British Citizenship

Registration as a British Citizen application (UKM – British born mother)

In 2010 the UK commenced their Human Rights based implementation of the UKM route where applicants could apply for citizenship if they were prevented from acquiring British citizenship as their mother was not able to pass on her citizenship to her children in the same way as men.

Individuals may be eligible to register as British citizens if they are able to satisfy all of the requirements outlined below. The applicant would need to demonstrate that he/she:

• was born before 1 January 1983; and
• would have become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent if women had been able to pass this citizenship on to their children in the same way as men at the time of his/her birth; and
• would have had the right of abode in the UK and have become a British citizen on 1 January 1983, if s/he had become a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies; and
• is a person of good character.

If the application for registration is successful, the individual will become a British citizen by descent. Applications are sent directly to the Nationality Directorate of the UK Home Office in Liverpool for consideration.
Applications can take between 6 and 9 months to be processed by the Home Office and then a further 4-8 weeks to be dispatched to the British High Commission in Pretoria via diplomatic bag.

Once the certificate is received from London, the British Consular Division in Pretoria will then process it and contact the applicant to schedule an Oath Ceremony locally in South Africa and co-ordinate the return of any original documents. This constitutes the final stage in the registration process, and then the first-time UK passport application is, in essence, a formality thereafter.

Double Descent British Citizenship [maternal grandfather born in the UK]

In 2018 the UK Supreme Court announced a very significant judgment in the Romein case, which determined that anyone born between 1949 and 1983, in a country that was not at the time a member of the British Commonwealth of countries, and who has a maternal grandfather who was born in the UK, should now be able to register as a British citizen and obtain a British passport, even if they do not come to reside in the UK.

So, it follows that for South African applicants they would need to be born at a time when South Africa was not part of the Commonwealth and thus deemed to be a “foreign” country. The dates range is therefore birth in South Africa between 31 May 1962 and 31 December 1982 and their mother’s father was born in the UK [maternal grandfather].

A fee waiver applies to this route as well as to the “mainstream” UKM” [British born mother ] route above so only the ceremony fee of £80 is due.
 

Special Circumstances route – Section 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981

There is a new “special circumstances route to British citizenship due to the implementation of Section 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981, which was introduced by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Pursuant to Section 4L(1)(a) of the 1981 Act, a person may be registered as a British Citizen provided, they are of full age and capacity, and it is established that the person would have become a British Citizen but for “historical legislative unfairness’ which precluded women from passing on their citizenship to their children in the same way as men.

Applicants may be eligible to register as a British citizen if they:

• Were born in South Africa between May 1962 and end December 1987 [when South Africa was deemed to be a “foreign country” within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1948].
• Were born to a mother or father who would have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent if it had been possible for women to pass this citizenship on to their children in the same way as men.
• They had a maternal grandparent [either or both of mother’s parents] or paternal grandmother [just their father’s mother, and not father] who was born in the UK.
• Would have had the right of abode in the UK and have become a British citizen on 1 January 1983, if they had been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies.
• Are of good character.

The applicant’s full birth certificate will be needed – with the vault copy birth certificate being best evidence. And applicants will need their mother’ or father’s full version birth certificate [and their parents’ marriage certificate please] and their maternal UK born grandparent’s or paternal born grandmother’s birth & marriage certificates. Please note that UKVI now accept originals and certified copy documents in support of a British citizenship applications of this nature.

An important note for all UK citizenship routes above: applicants need to take the precaution of safeguarding their South African Citizenship by completing and lodging a Determination of South African Citizenship form with the Dept of Home Affairs [DHA] before we lodge the Section 4L application [this can run in parallel to the consideration of the special circumstances citizenship application and needs to be concluded before Oath Ceremony stage]. This form is available at most DHA offices nationwide. Applicants would need a letter confirming that the Home Office has no issue with dual nationality, AND they would then take this letter to the DHA and complete the relevant form.

The applicant will only be required to pay £130 to attend a citizenship ceremony. And we can assist with a Discretionary MN1 application to register any minor children who were born before the granting of the Section 4L citizenship. Noting that all children born after the acquisition of British citizenship via this Special Circumstances route will be eligible to apply directly for a first-time UK child passport.

MN1 – Child British Citizenship registration route

Section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981

To qualify under this section, the child applicant must have a parent who is a British by descent. The relevant parent must have been born to a parent who was a British citizen otherwise than by descent (i.e. by birth in the UK).

The British citizen by descent parent must have lived in the UK for a continuous period of 3 years at any time before the child’s birth. During that period, they should not have absences exceeding 270 days. The application must be made whilst the child is under 18 years of age.

It is important to note that a child registered under this section will be a British citizen by descent and thus unable to pass British citizenship automatically by descent to any of their children born abroad.
To to successfully submit an application to register as a British Citizen, applicants will need to satisfy the following conditions, and in particular:

• Be under 18 years old when the application is submitted online and the UKVI fee of £1012 is paid.
• Be of good character (this relates to applicants over the age of 10).

The application must be supported by two referees. One referee should be a professional who has engaged with either parent in a professional capacity, such as a teacher, health visitor, social worker or minister of religion.

The other referee must normally be the holder of a British citizen passport and either a professional person or over the age of 25. Each referee should know the child personally and must not be related to the child nor to the other referee.

And should not acting as a solicitor or agent in connection with this application, nor employed by the Home Office.
Please note that the Home Office will not accept a referee who has been convicted of an imprisonable offence during the last 10 years and the sentence has not become spent nor a referee who is or appears to be a relative.

Section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981

With specific reference to the provisions of this section, for child applicants residing in the UK with both parents, and one parent is British by descent:

(5)A person born outside the United Kingdom and the qualifying territories shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen made while he is a minor, to be registered as such a citizen if the following requirements are satisfied, namely—

a. that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British citizen by descent; and

b. subject to subsection (6), that that person and his father and mother were in the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory at the beginning of the period of three years ending with the date of the application and that, in the case of each of them, the number of days on which the person in question was absent from the United Kingdom and the qualifying territories in that period does not exceed 270; and

c. subject to subsection (6), that the consent of his father and mother to the registration has been signified in the prescribed manner.

To qualify under this section, the parent who is British by descent must have been born to a parent who was a British citizen otherwise than by descent (i.e. by birth in the UK).

The applicant child and their British citizen by descent parent (and their other parent) must have lived in the UK for a continuous period of 3 years. During that period, they should not have absences exceeding 270 days. The application must be made whilst the child is under 18 years of age.

It is important to note that a child registered under this section will be a British citizen by descent and unable to pass British citizenship automatically by descent to any of their children born abroad.

To successfully submit an application to register as a British Citizen, the minor applicant will need to satisfy the following conditions, and in particular:

• Be under 18 years old when the application is made.
• Be of good character (this relates to applicants over the age of 10).

The application must be supported by two referees. One referee should be a professional who has engaged with either parent in a professional capacity, such as a teacher, health visitor, social worker or minister of religion.

The other referee must normally be the holder of a British citizen passport and either a professional person or over the age of 25. Each referee should know the child personally and must not be related to the child nor to the other referee.

And should not acting as a solicitor or agent in connection with this application, nor employed by the Home Office.

Please note that the Home Office will not accept a referee who has been convicted of an imprisonable offence during the last 10 years and the sentence has not become spent nor a referee who is or appears to be a relative.