British Citizenship by Descent

If you were born on or after the 1st of July, 2006

You may automatically qualify for British citizenship if your mother or father was a British citizen when you were born and they qualify to be able to pass their citizenship onto you. Your British parent can pass their citizenship onto you if:

• They were born or adopted in the UK.
• They were given citizenship after applying for it in their own right (not based on having a British parent).
• They were working as a Crown servant when you were born.

If you are automatically a citizen, you can apply for a British passport or a letter confirming your citizenship. If, however, you do not automatically qualify as a British citizen, you may still be able to apply for British citizenship by descent through one of the following means:

• You have lived with your parents in the UK.
• Your British parent lived in the UK before you were born.
• You were adopted outside of the UK.
• Your father held British citizenship or indefinite leave to remain when you were born and your mother was married to someone else at the time of your birth.

If you were born between 1983 and June 2006

You automatically qualify as a British citizen by descent if your mother or father was a British citizen (by means other than by descent) at the time of your birth. They must also have been married if your father held citizenship but your mother did not. Finally, your British parent(s) must be eligible to pass on their citizenship (the same rules apply as detailed in the previous section).

You may still be eligible to apply for citizenship if your father was not married to your mother, provided that your father was a British citizen when you were born. He must also have been either born or adopted in the UK, given citizenship that wasn’t based on having a British parent, or working as a Crown servant when you were born.

If you were born before 1983

If you were born before January 1st, 1983, you may automatically qualify as a British citizen if you were born outside of the UK and your father is British. When you were born, your father must have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, married to your mother and able to pass his citizenship onto you.

If you are not automatically a citizen, you may still be eligible to apply if your parents were not married when you were born, or your mother was British, not your father. Your mother or father must have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies when you were born, and be eligible to pass on their citizenship.

If you were born after 1st January 1983

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship by double descent if your UK-born grandfather was a part of the crown service at the time of your parents birth, if you or your parent were born in a former British colony, or if your UK-born mother was registered as a British citizen between 2nd February and 31st December 1982.

If you were born before 1st January 1983

You may be eligible to apply for citizenship by double descent if you or your parent were born in a former British territory, excluding the main Commonwealth countries as of 1949, or if you or your parent had been registered as a British citizen. Additionally, if your parent was serving in the Crown Service at the time of your birth, you could be eligible. If your parents were married before 1949 and your father was born in the UK, or if your maternal grandfather was born in the UK but you were born outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you’ll also be eligible to apply.