sjza

Good evening

I have a bit of a unique case that I am hoping someone could assist me with.

My mother is British and holds a British passport, she was born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in April 1952.
Her father was a British Citizen (born in the UK) and was married to her mother (also to a British citizen) when my mother was born.
My father was born June 1944 in South Africa and has a SA citizenship.
My parents were married January 1988.
My younger sister was born in South Africa in August 1987, is currently in the UK on an Ancestry Visa.
I am also born in South Africa in October 1985.
My two children are South African born citizens DOB's: December 2006 & December 2018.

I wanted to find out if we (my younger sister, myself and my two children) are eligible for British citizenships? I contacted an Immigration agency and they sent me the below information:

"The UK Government entered into a treaty with the United Nations some years ago to enshrine equal rights for women. Included in the Treaty is the right for their children (and potentially, their grandchildren) to acquire her citizenship by descent on the same terms as if such a right had come down the paternal side of the family. While the UK has passed legislation to allow such claims, the Home Office has interpreted this legislation in relation to making claims to British Nationality by descent to be effective only for those born in the first generation. The existing stance of the UK Government therefore did not fully address gender discrimination in relation to citizenship applications.

It was only in 1983 that the issue of gender discrimination in British nationality law was addressed for the first time. However, there remained many areas in the law that were not taken into account, and several further changes have been made in the years since 1983 to remedy these. But the complexities of the old laws, and the legacy of the British colonial empire, meant that instances of unfairness still remain today.

Philip Gamble, founder and our Senior Partner and widely regarded as the world's leading British nationality expert on the subject, made representations to the Parliamentary sub-committee that looked into this issue. The new legislation appears to properly address the unfairness of the older law. Accordingly, it should be possible to lodge an application if one can demonstrate that - had it not been for gender discrimination in the old law - an applicant would (or could) have British nationality in the modern day. Based on your family tree, it appears that such an application would be successful. While the theory is complex, this solution broadly requires the following:

- Applicant born in a qualifying country;

- Applicant born between 1 January 1983 and 31 December 1987;

- Applicant's mother was (or could have been) a British citizen because one of her parents was born in the UK; AND

- Applicant's parents were not married at the time when the applicant was born.

PLEASE NOTE: If such an applicant has any children under the age of 18, then these children could be registered as British citizens."

It does seem like we do qualify on the requirements set above. I'm wondering if this is worth doing on our own and how do we go about making the application?

Any help or advice will be much appreciated!

Thank you, Mia

BritInParis

I can see how you and your sister would be able to register under S4L BNA 1981 on the basis that if the law had treated women the same as men and unmarried parents the same as married parents then your mother could have registered both of you as British citizens under S9 BNA 1981. I’m not seeing a solution for your children however.

sjza

Thank you so much for your reply! I actually just got an email from the Agency about the children. Unfortunately going through the agency is not possible for me at this time because I wouldn't be able to afford it. My daughter turns 18 next year December and I am trying to make a plan to move over as soon as possible.

This is what the agency said about the children:STATUS TRACE (CHILDREN)

Our British nationality specialists have now reviewed your family tree. Their opinion took into account the nationalities, dates and places of birth that you provided. The choice of opinions on your children's probability of having a valid claim to British nationality were:

• Definite (>99%)
• Likely (95%-99%)
• Further Information (5%-95%)
• UK Residence (5%-95%)
• Unclear (25%-75%)
• Unlikely (5%-25%)
• Remote (<5%)

Their answer is: LIKELY

They have added the following comments to your file notes:

-------------------------------

The good news is that your children fall into the "Likely" category.

New legislation to remedy gender discrimination on the older British nationality laws were enacted in April 2022. While any application would have to be consideration "at discretion" by the Home Secretary, a solution exists for children under 18. Accordingly, it should be possible to lodge an application if one can demonstrate that - had it not been for gender discrimination in the old law - the children's mother would (or could) have British nationality in the modern day. Based on your family tree, it appears that such an application might be successful. While the theory is complex, this solution broadly requires the following:

- Children are under the age of 18

- Children's mother or maternal grandparent born in a qualifying country;

- Children's mother born between 1 January 1949 and 31 December 1987; AND

- Children's mother has a grandparent born in the UK.

The application requires the children's mother to have already been registered at discretion under the same legislation (or for the application to be done at the same time as the mother's).

A further point to note - if your children are registered under this new law, then their children (your grandchildren) will become British citizens.

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS

The children's mother can register as a British citizen, based on new legislation to remedy gender discrimination in the old law.
Is there anything you could see from this that would make it possible - or is there another way I could bring them over with me? Thank you again for your assistance! x

sjza

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Could you please help me with a bit more information, I just don't understand how discrimination applies to us. As far as I know, we didn't get citizenship because of the year we were born, not because it's through our mother. Unless I'm missing something (and obvs I hope I am), its not discrimination? Our mother passed citizenship on to my older sister (Born August 1975). I would really like to start the application and we require a motivational letter so thus all the question. Thank you in advance!

sjza

I found some information for our application that I am wanting to please get confirmation on.

(Page 19 of 22 Published for Home Office staff on 14 October 2022)
Example 14 – section 9 of the British Nationality Act 1981
Hanif was born in Belgium in 1985. His mother was a British citizen by descent.
Section 9 of the British Nationality Act 1981 was a transitional provision that lasted
for 5 years after the Act came into force on 1 January 1983. It continued the
acquisition of citizenship by descent to a second generation, where a child’s birth
was registered at a British consulate in a foreign country. A man who was a British
citizen by descent could register his child’s birth at a consulate within 12 months of
the birth, and the child would become a British citizen.
(Page 20 of 22 Published for Home Office staff on 14 October 2022)
If women had been able to pass on citizenship equally with men, Hanif could have
become a British citizen through consular registration. Registration under section 4L
might therefore be reasonable.

So using this example could I say the following in our motivation:
Our mother is a british citizen by decent. So during the transitional provision from 1 January 1983 under section 9 of the British Nationality Act 1981, discrimination is evident in that our mother was not able to register our birth at a consulate, whereas if she had been a man, she would have.

We want to be really informed and articulate in our applications so that its easy for them to make a decision. Any assistance would be most appreciated. TIA

sjza

Is there a way to do an online application for this? I live in South Africa.

BritInParis

Yes, you’ve got the right solution.

You can apply online here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship...-circumstances

sjza

Thank you so much I really appreciate it! I will update you on our outcome!

sjza

I think I'm missing something as this is a link to a paper application. I wanted to find out if there is a way to apply online? I see when I click the 'fees' it does mention online applications as well as paper applications, but I can't seem to locate the correct link. TIA

BritInParis

My mistake - Form ARD is only available as a paper form at the moment.