Hi,

I am new here and unsure if this is the correct forum to post in, so apologies for any confusion.

I am investigating a potential s.4L claim via an error made my HMPO, the situation is as follows:

My mother is British by descent by section 5(1) BNA 1948. In 2014, and not understanding that she had to first apply to register me first with UKVI, my mother applied with HMPO for me to get a UK passport (I was still a minor at this time). HMPO incorrectly told my mother I had a British citizenship claim and requested her (non-existent) registration certificate— because this document could not be supplied, my passport application timed-out and was automatically withdrawn.

HMPO is aware that my mother is British by descent thus that she does not (and cannot) have this document (they have records on the section under which my mother is british), and importantly, this knowledge becomes further evidenced when my mother made an identical application for my sister, the same year, and HMPO correctly advised her to contact UKVI if she wished to register her. The passport application for my sister in some ways serves as the smoking gun, and by erroneously noting that I already had a claim to british citizenship, HMPO caused me to miss out on applying to register as a minor. Had they advised registration (as they did for my sister), then I would have immediately applied to register, and in theory, approved under discretionary section 3(1). I’m therefore exploring a s.4L claim for this HMPO omission.

My questions are: this situation feels somewhat tricky-- is my reasoning sound and is there anything to this? Am I missing something? I'm moreover interested in a legal opinion, so if anyone knows of any no-nonsense solicitors whom they recommend, that would be also greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Under what section was your sister registered?

Many thanks for your reply. My sister was not registered. At the time, HMPO advised my mother, correctly my sister's case, to contact UKVI if she wished to register her. However, my sister was not interested in pursuing British citizenship, and my mother did not to go forward with the UKVI process for her registration.

In contrast, it was I who had asked my mother to look into UK citizenship—she submitted the two passport applications together, my sister's in line with mine, but mine was the one driven by genuine interest. Thus, mine was with serious intent, and my sister’s was more as a formality. Ironically, HMPO misdirected my case (saying I already had a claim and requesting a registration certificate that doesn’t exist), but gave the right advice for my sister (ostensibly to be registered under section 3, though the rejection letter of her passport application did not specify).

How old were you and your sister in 2014? Why do you think you were eligible to have been registered under Section 3(1)?

The applications were submitted between 2014-15, when I was around 12-14 and my sister was 10-12. My reasoning for s.3(1) is purely discretionary-- We have extremely strong familial ties to the UK, which have been maintained, and I later lived there from 2021-2022.

The murky and context-dependent nature of s.3(1) is also partially the reason I've been attempting to seek legal advice. I’m not claiming I was automatically entitled to registration, nor can I say with absolutely certainty how the Home Office would have assessed my case at that time-- but rather, I cannot know this, because I was never given the chance to apply, and so I wasn’t able to have my circumstances assessed in line with the discretionary criteria in place then.

More info re s.3(1) / s.3(2):
My mother's birth outside the UK was incidental-- her parents had just moved; her mother remained overseas, and her father returned to the UK as his primary residence. She was between both parents in her early years, before starting school outside the UK. These specific details of her whereabouts and the durations thereof during this period in the early 1970s are virtually non-existent, as the Home Office doesn't keep entry/exit data of those not subject to UK Immigration Control, such as British and EU citizens. Although I can establish her father's long-term presence in the UK (e.g., via mortgage statements, property deeds), I cannot firmly establish hers, which to me likely rules out automatic entitlement to registration by s.3(2).

Hence, s.3(1) seems the most realistic to me, especially as I am not eligible for any other route to citizenship (such as Ancestry visa, as an example).

If she went to school in the UK then I presume she spent more than three consecutive years there before you were born? If so, then Section 3(2) registration would have been an option for both you and your sister. That your mother did not do so would not be grounds for a Section 4L application now as per Example 16 of the Form ARD guidance.

Thanks, I was wondering if you could explain your logic?

To me 16 is about something else— Aiko is claiming legislative unfairness, and no reason is given for the failure to register. The basis of my 4L claim is a different one, which is directly related to the failure to register.



In my view, situation differs, since I’m claiming error by public authority— that HMPO falsely noted I had already had claim. HMPO could have redirected us to contact UKVI about my registration, as they did with my sister. This would have been the correct response, in my understanding: because she is my sister, our applications should have been treated the same way.

However, the caseworker correspondence and application annotations pertaining to my application all note the false information that I already had a claim— totally different to my sister’s identical application. This left me in a weird limbo wherein I did not know to apply to register (I, personally, otherwise would have). Indeed, the HMPO error seemingly actively ruled out registration in my case. The HMPO error means that we did not know to register me, and would be the reason for the delayed application.

If HMPO had incorrectly issued you or your sister a passport - as per Example 5 - then I would agree that you would have a clear case based on an act or omission of a public authority. As it was, both applications were correctly refused, albeit the reason your mother was given for your refusal was incorrect. That your mother subsequently chose not to register either yourself or your sister, for whom your mother was given the correct refusal decision, is why I referred you to Example 16.

If you can evidence at least three consecutive years your mother spent in the UK before your birth, with a letter from her school confirming her attendance dates for example, then you can certainly submit an application based on your eligibility to be registered under Section 3(2) and hopefully prove me wrong. However given the registration fee is now £1,576 I would suggest that your claim is too marginal to risk that kind of money.