BritInParis

Assuming both your father and mother are UK-born British citizens and were married at the time of your birth then your UKM application should be refused by the Home Office.

You can't be registered under Section 4C BNA 1981 as you are already a British citizen under Section 11(1) BNA 1981 having been born a Citizen of the UK and Colonies by descent under Section 5(1) BNA 1948.

Since the £80 fee is for the citizenship ceremony then this should, in theory, be refunded to you.

JAJ

However if the parents got married after the time of birth then it is by no means clear whether there is an unambiguous claim to British citizenship, so perhaps a UKM application might be granted?

hrh604

Just to update, my UKM application has in fact been approved.

I was not asked for any particulars of my parents' marriage (for the record they were married at the time of my birth). I had to provide them with a better copy of my mother's birth certificate as well as my long form birth certificate showing that my mother is actually my mother before they finalized my approval. I am just waiting for a letter from the British Consulate General here in Vancouver re: citizenship ceremony as well as the return of my documents.

(For the record, I am female... I see I have been referred to as 'he' quite a bit.. hehe).
Thank you all for your wealth of information on this subject.

chaoclive

Super! Well done

BritInParis

Good to see the Home Office is on the ball as always. Going to a citizenship ceremony when you're already a citizen is a waste of both your time and money as well as possibly having an adverse effect on your future citizenship status. I would contact them as soon as possible, explain the situation and request a refund. As the money is only to pay for your citizenship ceremony this should be forthcoming.

hrh604

How would it adversely affect my future citizenship status?
Regardless of the route I took to get it, a citizen is a citizen is a citizen (at this point), is it not?
What is the difference if I went via UKM or just straight-up applied for a passport?

BritInParis

Being a British citizen by descent and a British citizen by registration is not the same thing and can affect you in different ways, especially if you have children of your own overseas or if the law changes in the future. In addition because you would in effect be a citizen twice over which will raise questions when you apply for a passport.

Given that you're already a citizen, and you've known this now for at least three weeks, I'm unsure why you want to continue down this path and risk a major bureaucratic headache.

Contact the Home Office, cancel your UKM application, get a refund and apply directly for your passport.

hrh604

I thought that since the Home Office approved my application that there wouldn't be a problem and that if they realized that I was already a citizen via my UK-born father, I would have been advised to just go and apply for a passport. Silly me for relying on government officials to figure that out.

Do you know if there is a detriment to me to be a citizen by descent as opposed to by registration (other than having a child overseas or the law changing)? Am I precluded from doing anything in the UK being a citizen by descent? My concern is basically being able to live and work there if/when the time comes (with no immediate plans to do so).

Gozit

Whether you go via your mum (UKM route and also incorrect as you are ALREADY A CITIZEN.) or your dad, you are and always will be a British citizen by descent. From the date of your birth you have been a British citizen by descent. The only difference between being British by descent and British otherwise than by descent is if you are otherwise than by descent you can pass your citizenship on to your children in any case. It is more limited with descent status and relies on you having been resident for a few years in UK in order to register your kids

hrh604

I totally get that I can't pass on my citizenship to my daughter (no big deal), but I just don't want to face any headaches if/when I ever decide to move to the UK as a result of being approved for citizenship via UKM instead of applying directly for a passport using my father's info.

In any event I've emailed my contact at the Home Office for some guidance (not likely that I'll get any though).

Gozit

Oh no you won't have any issues. Applying via UKM, if granted, is a wrong application and an approval would be issued in error. But that doesn't matter as you're already a UK citizen by descent, and applying via UKM won't make them take it away from you. The only way you can lose it is by renouncing it formally at the British embassy/high commission

Being by descent you have the same privileges and rights as any British born citizen.

hrh604

I suppose my next concerns then are any hiccups that I would face applying for an actual passport. Although, I would assume that all I would need to send is my certificate once I attend the citizenship ceremony and my pertinent documentation (birth certificate, current Canadian passport, etc.. whatever it is they need - I haven't actually looked it up) and that they wouldn't require any further information about my parents and hence me being a citizen 'twice over' may be a non-issue (or am I deluding myself? lol).

Gozit

When you go to apply for your passport apply as your correct citizenship entitlement through your father. Don't include your UKM certificate as its irrelevant. IMO you should cancel the UKM. You do not need it as you are already a British citizen.

If you do it that way it will be a non issue. And for future reference don't bother including your Canadian passport with your passport application, just make a colour photocopy of the biodata page and send a covering letter explaining that you need to retain your Canadian passport for travel.

hrh604

I've emailed the Home Office about it so I'll see what they say re: cancelling and refunding my money. Seems like I've just gone through one unnecessary step. Not the end of the world but annoying nonetheless. If/when I need a UK passport, I'll be sure to use my father's documentation.

Thanks Gozit

Gozit

Cheers
Let us know what the Home Office says.