Aussie in UK with RoA- how best to apply for a British PPort

[sherman9]

I am am Australian with an Right of Abode in my Australian passport which i was able to get through my British mother . My father is Australian and so i was unable to easily get a British passport (BPt) through decent. Both my matural grandparents are British. I have been living in the UK for nearly 6 years and would like to get a British passport for ease of travel throughout the EU and so that i am able to work throughout the EU, rather than just in the UK. I believe i can get a BPt either by:
1) Decent (since my mother is British, and is still a British citizen ie she has a British passport although she has been living abroad for 40+ years)
2) Since i have lived in the UK >5 years

Can you tell me which channel i should apply for my passport through?

Would i need to become a citizen and be naturalised in order to obtain a BPt (no matter which channel i apply through)? Does my RofAbode help me out so that i don't have to send all the documents off to become a British citizen (mums birth certifcate etc)?

If i am naturalized in the UK, would i then no longer be an Australian citizen? I am planning on returning to Australia at some point in my life so would this cause me problems when i get there?

Although i have no children now, i would like my children to be able to get a BPt. If they were not born in the UK, could they get a BPt no matter which of the above channels i apply through?

I may leave the UK within the next 6 months, would this inhibit my BPt application?

Hope someone can help with my many questions

[Christophe]

The first question is: when were you born? This will have a bearing on the options open to you.

If you were born after 7 February 1961 (and before 1 January 1983), you are entitled to register as a British citizen on the basis of descent from your mother.

If you were born on or before 7 February 1961, this route of registration is not open to you, and to become British you would need to be naturalised in the "ordinary" way.

(Conversely, if you were born at any stage from 1 January 1983 onwards, you are probably already a British citizen (by descent) and you can apply for a British passport now.)

So, assuming that you were born between those two dates, you have two choices:

• - register as a British citizen by descent from your mother. Such a registration has no requirement to live in the UK (or indeed to have ever even been to the UK), so you could do it now or in the future, at your leisure (assuming that the relevant law isn't changed, but there is no talk of that). You would then be a British citizen by descent, and if you have children who are born overseas, they would not automatically be British citizens. Information about this form of registration can be found on the BIA website here;
  
  - naturalise as a British citizen in the "ordinary" way on the basis of your having lived here over the past 6 years. You would have to fulfil all the criteria, outlined on the BIA website here, including taking and passing the "Life in the UK" test. The requirements are more onerous than for registration, and it is more expensive, but it would make you a British citizen otherwise than by descent, and so if you had children in the future who were born outside the UK, they would themselves be British citizens (by descent). Note too that you generally have to be intending to make the UK your home in the future - although it is possible to say this and to change your mind later, of course (many debates about that point on these boards!). If you ceased to live in the UK (before you applied), this route would become closed to you very quickly because you will no longer fulfil the residency requirement.

As to your Australian citizenship, your becoming a British citizen (by any means) would not have any effect on your Australian citizenship. You could carry both a British passport and an Australian passport. (As an Australian citizen, you would need to use your Australian passport to enter and leave Australia; the British are much less concerned about that.)

I assume you are not married to a British citizen (which opens up another way of being naturalised)?

[sherman9]

Thanks for your prompt response!

I am not married to a British citizen. I was born between 1961 and 1983, therefore it seems that i can register as a British citizen by either of the routes you mention but it seems the easier (and cheaper) would be to register via decent from my mother. Great.

I have looked into this (via decent from my mother) and the process requires the submission of various documents, including my passport, my mothers birth certificate and her certificate of registration or naturalisation as a citizen of the UK amoungst other documents. My mother was born in the UK and says she wouldnt have needed to get a certificate of registration or naturilisation. What do they need me to send? her pasport? or would her birth certificate show she is a UK citizen? Alternatively, do i need to send any of these documents since i had to send them all in order to get my current RofAbode? I believe the process currently takes 8 weeks and i cant afford to send my passport off for that long.

Once i am naturalised, can i then apply for my British Ppt?

[Christophe]

No, you can't supply her certificate of naturalisation or registration because, as you say, she wouldn't have one. See the guidelines about completing the application form.

You might be able to use the NCS (Nationality Checking Service), which would mean that you wouldn't have to be without your passport - I don't know: someone else here might?

And yes, once you are a British citizen you can apply for a British passport, just like any other British citizen can.

[1963British]

I am a s 4(c) British Citizen and that is the section of the Nationality Act that you are applying for so I can give you some insight as someone who did it.

You indicated that you plan to have children in the future, possibly outside the UK. A s 4(c) British Citizen is considered to be a British Citizen by descent meaning that children born abroad will not be British.

However, as long as you are registered before the birth of any children, it appears that you will have the option of registering them as British Citizens before they are one year old. That is covered under s 3(2) of the British Nationality Act. Because you have lived in the UK for three full years, not being absent more than 270 days in the qualifying period, you can register your children as British Citizens within one year of birth. There are exceptions to go beyond one year but you should be prompt and just do it.

The process takes about eight weeks. Because you are a Commonwealth Citizen you do not need to take an Oath of Alleigance, I think.

They will need your Passport, I would suggest solicitor copies. Your birth certificate, your parents birth certificates and their marraige certificate if applicable. Applications outside the UK should have the mothers last used UK Passport, if available.

I believe the new Form UKM requires referees of some sort so make sure you have qualified referees to vouch for you.

Oh, because you indicated an intent to leave the UK in the next six months that would probably make you ineligible for naturalisation. Under that section you are only suppossed to be naturalised if your future is in the UK. That said, you can register under s 4(c) planning to move anywhere anytime. Cheers.

[Christophe]

Because you are a Commonwealth Citizen you do not need to take an Oath of Alleigance, I think.

That used to be the case. Now you would have to attend a citizenship ceremony; you will not be a British citizen until that happens. (Again, see the guide, page 16.)

[JAJ]

Thanks for your prompt response!

I am not married to a British citizen. I was born between 1961 and 1983, therefore it seems that i can register as a British citizen by either of the routes you mention but it seems the easier (and cheaper) would be to register via decent from my mother. Great.

Easier and cheaper maybe, but probably "not smart" in that it could mean your future children (or grandchildren) not being entitled to British citizenship.

Naturalisation is the better option if you've been in Britain unless you have some very specific reasons to take the registration option. For example, if you have a problem with declaring the U.K. to be your home (tax reasons, eg).

[JAJ]

Oh, because you indicated an intent to leave the UK in the next six months that would probably make you ineligible for naturalisation. Under that section you are only suppossed to be naturalised if your future is in the UK.

Maybe he can change his mind about that for the time being ...

You do not have to make a promise to spend the rest of your life in the United Kingdom.

The begging question is why he didn't get his citizenship after 5 years, ie a year ago.

[Decus et Tutamen]

If the OP has a right of abode vignette in his AUS passport, why does he have to go through either a naturalisation or registration process?

The vignette by itself is recognition that he is otherwise considered to be a British citizen. A simple passport application will suffice.

[JAJ]

If the OP has a right of abode vignette in his AUS passport, why does he have to go through either a naturalisation or registration process?

The vignette by itself is recognition that he is otherwise considered to be a British citizen. A simple passport application will suffice.

No, that is completely wrong. It is possible for certain Commonwealth citizens born before 1983 to have Right of Abode without being British citizens.