United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship by Double Descent (Pre 49 Birth Colony)

This is an exceptional situation caused by an anomaly in the drafting of old British Nationality Law. It applies where:

 a) An applicant was born before 01.01.1949;

 b) An applicant (or an applicant's parent) was born in a former British Colony that retained this status on 01.01.1949; 

 c) An applicant has Right of Abode (through a UK-born grandparent, marriage or residence in the UK); AND

 d) An applicant's parents were married at the time of the applicant's birth (a claim becomes more complex if this was not the case).

A successful application will have to rely on both the applicant and the relevant parent not suffering from the Automatic Loss provisions that were enacted upon Independence of the former Colony. The list of British Colonies excludes those territories given wide powers of self-governance and control over Foreign Policy. So this excludes South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia.