United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship by Double Descent (Romein - Marriage pre 49)
This route to British nationality arises from an anomaly in the British Nationality Act of 1948 and is based on a complicated set of circumstances.
The 1948 Act gave Citizenship of the UK & Colonies (or CUKC) status to those people connected to Australia and Canada if they did not become citizens of a Commonwealth country on 1 January 1949. The anomaly arises because the law of these two countries relies on a woman claiming citizenship through marriage to reside in either of these two countries before 1949 (and not all did so). The solution relies on the following set of circumstances:
- born after 31 December 1948;
- to a mother born before 1949;
- who was not born in a British Crown Dominion;
- and was married to a Canadian or Australian man before 1949; AND
- she was not resident in Australia or Canada on 1 January 1949.
Where children of such a mother are born between 1 January 1949 and 31 December 1982 in what is considered a "Foreign Country", then an application to register such a person can be made.