British Citizenship Query via Rhodesia (Crown Service)

[DF86]

Hi guys,

My wife is exploring her British citizenship status and I thought this would be a good place to explain the situation and get advice, before we go ahead with spending money and time on this.

Her situation is as follows:

My wife's maternal grandfather was born England in 1926 and was a British citizen. Her maternal grandmother is a British citizen as she was born in Rhodesia (as it was called then) in 1931. My wife's mom was born in Rhodesia in 1964 and has British citizenship too (I think by descent).

However, the interesting thing is that her grandfather worked as a Mining Engineer at the Department of Mining Engineering in Rhodesia during the time of my wife's moms birth. According to the law, she may have a claim for British citizenship due to this.

So my specific question is if working for Dept of Mining Engineering in 1964 meets the requirements of working for the Crown service? Remember that Rhodesia's UDI was in November 1965.

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[alterhase58]

Maybe this helps:
british-citizenship/section-4-crown-ser ... 22754.html

[DF86]

Thanks.

Has that list been updated at all? I see it's from 2013. Also, do you know if there are any exceptions and if this might be considered Crown Service?

[alterhase58]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ooklet.pdf
Refer to the "Crown Service" section page 26 in the Naturalisation guidance for applicants - some members here may be able to give you further insight. I guess the definitions won't be updated regularly because nothing material has changed.

[DF86]

Interesting, thanks.

The thing is though, in 1964 Southern Rhodesia was not yet independent. I'm struggling to find much about Crown Service in Souther Rhodesia.

Has anyone come across anything that might help me get specific answers?

[secret.simon]

Her maternal grandmother is a British citizen

Is she still alive? And does she have a British passport? Where were her parents born?

Also, when and where was your wife born?

[DF86]

Her maternal grandmother was born in Southern Rhodesia in 1931, is a British citizen and held a British passport until very recently and is still alive. I think her parents were born in South Africa but had Scottish descent.

[DF86]

My wife was born in 1990 in South Africa.

[DF86]

Her maternal grandmother is a British citizen

Is she still alive? And does she have a British passport? Where were her parents born?

Also, when and where was your wife born?

I should've replied like this yesterday. Info below.

Her maternal grandmother was born in Southern Rhodesia in 1931, is a British citizen and held a British passport until very recently and is still alive. I think her grandmother's parents were born in South Africa but had Scottish descent. My wife was born in 1990 in South Africa.

Any thoughts?

[secret.simon]

Your query will need further research, but keep in mind that generally, for it to count as Crown Service, the relevant ancestor needs to have been hired in the UK and then sent abroad/to the colonies to work.

Crown Service generally applied only to the senior civil servants (governors, etc), who were sent from the UK, not the entire bureaucracy of all the colonies.

[DF86]

Thanks for the info. Super useful.

Do you think there's an opportunity to acquire citizenship through her grandmother born in Southern Rhodesia?

[secret.simon]

Remember that till 1983, Citizenship of the UK and Colonies could only be inherited through the father (if the parents were married).

Was your wife's mother a British citizen in her own right with a British passport?

[DF86]

Yeah, she is a British citizen but was born in Rhodesia in 1964. I'm not sure if she got it by descent from her UK-born father or through him working for the govt and thus via Crown Service.

[DF86]

Your query will need further research, but keep in mind that generally, for it to count as Crown Service, the relevant ancestor needs to have been hired in the UK and then sent abroad/to the colonies to work.

Crown Service generally applied only to the senior civil servants (governors, etc), who were sent from the UK, not the entire bureaucracy of all the colonies.

According to this link - https://www.whatpassport.com/countries/ ... _Rhodesia) - work in the Rhodesian govt is now considered as Crown or Designated Service.

We might have a case here. Any opinions?

[DF86]

Your query will need further research, but keep in mind that generally, for it to count as Crown Service, the relevant ancestor needs to have been hired in the UK and then sent abroad/to the colonies to work.

Crown Service generally applied only to the senior civil servants (governors, etc), who were sent from the UK, not the entire bureaucracy of all the colonies.

According to this link - https://www.whatpassport.com/countries/ ... _Rhodesia) - work in the Rhodesian govt is now considered as Crown or Designated Service.

We might have a case here. Any opinions?

Spoke to my wife's grandmother today, she says they were in the UK before heading to Rhodesia. It was a long time ago and she can't remember all the details but I guess that's a good sign.

We're going to pay for a Status Trace with Sable International - https://www.whatpassport.com/countries/ ... atus_Trace - any last thoughts from the community here before we pull the trigger on this?

Thanks in advance for all your help so far!