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Posts: 3269

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Q: about British citizenship

I recently spoke with an immigration lawyer online, and he said something that worried me:
" Als jij buiten GB bent geboren zijn jouw kinderen als tweede generatie waarschijnlijk geen Brit. "
"If you were born outside the UK, then your children as second generation are probably no longer British."

Fortunately I was born in Aberdeen Scotland, but it still gives me pause.

I'm no expert on citizenship law, but I thought that my kids could gain British citizenship through their father, and that this is regardless of their place of birth. It's also confusing, because I also thought that Britain abandoned the concept of Territorial Rights for citizenship, focusing on familial ties only.

Will this pose a problem for my grandkids, if they are not born in the UK?

9 years 12 weeks ago in  Family & Kids - China

 
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Posts: 7178

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Pretty sure you only need one grandparent to be born British to be entitled to British Citizenship.  And that Grandparent does not even need to be born or live in Britain. Just need to be British.

 

The South African Zola Bud ( Olympic runner in the 80's) springs to mind.

 

I done the "secret" registration when my daughter was born here. She has a Chinese passport, but she also has a bit of paper to say she is entitled to British Citizenship at any time.

 

I don't have time to read it, but this is the ACT of law that applies to our kids:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Nationality_Act_1981

 

MissA:

I don't think that's the case. If you have a parent you're entitled to citizenship but if it's a grandparent only then it's generally only an ancestry visa you get (although there are quirks and exceptions, double descent for example), but not outright citizenship. At least that was the case whn I was looking into it a few years ago.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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9 years 12 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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my british friend just had a baby, and he could not deccide whether to get british or a chinese passport. he asked at the embassy and was told that if he did apply for british citizenship at birth, the child may or may not be allowed uk citizenship in the future. so i could be wrong but it might be much stricter than scots alan describes

ScotsAlan:

British and the UK are the exact same.  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

If you are born in Northern Ireland you can apply for an Irish passport as well as a British (UK) one. If you are born in Eire, you are Irish.

 

My own passport is a Manx one. Issued by a Crown Dependency. Not part of the UK, but still British citizens.  I'm not Manx of course. But my passport says "British Citizen", same as theirs.

 

An interesting quirk ( a Manx work), is that Manx people with no grandparents born in the UK are not allowed to work in the European Union without a work permit. But a single grandparent born in the UK gives them this right. It's all to do with the Isle of Man not being part of the EU.

9 years 12 weeks ago
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dokken:

whoops typo. i'm a  scot like yourself

9 years 11 weeks ago
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9 years 12 weeks ago
 
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British subject, not citizen.

 

Yes, I am a monarchist and proud to be one.

 

 

God bless Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

dokken:

yup me too.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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Mateusz:

Ní bóna ná coróin

9 years 11 weeks ago
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Lord_hanson:

diverdude is right from what I read. Your child would be a British Subject not citizen.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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If you are a British citizen by virtue of being born in the UK then you can pass on British citizenship to your child. Your child will be a British citizen with right of abode in the UK and EU. If they are born abroad, then they will be known as British citizens by descent, although the passport will be exactly the same, the only clue being, their place of birth. 

 

If they were to have children, then one of two things can happen. If a British citizen by descent has a child in the UK, then the child is 100% British Citizen. If they have a child outside of the UK, then the child will not AUTOMATICALLY be a British Citizen. For them to Register as a British citizen, then look here http://britishexpats.com/wiki/British_Citizenship_by_Descent#How_can_I_get_British_citizenship_for_my_child.3F. Although it is only a term, your child would not be a British Subject, this is for very specific cases, the majority of whom were born before 1983.

 

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9 years 11 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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If a British citizen marries a Chinese citizen does the Chinese citizen become a British citizen?

Lord_hanson:

Not automatically. It is possible but you will have to go through the citizenship process. Laws change frequently so I sugest you research it from official sources.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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27pence:

In addition to what Lord Hanson said, the process as becoming a British citizen (timescale-wise) is shorter (at the time of writing). I came to China after my wife became a British citizen. She had been in the UK for 6 years previously, but at the time the regulation stated "Not to be under immigration control, and to have been in the UK for 3 years. Not under immigration control means indefinite leave to remain, which she got after two years of leave to remain (to check marriage authentic)

 

If you are in China, married or not, the process of getting your spouse/partner into the UK is another hurdle to consider.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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I didn't really know I was a British citizen until i was 28. I was looking at immigration options for my partner, and my Dutch Civil documentation mentioned I was Dutch and also British. So, I gave the Foreign Commonwealth Office a call. They asked me when I was born, I said 1982, they said people born in the UK prior to 1983 have British citizenship by territorial rights alone. I sent them a birth certificate and payed the fees, and a few weeks later I got my British passport by courier from the FCO in Paris, valid for 10 years.

It's a stroke of luck (not just for the best teacher salary in China), because although my dad is Scottish, he never acknowledged me as his son. He's a peach, but he couldn't prevent me from getting citizenship. I look forward to entering Scotland with his 2 grandsons, and shaming & harassing him in public in order to force him to show effort as a grandfather. My wife will teach the kids how.

But that's distant future plans. For now, getting into another EU country is preferable, to obtain EU citizen rights (freedom to travel). I'm glad my family will be British.

Shining_brow:

Ah, if only I can find myself a nice (desperate) Italian girl to marry (for 3 years... the time required for getting Italian citizenship - without actually living in Italy!)

9 years 11 weeks ago
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I'm obviously the only one wondering why the Immigration Officer for British Citizenship is speaking Dutch - and not English..... (given that Coin obviously speaks perfect English!)

coineineagh:

you're the only one because of a reading comprehension fail. i spoke with a lawyer specialized in immigration, a dutch lawyer who merely commented on my british citizenship.

9 years 11 weeks ago
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