Advice regarding Application to register as British Citizen

Hello,

Could anyone give me any advise as to whether I am eligible to register for UK citizenship.

I was born in USA in 1970, both my parents were British however, they were never married.
I was brought back into the UK on my mothers passport in 1971 and I have live here ever since.Even though I am an American citizen, holding a U.S passport, I pay UK tax, hold a national insurance number and also have a state pension forecast.
It was only in 2009 that I was advised that I needed ILR to stay in the UK, I got this immediately and it is held in my old passport.Whilst enquiringly whether or not I could travel in and out of the country using both my old passport to show I have ILR and my new one to travel, I was inform I should now be holding a BRP.
Looking into this, I feel it would be in my best interest to pay and become a British citizen. but do I have the option of registering rather than being naturalized because of my British Mother?

Thank you in advance

Hello,

Could anyone give me any advise as to whether I am eligible to register for UK citizenship.

I was born in USA in 1970, both my parents were British however, they were never married.

.....................

I was brought back into the UK on my mothers passport in 1971 and I have live here ever since

...........

It was only in 2009 that I was advised that I needed ILR to stay in the UK, I got this immediately and it is held in my old passport.

................

but do I have the option of registering rather than being naturalized because of my British Mother?

Was your mother born in the UK?

The UK did change the law in 1983 so that a child born abroad could inherit citizenship from these British mothers too, but only for those born from that date. Recently (under the Immigration Act 2014?) the UK changed the law to make it fair for all those born before that date.

I'm not sure how it works and which form you have to complete. ksand might know and will be around later.

Just hang on a bit longer.

EDIT - here it is on the government's website.

Born before 1983 to a British mother

You can register as a British citizen if you fulfil all of the criteria:

    you would have automatically become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent if women had been able to pass this citizenship on to their children in the same way as men at the time of your birth
    you would have had the right of abode in the UK and have become a British citizen on 1 January 1983 if you had become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies
    you’re of ‘good character’ - see the guidance for details



Apply using form UKM. Read the guidance before you apply.

Read about the different fees for citizenship applications.

Your children won’t automatically become British if born outside the UK.

You may be able to apply for naturalisation instead if you’re already resident in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/born-before-1983-to-british-mother


The Good Character requirements.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-character-nationality-policy-guidance





That same new law seems to have changed the rules for those born to a British citizen otherwise than by descent father, who wasn't married to their mother. I'm not sure if that will apply. I'll let you research that, if you want to. Here is one search hit. I haven't read it.-
http://bloomsbury-law.com/news/british-citizenship-unmarried-fathers/

Yes my mother and father were British, unfortunately they have both passed away now and I only have information regarding my Mother.....
Thank you for your help it is much appreciated

Don't forget that the annual fee rise will be in soon.

Unfortunately I have an holiday booked at the end of April so I can't surrender passport until then. Knowing my luck it will be going up before then.  Thanks for the info x

Unfortunately I have an holiday booked at the end of April so I can't surrender passport until then. Knowing my luck it will be going up before then.  Thanks for the info x

The fee rise is usually on April 6th - which is the beginning of the UK tax year.


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Unfortunately I have an holiday booked at the end of April so I can't surrender passport until then. Knowing my luck it will be going up before then.  Thanks for the info x

You don't have to surrender your passport while applying for citizenship.  I'm not sure about registering. 

You don't have to surrender your passport while applying for citizenship.  I'm not sure about registering.

With registering, you do have to surrender your passport. From the UKM form guidance:

Please send the following documents:
• Your passport;
and
• Your full birth certificate (one which includes the name of your parent(s), (which should be requested from the relevant authorities in your country of origin);
and
• Your mother’s full birth certificate; and either
• Her certificate of naturalisation or registration as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (or, before 1 January 1949, as a British subject); or
• Papers showing her legal adoption; or
• Her expired citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies passport



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Yes my mother and father were British, unfortunately they have both passed away now and I only have information regarding my Mother.....

If they require any information on your British citizen grandparents too (your mother's parents) for your Registration and they were born in England or Wales, you can order certificates from the government's General Register Office for £9.25 each. They didn't take long to send these certified certificates when I was doing my family tree a few years ago.
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp

If they were born in England, you can speed up that GRO request by getting their District, Volume and Page No. from this free site created by English volunteers.
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/

If they were born in Wales, Scotland or Ireland, I don't know if the Welsh, Scots and Irish have created their own site like that.

Thank you for your help it is much appreciated

You're welcome. The law that allowed people to claim their birthright through a British citizen otherwise than by descent mother, was long awaited.

Do you know if the only difference in registering and being  naturalized is that you don't need to do the life test?

Do you know if the only difference in registering and being  naturalized is that you don't need to do the life test?

As the quote above that I gave from the government site (in the second post) said, it could affect children you have that are born outside the UK if you register. I assume that is because you will be British by descent if you register (born outside the UK)?

The other thing that above quote said was about the fees. Is the Registration fee cheaper than being Naturalised?

I was brought back into the UK on my mothers passport in 1971 and I have live here ever since.

It was only in 2009 that I was advised that I needed ILR to stay in the UK, I got this immediately and it is held in my old passport.

I assume you were told to sort out your status in the UK by someone such as an employer, the NHS, border officer, DWP etc, to obtain lawful stay in the UK? And you didn't have lawful stay in the UK between 1971 until 2009, because you are a US citizen and not a British citizen?

If you read the Good Character requirement link that I also put in the second post, it seems to read that an overstay of more than 28 days is a fail of the Good Character requirement for British citizenship, for 10 years from when they got lawful status/UKVI knew. I am not a lawyer and I don't how that works for cases like yours, where you were brought to the UK as a young child, never left and your lawful status was never sorted out by your parent/s. Nor even how it worked back then, when a foreign national child entered the UK on their British citizen parent's passport. Anybody else got any ideas on how that works?  You might want to take legal advice from a good lawyer on whether it is better to wait until you apply for BC?

I haven't been told by anyone to obtain lawful stay in the UK. I have only come across my issue's whilst enquiring about my new U.S passport that didn't have my ILR transferred into it.... It was only then that I read that I should be holding a BRP..... It seems I have lived has a UK citizen yet held a US passport, that has only been use 3 times to leave the U.K to the States and for no more than 3weeks at a time.  I was told by my mother that I was brought into the UK her passport, how this was done I have no idea. It wasn't till I was 11 years old that I required a passport of my own and I remember having to go to the London Embassy with a character reference from my GP at the time to state that he had know me for the passed 10 years. I was then issued with my first US passport. I think I only went out of the country maybe Twice using this passport. But in the mean time, I was educated, given a NHS number, national insurance number.
I have always been totally honest about my birth place and have never had any problems until I tried to get my first born child her own passport. Because of my nationality and because I wasn't married to her British father then she was classed has a British subject and I had to get her Naturalized. I did consider at the time getting my citizenship, but it has always come down to the cost ( which now is a lot more than it was back then ). So I took the cheaper option and renewed my US passport. I have only ever renewed 3 times. But in 2009 whilst coming back into the UK from holiday, I was advised by immigration that I needed my ILR, which as I said before I did get straight away.... I have read somewhere that this also gives you the right to work, but now I'm not sure?-  I feel like I have opened a can of worms and I'm not sure even that I have been living here legally 🙈

never had any problems until I tried to get my first born child her own passport. Because of my nationality and because I wasn't married to her British father then she was classed has a British subject and I had to get her .

I think that might have been Registered and not Naturalised? Under the rules now at least, an under age 18 child will Register.

But in 2009 whilst coming back into the UK from holiday, I was advised by immigration that I needed my ILR, which as I said before I did get straight away.... I have read somewhere that this also gives you the right to work, but now I'm not sure?-

Yes you can work if you have been granted ILR and use the NHS bill free, have benefits etc. ILR is settlement in the UK, so don't worry about that.

I feel like I have opened a can of worms and I'm not sure even that I have been living here legally 🙈

There will be lots of foreign national adults who decades ago, were brought to the UK as children. They then stayed here thinking their parents had sorted out their stay, but now find out as adults that this was never done by their parent/s. You have sorted out your status. You have been given ILR. I'm just not sure about when you can be granted citizenship as I don't know. I was hoping somebody else on here would know this. If not, you could ask a good lawyer?

You are not alone in this. Years ago, my friend's father and mother were going abroad and he got his first passport to do this. Her father was so proud of his passport and kept on bragging about how his green Australian passport was a much nicer colour than the British dark blue/black colour passport that his wife had. He too had come to the UK as a child with his British citizen mother.

It was only when he tried to get back into the UK with his Australian passport, that the border officer spotted that he didn't have permission to live and work in the UK. He was detained for a while and questioned, while his wife, who thought it was really funny, went off to get a coffee and relax with her blue/black passport. 
He was finally let in to the UK by the border officer and told to sort out his status. He was married to a British citizen and I believe that back then, this could be applied for from within the UK?

I would contact Victoria Sharkey at Medivisas in London.  She's really nice and a very reputable immigration solicitor based in London.  You may have to wait a week or so for her to return your call (she's busy), but I suspect she'll answer this for you for free either via email or a quick phone call.

Thank you all for your help and advice 👌