British Citizen: A child born outside the UK on or after 1 January 1983 automatically acquires British citizenship by descent if either parent is a British citizen otherwise than by descent at the time of the birth.
British Nationality: A British national who is of the major classes of British Nationality under British Nationality Law, holders of this nationality are British nationals , but not British citizens.
British Passport: A British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality, and may be used as evidence of the bearer’s British nationality, and also, if applicable, evidence of the right of abode in the United Kingdom or evidence of citizenship of the European Union, or both. In 2016, British citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 175 countries and territories.
There are 6 different types of British nationality. These are:
- British citizenship
- British overseas territories citizen
- British overseas citizen
- British subject
- British national (overseas)
- British protected person
British citizenship
If you were born in the UK before 1 January 1983
You became a British citizen on 1 January 1983 if both of the following apply:
you were a citizen of the UK and Colonies
you had the ‘right of abode’ in the UK
‘Right of abode’ means you:
are entirely free from UK Immigration Control and don’t need permission from an Immigration Officer to enter the UK
can live and work in the UK without restriction
This includes people who:
were born in the UK
were born in a British colony and had the right of abode in the UK
have been naturalised in the UK
had registered as a citizen of the UK and Colonies
could prove legitimate descent from a father to whom one of these applies
If you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983
You don’t automatically get British citizenship if you were born in the UK.
If you were born on or after 1 January 1983, you’ll be a British citizen
if your mother or father was either:
a British citizen when you were born
‘settled’ in the UK when you were born
In most cases you’ll be a British citizen if your mother or father was born in the UK or naturalised there at the time of your birth.
If you were born before July 2006, your father’s British nationality will normally only pass to you if he was married to your mother at the time of your birth.
British overseas territories citizen
British overseas territories citizenship was called ‘British dependent territories citizenship’ before 26 February 2002.
If you were born before 1 January 1983
You became a British overseas territories citizen on 1 January 1983 if both of these applied:
you were a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies on 31 December 1982
you had connections with a British overseas territory because you, your parents or your grandparents were born, registered or naturalised in that British overseas territory
You also became a British overseas territories citizen if you were a woman married to a man who became a British overseas territories citizen on 1 January 1983.
If you were born on or after 1 January 1983
You’re a British overseas territories citizen if both the following apply:
you were born in a British overseas territory
at the time of your birth one of your parents was a British overseas territories citizen or legally settled in a British overseas territory
You’re also a British overseas territories citizen if one of the following applies:
you were adopted in an overseas territory by a British overseas territories citizen
you were born outside the overseas territory to a parent who gained British overseas territories citizenship in their own right (known as ‘otherwise than by descent’)
Rights as a British overseas territories citizen
You can:
hold a British passport
get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts
Unless you’re also a British citizen:
you’re still subject to immigration controls – you don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
you aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)
British overseas citizen
You became a British overseas citizen on 1 January 1983
if both of these applied:
you were a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies on 31 December 1982
you didn’t become either a British citizen or a British overseas territories citizen on 1 January 1983
Hong Kong
If you were a British overseas territories citizen only because of your connection with Hong Kong you lost that citizenship on 30 June 1997 when sovereignty returned to China.
However, you became a British overseas citizen if either:
you had no other nationality and would have become stateless
you were born on or after 1 July 1997 and would have been born stateless if one of your parents was a British national (overseas) or British overseas citizen when you were born
Rights as a British overseas citizen
You can:
hold a British passport
get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts
Unless you’re also a British citizen:
you’re still subject to immigration controls – you don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
you aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)
Become a British overseas citizen
You can only apply to become a British overseas citizen in limited circumstances.
Stateless people.
You may be able to register as a British overseas citizen if you’re stateless (not recognised by any country as having a nationality) and both of these apply:
you were born in the UK or an overseas territory
one of your parents is a British overseas citizen
You may also be able to register if you’re stateless and all of these apply:
you were born outside the UK and qualifying territories
one of your parents is a British overseas citizen
you’ve lived in the UK or an overseas territory for 3 years or more
You have to fill in different forms depending on whether you were:
born before 1 January 1983
born on or after 1 January 1983
Children
A child under 18 can be registered as a British overseas citizen in special circumstances.
British subject
Until 1949, nearly everyone with a close connection to the United Kingdom was called a ‘British subject’.
All citizens of Commonwealth countries were British subjects until January 1983.
Since 1983, very few people have qualified as British subjects.
Who is a British subject ?
You became a British subject on 1 January 1983 if, until then,
you were either:
a British subject without citizenship, which means you were a British subject on 31 December 1948 who didn’t become a citizen of the UK and Colonies, a Commonwealth country, Pakistan or the Republic of Ireland
a person who had been a citizen of the Republic of Ireland on 31 December 1948 and had made a claim to remain a British subject
You also became a British subject on 1 January 1983 if you were a woman who registered as a British subject on the basis of your marriage to a man in one of these categories.
Republic of Ireland citizens
You’re a British subject if you were a citizen of the Republic of Ireland on 31 December 1948 and made a claim to remain a British subject.
If you didn’t make a claim to remain a British subject you can apply to the Home Secretary to become a British subject if either:
you’ve been in Crown service for the UK government
you’re associated with the UK or a British overseas territory by descent, residence or another way
Children of British subjects
British subjects can’t normally pass on that status to their children if the children were born after 1 January 1983.
However, a child may be a British subject if they were born on or after 1 January 1983 in the UK or a British overseas territory and all the following apply when they are born:
one of their parents is a British subject
neither parent is a British citizen, British overseas territories citizen or British overseas citizen
Rights as a British subject
You can:
hold a British passport
get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts
However, you:
are usually subject to immigration controls and don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK (there are only rare exceptions to this)
aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)
British national (overseas)
Someone who was a British overseas territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong was able to register as a British national (overseas) before 1 July 1997.
British overseas territories citizens from Hong Kong who didn’t register as British nationals (overseas) and had no other nationality or citizenship on 30 June 1997 became British overseas citizens on 1 July 1997.
Rights as a British national (overseas)
You can:
hold a British passport
get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts
However, you:
are subject to immigration controls and don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)
British protected person
You would have become a British protected person on 1 January 1983
if you:
were a citizen or national of Brunei
were already a British protected person
would otherwise have been born stateless (without a country) in the UK or an overseas territory because, when you were born, one of your parents was a British protected person
In most cases you would have lost your British protected person status if:
you gained any other nationality or citizenship
the territory you were connected with became independent and you became a citizen of that country
Rights as a British protected person
You can:
hold a British passport
get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts
However, you:
are subject to immigration controls and don’t have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
aren’t considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)
Become a British protected person
You may be able to register as a British protected person only if all the following apply:
you’re stateless and always have been
you were born in the UK or an overseas territory
your father or mother was a British protected person when you were born
You can apply for British citizenship by naturalisation if:
you’re 18 or over
you’re of good character, for example, you don’t have a serious or recent criminal record, and you haven’t tried to deceive the Home Office or been involved in immigration offences in the last 10 years
you’ll continue to live in the UK
you’ve met the knowledge of English and life in the UK requirements
you meet the residency requirement
And you must usually have:
lived in the UK for at least the 5 years before the date of your application
spent no more than 450 days outside the UK during those 5 years
spent no more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months
had a settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’) in the UK for the last 12 months if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
had permanent residence status for the last 12 months if you’re a citizen of an EEA country – you need to provide a permanent residence document
not broken any immigration laws while in the UK
Classes of British nationality
FEES WITH EFFECT FROM 18 MARCH 2016 FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS:
ADULTS APPLYING FOR BRITISH CITIZENSHIP.
Naturalisation – £1236
Registration – £1121
registration (ceremony fee only) – £80
For more information about British Nationality and Citizenship contact JRR.
Useful links:
https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/507609/Master_Fees_Leaflet_2016_03_08_v0_3.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law
