British Citizen if named in British father's passport?

Hello all,

I'm in a really complicated situation which is causing me a lot of worry. I would be SO grateful to anyone who can clear things up for me.

I was born prior to the 1st of Jan 1983 (but only a few months before) in Spain to a British father and an American mother. I got a Spanish birth certificate with a mistake on the surname, but then a consular report of birth abroad from the US embassy in Seville which put my name correctly. We travelled to the UK when I was just over 1 year old with me mentioned in my dad's passport under 'Observations': it names me (correctly), under a heading stamped 'BRITISH CITIZEN', adding 'Holder had the right of abode in the United Kingdom'.

I then got an American passport (why I don't know, possibly because of the mistake on my Spanish birth certificate), with IDL stamped in it. My next two passports also had IDL stamps, though I never got a card as far as I know.

I continued to live in the UK for nearly thirty years until I tried to move to Spain, whereupon I discovered that I could not get residency as an American, as I needed to process my application in the US and prove that I had lived there for 5 years (something I have never done - I have not even been back to the States in 15 years). I speak, behave, see myself as British. Both my children have British passports also.

About a year ago I had my then current passport and the previous one (with the IDL stamp) stolen. I travelled back to the UK several times with the new passport, but without having an old passport to prove the IDL. I have now found a passport from when I was a child that shows the IDL stamp, but now I am worried that I have lost my IDL status, having got the visitor stamps in my passport.

What I need to do is apply for a first adult British passport, which I can only do from within the UK; I am sure that I have eligibility as I am British by descent. However, I am worried about entering the UK as I now appear to have lost residency in the UK, and don't yet have residency in Spain!!

My query is this: does my name in my father's British passport, under the heading 'British citizen', count as naturalisation? Have I been since that point a British citizen? If that is the case, can I ask for my IDL to be reinstated, or would I have to go through the whole citizenship process again? (Pointless anyway, as the passport is the more sensible solution). Is it possible to retain permanent residency in the UK despite having entered several times as a visitor, or am I officially now resident of nowhere?

It is a very upsetting and stressful situation as I am currently having to cart around two young children between the UK (where their dad lives) and Spain (where my very supportive family lives) and remaining a visitor everywhere I go. Can I argue for reinstating my IDL on humanitarian/compassionate grounds? I am going through a great deal of distress over this problem and am getting to my limit with having no permanent home. THANKYOU for any kind soul who can help!

If you father was born in the UK to British parents, so obviously British other than by descent and you were born abroad, you are automatically British by Descent and can apply directly for a passport.

Were your parents married at the time of your birth?