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Am I eligible for British Citizenship?
saggio
Registered User
Registered User
This is a bit of a complex situation, so, bear with me as I try to explain it...
I'm from Canada. Born and raised here, been a citizen since the moment I came into existence. My immediate family are all Canadian citizens, including my father, who was actually born overseas. In Scotland, actually, during the Second World War. His mother, my grandmother, married a Canadian soldier, and then emigrated with him to Canada after the War - she's what you call a "war-bride."
My father should almost absolutely be eligible for British citizenship and a British passport, but he has never applied for the latter, and he hasn't been back to Britain to exercise the rights of the former since he arrived here as a boy in 1946. If he didn't claim British citizenship, would that affect my eligibility?
This whole thing is complicated by the fact that Canada didn't pass its Citizenship Act until 1947, and the UK has an incredibly complex citizenship system.
So, H/A, am I eligible for British Citizenship?
I'm from Canada. Born and raised here, been a citizen since the moment I came into existence. My immediate family are all Canadian citizens, including my father, who was actually born overseas. In Scotland, actually, during the Second World War. His mother, my grandmother, married a Canadian soldier, and then emigrated with him to Canada after the War - she's what you call a "war-bride."
My father should almost absolutely be eligible for British citizenship and a British passport, but he has never applied for the latter, and he hasn't been back to Britain to exercise the rights of the former since he arrived here as a boy in 1946. If he didn't claim British citizenship, would that affect my eligibility?
This whole thing is complicated by the fact that Canada didn't pass its Citizenship Act until 1947, and the UK has an incredibly complex citizenship system.
So, H/A, am I eligible for British Citizenship?
saggio on
Posts
Short answer: No. At least, not without the school/work/finance visa rigamarole that the rest of us need to go through.
Long answer: If your father has claimed his citizenship at some point in his life - if he is, in fact, a dual citizen - then you may have a better shot because you can put down on your application that your father is a citizen. Chances are he never bothered with this, though, if he never intended to return to the UK.
Adding citizenship is an ugly, messy business. Dual citizens sometimes run into issues when it comes to voting (you usually have to pick a country, you can't vote in both), and in some cases, depending on the countries involved, actually end up needing to renounce the old citizenship to obtain the new one.
Short answer is no. You are only a British citizen by descent from your parents. As your father chose not to exercise his right, you don't get to either.
You can, however, play football for England if you're any good
As a Commonwealth member, you will find the process of getting a work permit far easier than if you were an American, so if you just want to live/work in the UK, rather than actually become a citizen, you can do that.
Reading comprehension is hard.