Deceased father was UK citizen not by descent – Questions

[RedSub]

Hi everyone
I’m in the following situation:

• I was born in 1983 in Sweden to a British father and a German mother. My parents were married at the time of my birth. I am a German citizen and reside in Germany.
• My father, now deceased, was a British citizen otherwise than by descent. He was born in South Africa in 1940 and then immigrated to the UK in 1960 and either registered as a British citizen or became naturalized as one.
• My birth was not registered with British authorities.

After reading through the documents on British citizenship on the gov.uk website and searching this forum, I’m still left with the following questions:

• Am I right in assuming that I am eligible to register as a British citizen?
• Will my father’s passing have any impact on the success of my application?
• Which form would I use? The form UKF seems to be for applicants whose parents were not married at the time of their birth.
• Would I have to provide my father’s South African birth certificate as well as his UK citizenship certificate along with my application? Both have been lost and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to receive certified copies. I currently only have his passport.

Thank you for your help,
Red

[LilyLalilu]

You are automatically British from birth and do not need to register.
As long as you have the documents to prove your late dad's British citizenship other than by descent (and your parents marital status at the time of your birth), you can apply directly for a passport. The fact that he is now deceased is not an issue.
Its a good start that you have his passport. Do you have any details about his naturalisation/registration as a BC (eg certificate number, year etc)? This may be helpful although not necessary I think.

[CR001]

Am I right in assuming that I am eligible to register as a British citizen? If you father British otherwise than descent and married to your mother at the time of your birth, you are automatically British by Descent.

Will my father’s passing have any impact on the success of my application? No

Which form would I use? The form UKF seems to be for applicants whose parents were not married at the time of their birth. Apply for a passport directly.

Would I have to provide my father’s South African birth certificate as well as his UK citizenship certificate along with my application? Both have been lost and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to receive certified copies. I currently only have his passport. His current passport should suffice with your full version birth certificate and parents marriage certificate. You can apply for a copy of his citizenship certificate if you want to but it costs £272.

[secret.simon]

If your father moved to the UK and became a British citizen while South Africa was still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (i.e. before 1960), he would have registered as a British citizen at that time. Else, he would have naturalised as a British citizen.

The National Archives have copies of registration and naturalisation certificates issued before 1986. Contact them for copies. Fees are applicable.

If your parents were married at the time of your birth and your father was a British citizen by either registration or naturalisation at the time of your birth, you were born a British citizen by descent and do not need to register.

Apply for a British passport directly with proof of your father's citizenship status (copy of naturalisation/registration certificate) and parents' married status at time of your birth (their marriage certificate).

EDIT: Beaten by CR001 & LilyLaLilu. I must type faster.

[RedSub]

You are automatically British from birth and do not need to register.
As long as you have the documents to prove your late dad's British citizenship other than by descent (and your parents marital status at the time of your birth), you can apply directly for a passport. The fact that he is now deceased is not an issue.
Its a good start that you have his passport. Do you have any details about his naturalisation/registration as a BC (eg certificate number, year etc)? This may be helpful although not necessary I think.

Thank you for your quick reply. No, unfortunately I don't have any details about his naturalisation or registration. I suppose the issue is this: If the British government doesn't have any record of him being a British citizen otherwise than by descent, perhaps due to his application dating back to the early 1960s, the burden of proof would fall on me?
Now, if I can't produce a copy of his certificate of British citizenship/naturalisation or his birth certificate, there would be no way to prove that he was British otherwise than by descent? - and consequently, I would not be British from birth?

[CR001]

A South African birth certificate will not be of any help.

The National Archives in Kew, London should have records.

[RedSub]

The National Archives have copies of registration and naturalisation certificates issued before 1986. Contact them for copies. Fees are applicable.

Thanks for your quick reply. I've now applied for a search of British citizenship certificates issued in the UK between 1 January 1949 and 30 September 1986. Unfortunately, you can only request copies of certificates of naturalisation if they were issued in the UK between 1 January 1981 and 30 September 1986.

An online search of The National Archives of Kew, which apparently hold naturalisation certificates (1870-1982), has come up empty. Assuming my father naturalised as a British citizen, would he have also received a British citizenship certificate, not just a naturalisation one?

You can apply for a copy of his citizenship certificate if you want to but it costs £272.

Thank you for your replies! I've applied for a search of his citizen certificate through the website mentioned by secret.simon. They state a certified copy would cost £25.50. Is there another way to apply for a copy of his citizenship certificate? - One that would cost £272?

A South African birth certificate will not be of any help.

The National Archives in Kew, London should have records.

As mentioned above, my online search of The National Archives at Kew has come up empty. Does this mean that my father probably registered as a citizen, rather than naturalising? Or could the online database perhaps be incomplete, and would it makes sense for me to visit the archives in person?

[CR001]

The one for £272 is an application directly with Home Office, but you will need specific dates and details etc.

National Archives is fascinating. I have been there a few times and found some really interesting documents relating to my family and they are very helpful too.

[vinny]

As it's important to you, do visit the National Archives in person. It's quite pleasant.

[secret.simon]

As your father was likely a Commonwealth citizen at the time of his acquisition of British citizenship before 1983, he is more likely to have registered than naturalised. So, be sure to search for both naturalisation and registration certificates at Kew.

I have never been to Kew but I am told it is a beautiful place to visit.

[Anna2010]

Hi RedSub,

Have you solved this thing? I met the same same problem as you. I am looking for advice and help.

[CR001]

Hi RedSub,

Have you solved this thing? I met the same same problem as you. I am looking for advice and help.

The user last logged into the forum more than 2 years ago.

Kindly start your own topic with your circumstances and questions for member to offer advice.