Citizenship by Registration

[EyeofDaHawk]

Hi all

Hoping someone can help me, or alternatively tell me i'm out of options.

Some may have heard about the issues with our politicians finding they are duel citizens and thus not being eligible to be politicians. Well, i similarly found during this period i'm a Kiwi, so guess i can go for the All Blacks after all. Upon further inspection, i discovered i may also be a Pom.

Both my parents are/were UK citizens. My dad by decent, and my mum by registration. After understanding the subtitles of the UK system, i realised that this meant i would be eligible for citizenship by decent through my mum (i am born in 1984). Problem is, my mum passed away a few years ago, and my dad can't find her certificate of registration. Living some mile away means i can't check for my self. Will though in over christmas when i'm where they may be.

In the mean time i've been trying to obtain the certificate through alternative ways. I've talked to the National Archives to no avail (as they don't generally hold records of registrations which occurred outside of the UK - Mum was registered in Australia). My mum was registered in the late 1970s (1979 i think) so it's before it was all moved to the home office (i think).

Does anyone have any suggestions how i could obtain either proof of my mum's registration or a copy of her certificate? I figured some govt agency must hold copies or at least indexes of who they registered and when (perhaps the UK high commission in Australia - not found a way to search this though).

Thanks

Hawk

[JAJ]

It might be worth writing to the British High Commission in Canberra to request if they still hold details of those registered as Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies by the British High Commissioner in Australia between 1949 and 1982. And if not, then where should those records be located.
https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/ ... n-canberra

The response may be interesting. As you note, it is not clear that this information ever transitioned to the National Archives and unless the Foreign Office still maintains custodianship, there are a lot of people whose British citizenship certificate is essentially irreplaceable.

That said- even if you find the certificate, if it turns out that your mother was registered as a British citizen under section 6(2) of the British Nationality Act 1948- citizenship by marriage-, then she likely became a British citizen by descent on 1.1.1983 if her husband also became a British citizen by descent. It might be different for any siblings you have born in 1982 or earlier, depending on circumstances. Copies of the relevant Acts (British Nationality Acts 1948 and 1981, and the Immigration Act 1971) are available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk

As an Australian or NZ citizen with a U.K. grandfather (assuming your British by descent father got that status from a U.K. born father) you may be eligible for a U.K. Ancestry Visa.

Any chance that instead of being born in England- your father or grandfather was born in Ireland or Northern Ireland? That would give rise to a claim to Irish citizenship.