British Citizenship

[BrianLogan]

Hi All, I'm seriously confused and requiring help please.
I have a British Overseas Passport as well as ILR with no time limit - I need to apply for a full British passport but do I REALLY have to go through the Naturalization process at a cost of almost £1600.00?
I have been in the country (working for the NHS {so all above board}) for almost 15 years.
Having done a status trace from xxxxxxx, I am actually elidable for British Citizenship / Passport through my ancestry - by triple descent. My paternal Great grandfather was born in Scotland, My grandfather in South Africa (British Protectorate) and Father in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia - which was still a British Protectorate at his DoB 1937)

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks

[secret.simon]

I have a British Overseas Passport as well as ILR with no time limit - I need to apply for a full British passport but do I REALLY have to go through the Naturalization process at a cost of almost £1600.00?

Merely a BOC and ILR does not entitle you to a full British passport. You could however register (rather than naturalise) as a British citizen on Form B(OTA) (also see guidance), at a slightly reduced fee of £1,481.

I think the question is, why do you want/need a full British Citizen passport? As a BOC with ILR, you have almost all the same rights as a British citizen in the UK, and the same consular rights as a full British Citizen outside the UK. And unusually (to the best of my knowledge, I could be wrong on this point), your ILR does not expire no matter how long you are away from the UK.

My paternal Great grandfather was born in Scotland, My grandfather in South Africa (British Protectorate) and Father in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia - which was still a British Protectorate at his DoB 1937)

Unlikely that you would be eligible by triple descent. While indeed you (and the ancestors listed above) would almost certainly have been CUKCs (Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) before 1983, the Immigration Act 1971 limited RoA (Right of Abode) to only two generations outside the UK. Those CUKCs who did not have RoA on 1st January 1983 became BOCs, like you.

Essentially, on 1st January 1983,
CUKC + RoA = British Citizen,
CUKC - RoA = British Overseas Citizen.

The difference between a full British Citizen and a BOC is whether they have RoA. Have a look at Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 as enacted and look at whether you can claim Right of Abode in the UK, in which case you most likely are a full British Citizen anyway.

Note that you can have inherited CUKC and RoA from different sides of your family. It may be possible that you may have CUKC status from your father's side of the family and RoA from your mother's side (for instance, because one of your grandmothers was born in the UK, not a colony).

As an aside, BOC status is not inheritable. So I presume that you were born before 1983, with CUKC status, but without RoA status.

@lemonbat has posted a thread on claiming British citizenship via Form ARD and multiple generations of descent, but that requires you to prove historic legislative unfairness. If you apply for this, the fees are just £130, which is fully refunded if the application fails.

Note that in your case, as the descent is solely on a male/patrilineal line, it may be harder to prove historic legislative unfairness.