Citizenship Question - Grandson of British Indian Army Officer

Hi,

I am an Indian citizen and I am living in UK on a work permit visa (General Tier 2). My visa has been sponsored by my employer. I have been living in UK for more than 2 years now.

I wanted to know if there is any special case in the process of obtaining British citizenship if one of our ancestors served in the British Indian Army and fought in World War 2.

My grandfather served as an officer in the Indian Army (at that time called the British Indian Army) and he fought for Britain in World War 2. I have all his service records and relevant documents to substantiate these claims.

However, I would like to understand if there is any special provision for such cases while considering citizenship?

Thanks.

mister_someone wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 23, 2020 2:45 pm

I wanted to know if there is any special case in the process of obtaining British citizenship if one of our ancestors served in the British Indian Army and fought in World War 2.

Broadly, no.

Firstly, it may surprise you to learn that India was not a colony in British law, but a separate "Indian Empire" within the wider British Empire. That is why India was a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles and to the founding of the United Nations before Indian independence.

The general requirement for Crown Service is that the recruitment took place in the UK, while the service was abroad. That is why Crown Service tends to be for senior members of the relevant hierarchy (Governors, heads of the relevant regiment, etc).

In any case, British citizenship (or the status of British subject, as then) was radically redefined in 1948-9, just after Indian independence. And further restrictions also kicked in in the 1960s, 1971 and 1983.

Even assuming that your grandfather retained his British subject status (unlikely if Indian law made him an Indian citizen) and became a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or remained a British Subject without citizenship (see further below), he would not have acquired the Right of Abode in 1971 (which requires the person, one of their parents or one of their grand-parents) to have been born in the UK) and so would have become a British Overseas Citizen (without the right to reside in the UK) in 1983.

A small group of people, who did not automatically acquire Indian citizenship in 1950, remain as British subjects without citizenship and that status is not inheritable. And even British subjects without citizenship do not have the right to reside in the UK (i.e. they are also subject to immigration control).

So the chances of your acquiring British citizenship through your grandfather are vanishingly small, bordering on non-existent.

EDIT: Also see this brief (out-of-date as it does not include the Immigration Acts 2014 & 2016) history of the Immigration Acts, of the history of British nationality and British Nationality Acts through the ages on the Gov.UK website.

@secret.simon: Thanks for the detailed response. To be more clear, my grandfather was born in India, he had Indian citizenship and he started his career in Indian Army in India. He was not recruited into Army in Britain. Since India was a British colony in those days, so Indian Army was effectively called as British Indian Army.

Based on your response, I can see that this option of obtaining citizenship on the grounds of my grandfather being a part of the British Indian Army and fighting in World War 2 for Britain is not valid. Thank you for clarifying.