United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship by Descent (Parent born in UK pre 83)

Standard Claims

You are normally eligible for British citizenship by Descent (and what we would term a STANDARD route to British Nationality) if you were born to a parent* (a father or mother) who was:

• born in the UK before 01.01.1983; OR
• Naturalised in the UK before your birth.

In such situations, the relevant parent is considered as being British Other than by Descent, and can pass British nationality to their children.

* It gets more complicated if:

• your parents weren't married at the time of your birth; OR
• you were adopted.

Non-Standard Claims

All other claims to British nationality that do not fall within the criteria of a Standard claim are known as Non-Standard claims.

The most common scenario is where the applicant has a British parent born outside of the UK, or has a grandparent born in the UK or India. Key to qualifying is if:

• the relevant parent can be defined as British Other Than by Descent; OR
• the Independence Day arrangements allowed for British nationality to pass from one generation to the next.

These cases need to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Such situations would lead to a NON-STANDARD route to British Nationality, and would rely on the exceptions allowed through nationality law or the anomalies created by the drafting of old colonial nationality law.