Citizenship from birth in Australia pre-1947

Hi there,

Just trying to figure out if there is potential UK citizenship or ancestry visa from my family line due to birth dates.

I was born in 1982, my mother was born in 1945 and my dad in 1947 (i.e. before the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948), and my maternal grandfather was born in 1886 (before federation), all in Australia.

(All other grandparents were also born in Australia, in the 1920s I think)

Also my grandfather fought in WW1, just in case that counts for anything...

Thank you.

Ps that's not a mistype. My grandfather was born in 1886 (not 'great' grandfather), we are born almost 100 years apart!

Definitely not an Ancestry visa as the first requirement you must meet for that visa is that you must have a UK born grandparent.

I will leave secret.simon to perhaps comment on your other questions, but at a glance with the limited info posted, it doesn't appear so in my view but I do stand corrected.

Thank you for the quick reply. I figured as much on the ancestry visa front (never hurts to ask, though), but I was particularly interested in the potential double descent or other due to the parents & grandparent both being born in UK colonies when there was no distinction at the time between British citizen and British subject.

(potential CUKC? BOC? I am not sure how the subsequent British Nationality Act 1948 and Immigration Act 1971 and British Nationality Act 1981 affects this).

Thanks again.

It is important to note that a BOC does not have right of abode in the UK and as far as I am aware and not able to live/work in the UK freely, and is likely not 'inheritable'.

Member secret.simon is quite knowledgeable on historical aspects of citizenship, so hopefully he comes online soon to offer some interesting insights and likely links.

British Citizenship by Descent (UKM Non Std pre 1983)

> The candidate must have been born between 01.01.1949 and 01.01.1983; AND
> The candidate can be born anywhere in the world (in other words, the birth did not have to occur in the United Kingdom); AND
>The mother of the candidate was:
a) Registered as a Citizen of the UK and Colonies in a Commonwealth country that was at the time independent of British Rule and this registration took place BEFORE the candidate's birth; OR
d) born in a UK Colony, was not subject to the loss of her British Nationality with the Independence arrangements, and did not renounce her British Nationality;

I was born in 1982 (pre 1983), my mum was born in Australia in 1945 (when there was no distinction between British subjects and citizens).

Re (a): Was Australia a CUKC country at that time, or recognised as one later? How do I find out of she ever 'registered'?

re (b): Was Australia still a 'colony' by definition at the time of her birth? How do I find out if she lost her British nationality in the subsequent years due to law changes?

If anyone with some good knowledge in this "non standard" area could advise, or let me know a really good citizenship lawyer I could speak to, I'd be ever so grateful!

Your question's interaction with history and law is long and involved and I will need time for a fuller answer.

The broad gist (I am not going into specifics because I need time) is that generally the predecessor to the current British citizenship, CUKC, could typically only be inherited one generation outside the UK and colonies as then.

PolaVonSlouch wrote: Re (a): Was Australia a CUKC country at that time, or recognised as one later? How do I find out of she ever 'registered'?

re (b): Was Australia still a 'colony' by definition at the time of her birth? How do I find out if she lost her British nationality in the subsequent years due to law changes?

Australia ceased to be a colony in 1931 (See Section 11 of the Statute of Westminster 1931 read with Section 1 of that Act).

Section 12 of the British Nationality Act 1948 lists which British subjects acquired CUKC (Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies) in 1948. Broadly, either the person or his/her father needed to have been born in the UK and Colonies (as defined in 1948). As your mother's father was not born in the UK and Colonies (as in 1948), he would neither have CUKC nor would he be able to pass it on to his children.

Section 32 of that Act specifically excludes Australia and the other Dominions from the definition of Colony.

So, prima facie, I doubt that your mother even had CUKC in 1948, never mind British citizenship in 1983. Had she had CUKC in 1983, her connection to the UK was so remote that she would have been a British Overseas citizen, without right to live in the UK and would not have been able to pass it on you.

Please go through the resources below and post any further questions. I will do my best to respond, but remember I am not a lawyer.

Further Reading
British Nationality Act 1948 (as enacted)
Immigration Act 1971 (as enacted) - Pay particular attention to Section 2
British Nationality Act 1981
British Nationality: Summary
History of British Nationality Acts

Happy reading.

Thank you very much for your comprehensive response which as given me excellent insight into my situation.
I have learned quite a bit about Australian/British citizenship history from reading the relevant Acts which, if it results in nothing else, has been fascinating in itself.

PolaVonSlouch wrote:I have learned quite a bit about Australian/British citizenship history from reading the relevant Acts which, if it results in nothing else, has been fascinating in itself.

That is pretty much how I started out; reading one section, cross-referencing it with another, learning about the history, the background. And in no time, I was neck-deep in it. It is very fascinating and quite instructive in terms of history too.

Exactly. I was hoping (however small the hope) that the almost-unique circumstance of my grandfather being born so long ago in a former British colony might yield better results. However, I've been very interested to learn the history anyway. I honestly thought Australian citizenship would have 'started' in 1901 with federation and I certainly didn't think my parents would have been British Subjects being born in the 1940s! Thanks again for your help.

British subject as a status in a sense still exists, though over time, it got converted into "Commonwealth citizenship" as more and more of the Dominions became republics. Preferential treatment for Commonwealth citizens in other Commonwealth countries (e.g. British citizens in Australia and vice-versa) also continued till the 1980s.

Commonwealth citizens still get some extra rights in the UK, such as the right to vote in UK general elections, and if on ILR, the right to be an MP or a member of the House of Lords. At least one member of the House of Lords is a non-British Commonwealth (coincidentally, she is Australian) citizen.

Citizenship as a concept within the British Empire started in 1948. I think (I am not absolutely sure) that it was the Canadians and Australians who pushed for citizenships within the Commonwealth. That is why people of those times (between the 1950s and 1980s) would have a status like "Australian citizen and British subject".

To some extent, the winds of change led to the tearing asunder of these ties, with the UK integrating with the EEC (as then) and Australia, mainly under Whitlam/Labour, pivoting towards South East Asia.

Conversely, this is also a lesson for people fussing about Brexit. Similar changes have happened in the past and will no doubt occur again in the future.