United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - NEW - British Citizenship by Discretion (4L Post 82 - PGF)

This new solution has arisen in February 2024, following extensive research of the drafting of the British Nationality Act 1981 and the purpose of specific clauses therein.

The UK Government entered into a treaty with the United Nations some years ago to enshrine equal rights for women and children. Included in the Treaty is the right for their children (and potentially, their grandchildren) to acquire citizenship by descent on the same terms as if such a right had come down the paternal side of the family. Equally, any discrimination against children born out of wedlock must be addressed.  While the UK had previously passed legislation to allow such claims, the Home Office has interpreted this legislation in relation to making claims to British Nationality by descent to be effective only for those born in the first generation. The historic legislative framework of the UK therefore did not fully address gender discrimination in relation to citizenship applications.

It was only in 1983 that the issue of gender discrimination in British nationality law was addressed for the first time. However, there remained many areas in the law that were not taken into account, and several further changes have been made in the years since 1983 to remedy these. But the complexities of the old laws, and the legacy of the British colonial empire, meant that instances of unfairness still remained.

Further new legislation was proposed and Philip Gamble, founder and our Senior Partner and widely regarded as the world's leading British nationality expert on the subject, made representations to the Parliamentary sub-committee that looked into this issue. The resulting new legislation now gives the Home Office a wide discretion to apply common sense to addressing historic legislative unfairness. Based on your family tree, it appears that a potential application under the new discretionary laws would be successful. While the theory is complex, this solution broadly requires the following:

 - Applicant born in a qualifying country (which includes South Africa and the United States);
 - Applicant born between 1 January 1983 and 31 December 1987; AND
 - Applicant's paternal grandfather was born in the UK.

PLEASE NOTE: If such an applicant has any children under the age of 18, then these children may also be able to be registered as British citizens.