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Can British nationals by descent pass on nationality if they themselves have no other nationality?

Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:08 am
by tr23uk
I'm doing some forward thinking for my children and specifically their children should they have them.
I am a British Citizen by birth and my girls were born overseas to a Moroccan mother.
My children have British nationality by descent and have held British passports since an early age.
We reside in Morocco where they were born.
Moroccan nationailty can be applied for on the basis their mother is Moroccan but that hasn't been done.

My future grandchildren would not normally acquire British nationality automatically by descent (if I understand the rules correctly) because their parents (my children) were themselves beneficiaries of British passports by descent.

If my children do not apply for Moroccan nationality, their only granted nationality is British so what would be the nationality rights be for their children? I understand that the nationality of the other parent will be relevant but just for the sake of argument (like if there was no father, or the other parent is also British by descent). Ultimately I seek this knowledge to know whether I should refrain from applying for their Moroccan nationality if it might impede the British rights further down the line.

I hope this makes sense.

Re: Can British nationals by descent pass on nationality if they themselves have no other nationality?

Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:30 am
by meself2
tr23uk wrote:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:08 am
so what would be the nationality rights be for their children?
Most likely, they'll be stateless; have no passport. That is something that can happen.
Their further path to nationality is defined by Moroccan laws about stateless people, or you could just register the children as Moroccan - the most straightforward way.

There is a way for stateless children to get citizenship, but for that they'd have to live in the UK for 3 years (https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-st ... nuary-1983 ), and I don't know how will they be able to travel without any travel document or passport.

Also laws might change in this time period; it's way too early to ask.

Re: Can British nationals by descent pass on nationality if they themselves have no other nationality?

Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:51 am
by tr23uk
Thank you.
Yes, there are undetermined factors. I'm mainly looking for reasons on the British side why I shouldn't rush to register their nationality on the Moroccan side. Probably no reason. I'll just ensure they have a clear understanding when the time is right.

Re: Can British nationals by descent pass on nationality if they themselves have no other nationality?

Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2023 11:18 am
by contorted_svy
If Morocco allows for double citizenship, that shouldn't be a problem, your daughters can just be double citizens, and if their children will be born in the UK they should be eligible to register as British (unless the rules change). International agreements can of course change at any time, but it's hard to plan that far ahead in the future.