PRGLGW

Maybe asked already, but via search I cant find an exact answer so hopefully someone can expand on this:

My father was born in a British Military hospital, in Lucknow, India, in 1926.
His father was serving in the British Army.
His brother and one sister were also born in India. Second sister born much later in the UK.
Family moved back to the UK in 1939, (Birmingham) where both sons entered the RAF, his older brother was killed in 1943, my father started aircrew training in 1944 but was discharged prior to completing training as the war was over.
My parents, (mother from Liverpool) emigrated to Canada in 1958, I was born in Canada in 1962. They had dual citizenship.

My father always told me as he was “born in India” no point in me applying for a UK passport. Recently via a cousin in the UK we now have all of my fathers and his fathers documents, etc showing he was born in a military hospital in India, etc. Grandfathers military records, etc.
My father passed away 20 years ago, but we now think that he didn’t want me to leave Canada and go to the UK, hence the resistance to a UK passport even if I was eligible for one.
I believe with the documents I now have, I could apply for a full British Passport, or am I incorrect?

Thanks for any advice.

BritInParis

Whereabouts was your paternal grandfather born? Do you know if he was serving in the British Army or the Indian Army? Do you know where he was recruited and/or his rank at the time of your father’s birth?

PRGLGW

Thanks for the reply,
Yes, Grandfather was born in the UK,
Was serving in the British Army (previously fought in WW1)
His rank was Captain. He would have been recruited in the UK

PRGLGW

Actually, the rank may be incorrect, I have documentation showing my paternal grandfather was a Rifleman at the end of WW1, from 1915 - 1918, and when eventually discharged from Military service in 1945, he was a Captain, so when stationed in India, its unclear what rank he held, but I assume he would have been an officer, to be stationed in India and have his entire family with him?

BritInParis

Your father’s birth certificate would typically list your grandfather’s rank, regiment and service number. If he was an officer at the time of your father’s birth and he definitely serving in a British as opposed to an Indian regiment then you should be able to apply for a passport with the documentation you already have.

PRGLGW

Thank you very much for confirming what I believed would be the end result, based on the details and paperwork I have recently been made aware of.
Amazing I likely could have obtained a UK passport so many years ago, but better late than never I guess.
(I’m an airline pilot, I could have really used it over the years, to think how many hours I’ve wasted waiting to clear immigration in Europe with a
“foreign” passport!)

Out of interest, (and your knowledge of all things passport related is impressive) how would my Grandfathers military rank at the time of my fathers birth have any bearing on the validity of the claim? Surely they could not discriminate based on my grandfathers or anyone’s status in the British military at the time?
That suggests they would grant privilege to officers but not enlisted soldiers? Thats fundamentally unethical.

BritInParis

You would only currently be a British citizen if your father was born to your grandfather whilst the latter was in Crown service for which he was recruited in the UK. An officer serving in the British Army would automatically be considered by HMPO to have been recruited in the UK as he would’ve needed to attend a military academy such as Sandhurst or Woolwich in order to receive his commission. An enlisted soldier may have joined up in an overseas dominion or colony and therefore you would need to provide additional evidence of his place of recruitment.

old.sparkles

Could the OP apply for British Citizenship with a British mother?

BritInParis

If the OP has an automatic claim through his father then it would make a registration application through his mother unnecessary.