eggtimer

I have read all the online documentation and cannot find the answer to this:

I was born in the USA prior to 1983 to a mother and maternal grandparents who were born in the UK. Question: My mother became a US citizen BEFORE I was born, am I still eligible for UK "Citizenship by Descent"?

HKG3

Well, you can have a look at the link below to start with -

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-...british-mother

I am sure that BritInParis will be able to answer your question in greater detail.

If you are not able to get British Citizenship by descent from your mother, then you can always apply for an UK Ancestry visa as one of your grandparents was born in the UK. See link below -

https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/overview

formula

US citizens are not allowed to have UK Ancestry visas.

With a mother born in the UK before 1983, it seems she was born a UK citizen. Meaning you are a UK citizen too (by descent). BoP or JAJ will be able to confirm or you can check here
https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen

not2old

to add to post#2 & 3, from our very own Britishexpats wiki

British Citizenship by Descent : British Expat Wiki

BritInParis

Children born outside the UK to British mothers before 1983 were not automatically entitled to British citizenship as British nationality law at this time only allowed for citizenship to be passed through the legitimate paternal line.

This changed in 1983 and since 2004 those who would have been born British before 1983 if British mothers were able to pass on their citizenship in the same way as British fathers could at the time can apply to be registered as British citizens providing the applicant is of good character. This is known as a Section 4C registration.

The application itself is free although you are required to swear/affirm an oath of allegiance to the the Queen and pledge your loyalty to the United Kingdom during a citizenship ceremony at your nearest British consulate. A fee of £80 is charged for arranging this.

A new requirement starting this month is the enrolment of your biometric data (photograph, fingerprints) as part of the application process. The rollout schedule doesn't reach the US until 31 May. It's not clear at this stage where you would need to enrol or whether a separate fee will be associated with the enrolment process. The Home Office should write to you after you have lodge your application with further details.

Your mother becoming a US citizen before your birth is unlikely to have affected her British citizenship as the UK has allowed dual nationality since 1949.

In order to be registered as a British citizen you need to make an application to the Home Office in Liverpool using Form UKM. More information can be found here.

eggtimer

THANK YOU BIP and others for response. I was looking at another of your postings BIP and see I need to supply my mother's original birth certificate. She was born in Arbroath in 1921 and I do not have it. I only have her first UK passport issued when she was 3. If that won't do I assume the records can be traced somewhere in Arbroath?

BritInParis

You need to apply to the General Register Office in Scotland (now subsumed into the National Records of Scotland) for a certified copy of her birth certificate. There are a variety of methods by which you can order it. You'll also need any documents that show a change of name from what appears on her birth certificate and your birth certificate, i.e. her marriage certificate. Again this must an original document issued by the relevant authority.