British Overseas Citizen

Hi

I was born in Malaysia in 1979 and came to the UK for further studies in 2002. My dad who was born in 1943 in Malacca came to know about British Overseas Citizen and understood he can pass on the citizenship by descent.

I applied and received the BOC passport in 2005 in the UK. Whilst it is stated that "no right of abode in the United Kingdom derives from the status as British Overseas citizen"; on the back cover it states "THE HOLDER IS SUBJECT TO CONTROL UNDER THE IMMIGRATION ACT 1971" and there is no ILR stamp, I applied and am employed as a permanent civil servant in 2007 and my status has never changed since then.

Based on the above information, can anybody advise whether there is any chance of me applying to be a British citizen?

Any information would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Hi wulipuli,

I am in a similar situation to you, a BOC by decent (father born in Penang prior to 31 August 1957) and have done considerable research in this subject matter. From your post I note that you have been working in the UK since 2007 which suggest that you have qualified for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) quite some time ago. Have you applied for or do you already have ILR status? BOCs can register (which is a simpler process than naturalise) as a British Citizen after living in the UK for 5 years with a minimum of 12 months on ILR status.

Hope this info helps.

kbmr