. Does that mean I am English? If yes, how can I obtain the British citizenship?

Thank you so much for reading.

scot47

Genetics is not enough. You need documentary evidence ! UK Govt has published this guide


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

skyhigh247

What kind of documents? How to validate them?

livinginnyc

Even if you did have the documentation that your grandfather was potentially British, I'm 90% sure that British by descent only goes down one generation i.e, your mother/father - so you would not be eligible.

scot47

Use the points listed on that link I gave you.

BritInParis

If your grandfather was born in the UK and was serving in the British Army at the time of your relevant parent's birth then you would potentially have a claim to British citizenship. You would however need to provide the relevant birth and marriage certificates.

skyhigh247

Providing those documents is absolutely impossible as arrival of my white grand father might happened about +100 years ago. So I am thinking to take a DNA test first and compare the results to the general genetic chromosomes properties of the English people, if I happen to be British by genetics I might consider moving to Britain for good.

However I am still wondering, would the government officials accept a blood test as a piece of evidence instead of birth and marriage documents?

spouse of scouse

No, this wouldn't be acceptable evidence. Many people have traced their ancestors back much further than 100 years ago.

not2old

suppose that you have your own birth certificate, that on that certificate are your parents details. From that you could get each of their birth certificates that would show their relevent parents (your grandparents) details

Working backwards like so many folks do having both the parents & grandparents details, date of & place of birth... this is your starting point & no, a DNA will not surfice

So, lets suppose your grandfather was UK born, once you have his birth certificate (easily obtainable once you know his name & place of birth) you can come back to the thread with his name, place of birth in the UK etc & I'm sure that someone here will try to find if he served in the British army in Egypt

skyhigh247

Good idea. I went back four generations using the names my mother told me in which most of them are white people, but now I'm stuck at the 4th female generation. Which parent should I check further male or female?

And I am not a troll. As matter of fact I find it funny as it's truly a unique case. lol

SanDiegogirl

NO ....

Shirtback

"White" is not a qualifying category. DNA testing (most likely) won't help you.

What nationality were these ancestors for whom you have found documentation?

The British were not the only white people in Egypt over the last couple of hundred years...

not2old

White is of no consequence, stick with if your grandfather was born in the UK, the father to your mother or dad to try to get grandfathers birth certificate

As already posted in post #6 & post# 9 its the Grandfather (that you mentioned in your OP) with the proof of he being born in the UK & that he served in the British army at the time of your mother/dads birth if that ever happened, then you may qualify for British citizenship.

Go with that Grandfather that was born in the UK that may have served in the British army. Follow that trail, get your mother or dad & grandfather (born in the UK) birth certificates & start with that, then come back to see if someone can help find if he served in the British army in Egypt



.

skyhigh247

Yes I'm already trying to trace him but the question is, should I get the birth certificates for male or female grandparent (of the farthest white person who died about 70 years ago). If I check both, this situation will direct me to another ENDLESS family trees. So I am really stuck here, any help?

spouse of scouse

Why don't you get both birth certificates and research both sides?

I must say I find the wording you use in your posts odd. For a start, 'white' has nothing to do with Britishness. I'm white but I'm not British. Similarly, many 3rd and 4th generation British citizens don't have white skin, but are just as British as their paler counterparts.

I also don't understand why you consider it 'lucky' that you have white skin. It doesn't matter what colour your skin is, you either have British ancestry, or you don't.