First Adult Passport and Confirming British Nationality

Hi there, I am hoping someone can help me with some advice.

I would like to apply for my first Adult British Passport and just have some queries about this.

I was born in the UK in 1990. My parents were French Nationals and were Married in the UK in 1977. They were both working so I assume they had Permanent Residence Status.
The UK GOV website states this :
You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was both:
-a citizen of a country that was in the EU or the EEA and had full free movement rights - people from Portugal and Spain got these rights on 1 January 1992
-living in the UK, and working or studying here
If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

Based on the above am I already a British Citizen/National?
If I apply for a passport, will I need to prove their status?
My father has passed away so I don't know how to get proof that he was working and my mum doesn't have any proof either as it was so long ago and hasn't kept any documents.

I look forward to your help and advice.

Kind regards

jaygun007 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:56 pm

Based on the above am I already a British Citizen/National?

You are correct that you may already be a British citizen.

Prior to 30th October 2000, ILR was available on request for EEA Citizens working in the UK and also, any proof of working in the UK prior to that date would be taken as proof that the EEA Citizen was settled in the UK.

If you has proof of working of either parent living and working in the UK before your birth (payslips, P45s, P60s, etc), that should be sufficient to prove your British citizenship.

See from Page 22 of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals: free movement rights guidance.

jaygun007 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:56 pm

If I apply for a passport, will I need to prove their status?

Yes. The onus is on you to prove that you hold British citizenship. And not only will you have to prove your citizenship once, you may be asked to prove it at any time in the future during passport renewal. British passports are only prima facie proof of British citizenship and not determinative proof and it has happened that British passports issued to EEA citizens on the basis of their parents status was later not renewed when their (the parents') status was claified at a subsequent passport renewal.

You will need to collect documents to prove that one of your parents worked in the UK before your birth or held ILR (which was then issued on request to EEA citizens) before your birth. So get your mother to check their (both parents) passports to see if they were stamped with ILR at ome point before your birth.

Government issued documentation is ideally best, so P45s, P60s, etc (all must be dated before your birth). You can also try to get your mother to contact her former places of work to get a letter stating her period of work there, etc.

If you can't find such proof, you will quite likely not be issued a British passport. You will then have two choices.

As you were born in the UK, you can apply to register as a British citizen using Form T. You would need to prove that you resided in the UK for the first ten years of your life with an absence from the UK of no more than 90 days per year. While school records cover most of the years in that period, you will need additional documentation for the first three years of your life, which is generally GP records of inoculation, GP visits, etc. However, most GPs will have destroyed records stretching that far back.

If you do not have those records, then the last alternative is naturalisation in the usual way (Settled Status + 1 year and meeting all the usual requirements of naturalisation).

Thank you so much for your prompt and very informative response.

I have found some of their previous passports and the only one that was registered before my year of birth is my late fathers and that doesn't seem to have a stamp stating ILR unfortunately.

I have asked my mother about her previous employment but as she's nearly 72 she can't seem to remember that precisely. I will ask her again as something may time may help jog her memory. I have google searched about requesting employment history from the HMRC so I may try that avenue as well and request both my mothers' and fathers'. Hopefully this works and I don't have to go through the other two methods.

Once again, thank you very much for your help and advice.

jaygun007 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:41 pm

I have google searched about requesting employment history from the HMRC so I may try that avenue as well and request both my mothers' and fathers'.

It is improbable that they would have information going back so many years. Keep in mind that for data protection reasons, government departments delete data from their systems on a regular basis and the chances of finding data more than 10 years old are very slim (unless there is a business case for the government department to hold on to that data, such as ongoing court cases, etc).

As I mentioned, the onus is on the individual to retain a copy of the information required.

While the above may come across as negative, it is to set your expectations and keep them realistic.

Does your mother remember what organisations she or your father used to work for before your birth? It may be worth contacting those organisations to see what records they may have maintained.

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 22, 2021 10:55 pm

Keep in mind that for data protection reasons, government departments delete data from their systems on a regular basis and the chances of finding data more than 10 years old are very slim (unless there is a business case for the government department to hold on to that data, such as ongoing court cases, etc).

A disastrous policy in a hostile environment?

Perhaps data protection should include that the correct important data is encrypted and secure and not destroyed?

Unfortunately, it’s often the case where one doesn’t know what data is important until it’s needed and lost.