On a disability pension: can I still get UK citizenship?

[giraffe]

I'm dependent on the welfare state, being disabled. Am I still entitled to British citizenship?

Both my parents born and raised the UK. I was born here in Australia in 1967.

My father's documents might be hard to get hold of. His name was changed a couple of times in his childhood, and he lost all his documents after moving here to Australia.

My mother still holds a British passport though. Her documents shouldn't be hard to obtain.

[vinny]

Note that:

Before 1983, as a general rule British nationality could only be transmitted from the father through one generation only, and parents were required to be married. See History of British nationality law.

See also Can I register as a British citizen if I was born before 1983 to a British mother? and Chapter 7: Registration by entitlement of certain people born before 1983 to women who were citizens of the United Kingdom and colonies

[giraffe]

thanks for the link to the Immigration Act.

[JAJ]

I'm dependent on the welfare state, being disabled. Am I still entitled to British citizenship?

Both my parents born and raised the UK. I was born here in Australia in 1967.

My father's documents might be hard to get hold of. His name was changed a couple of times in his childhood, and he lost all his documents after moving here to Australia.

My mother still holds a British passport though. Her documents shouldn't be hard to obtain.

Yes, you're eligible. If your parents were married you are automatically British, although if your father has lost all his identity documentation (very "not smart" by the way) then you will have difficulty proving it.

Alternatively, you can register as a British citizen based on your mother.

Are you still in touch with your father? Can he re-assemble his ID documentation?, ie retrieve his birth certificate and document his change of name (at must be on his Australian immigration/citizenship file, at least).

As for your mother, is she an Australian citizen and if not, has she thought about becoming one?

[giraffe]

Yes, you're eligible. If your parents were married you are automatically British, although if your father has lost all his identity documentation (very "not smart" by the way) then you will have difficulty proving it.

Alternatively, you can register as a British citizen based on your mother

The word "register" sounds very easy to do. Am I automatically entitled to British citizennship on the basis of my mum being British? (I have no criminal record, and no traffic fines for three years, just btw)

Are you still in touch with your father? Can he re-assemble his ID documentation?, ie retrieve his birth certificate and document his change of name (at must be on his Australian immigration/citizenship file, at least).

Yes I am in touch with him, and he now has his birth certificate. Problem is, his mother changed his name when he was a child to hide his ethnicity (he's Jewish, and this was during WW2, just fyi). So he had a different name, to that on his birth certificate, by the time he'd migrated to Australia and conceived me.

On my Aussie birth certificate, my father is listed as a man named Simon. I do not know how I go about proving that Simon was in fact born Solomon, in London 1938. From their site, it appears UK Deed Poll does not keep records of name changes prior to May 2000. https://secure.ukdps.co.uk/ApplyForArch ... dPoll.html

As for your mother, is she an Australian citizen and if not, has she thought about becoming one?

She is a dual citizen of both the UK and Australia.

[JAJ]

Registration is normally straightforward as long as you do not have criminal offences.

It may be easier to register as British based on your mother compared to claiming British citizenship through your father.

You can also claim Right of Abode through your mother, although normally it is simpler to become a British citizen.

Regarding your father, if he is still alive and has his birth certificate, can he not track down whatever document led to his name being changed? For example, was a note made of this in his Australian immigration/citizenship file?