Citizen of what country? If born 1918 Southern Rhodesia

[dragonfly75]

My grandfather was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1918, what kind of citizenship would he have? His father was born in UK and Mother born in Australia.
We don't have a birth certificate. We have a death and marriage certificate which states born in Southern Rhodesia but not citizenship stated?

[secret.simon]

Quite likely, he would have been born a British subject.

However, nationality and citizenship, especially as regards the UK, had undergone many changes over the past century and it is possible that he may have lost it during his lifetime, even if he was born with it.

Where did he live for the rest of his life? When did he die?

If you are trying to claim British citizenship from him, it may be difficult, as British citizenship is generally only inheritable for one generation outside the UK.

[dragonfly75]

He Lived in Southern Rhodesia till 1932, he went to Royal Navy College in Chatham UK then went to South African He died there 1949.
It's for my father, he is applying for a 10 yr visitor visa for the UK (has previously had one) not asked this question about his father's nationality before.
We then thought whether my dad could apply for citizenship if his father was actually a British citizen.
There is no evidence of a South African Citizenship on his death certificate.

[secret.simon]

When and where was your father born? But don't get your hopes too high.

There were three major changes to British nationality law; 1948, 1971 and 1983, with each one restricting the ability to retain and pass on British citizenship outside the UK.

[dragonfly75]

My dad was born in South Africa in 1946

[Richard W]

My grandfather was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1918, what kind of citizenship would he have? His father was born in UK and Mother born in Australia.

It seems likely to me that your father would have had Zimbabwean nationality in 1984. If he hung onto it until South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth in 1994, he will have Right of Abode in the United Kingdom. It seems to me that before then he would have had to have been stripped of Zimbabwean nationality explicitly in order to lose it. However, trying for a certificate of Right of Abode might be too expensive to be worth attempting.

[dragonfly75]

My grandfather was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1918, what kind of citizenship would he have? His father was born in UK and Mother born in Australia.

It seems likely to me that your father would have had Zimbabwean nationality in 1984. If he hung onto it until South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth in 1994, he will have Right of Abode in the United Kingdom. It seems to me that before then he would have had to have been stripped of Zimbabwean nationality explicitly in order to lose it. However, trying for a certificate of Right of Abode might be too expensive to be worth attempting.

My grandfather died in 1949, so before independence.
My dad can get an ancestry visa if he wants to come and live in the UK. Not our main priority at the moment, he needs to state his father's citizenship on the visitor visa application he is currently filling in.

I can't find my grandfather in the GRO records available online. Does anyone know where the birth would have been registered and where I could go to search?

[Richard W]

My grandfather died in 1949, so before independence.

However, the BNA 1948 Section 1(3) clearly implies that Southern Rhodesia was a country with citizens at the time, and I would expect your grandfather to have been one of them. (There are also grants of Scottish nationality postdating the formation of the UK of Great Britain, so this is an unusual situation, not an impossible situation.) He will also have been a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent.

My dad can get an ancestry visa if he wants to come and live in the UK. Not our main priority at the moment, he needs to state his father's citizenship on the visitor visa application he is currently filling in.

Does he have to prove your grandfather's stated ctizenship?

I can't find my grandfather in the GRO records available online. Does anyone know where the birth would have been registered and where I could go to search?

Are you saying the birth doesn't appear to have been registered in what is now Harare? How unlikely is it that his birth wasn't registered? A copy at least of any registration should by held by the Zimbabwean National Archives.