Citizenship or Right of Abode Info (UKM)

[BurnyBoy]

The inquiry is about my wife.

She was born in New Zealand March 1968 and was therefore a British Subject/Commonwealth Citizen.

Her mother was born in the Dominion of New Zealand March 1938. She was a Natural Born British Subject prior to becoming a (CUKC) Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies after the enactment of the (BNA) British Nationality Act 1948 (Section 12.2) and later a British Citizen after the enactment of the BNA 1981.

Her grandfather was born in Durham, England in 1904. He was a CUKC by virtue of BNA 1948 Section 12.1 as well as a British Citizen otherwise than by descent.

My wife’s maternal grandmother was also a British Citizen (CUKC BNA 1948 Section 12.5) as were her paternal grandfather (CUKC BNA 1948 Section 12.2) and paternal grandmother (CUKC BNA 1948 Section 12.5).

My understanding is that my wife cannot currently get Right of Abode as she herself was not a CUKC at birth and only Commonwealth Citizens with British born mothers have this. I have however noted from various appeal case that this can sometimes be achieved on appeal.

Ideally I would like for my wife to get full British Citizenship and note that after recent changes brought about by the “Romein” case, some people are able to register under section 4C of BNA 1981. Unfortunately, this doesn’t currently appear to be possible as she was born in New Zealand and therefore was not considered a “foreign place”.

I am hoping that someone can provide some advice and would be happy to pay for your services if it appears she has a case for either citizenship or Right of Abode. I note that similar enquiries have had positive responses from one poster (secret.simon) in particular but any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

[secret.simon]

I commend you for your excellent research work. Not many on these forums go through the fine print and details of various Acts of Parliament.

In the case of your wife, I think your wife meets the requirements for Form UKM and the easiest way to ascertain whether your wife can apply on that Form is to actually make that application. The application on Form UKM is effectively free (the £80 you pay is for the citizenship ceremony and would be refunded if the application fails). So, go for it, I say.

[BurnyBoy]

Thanks for your prompt and positive response secret.simon

Just one further consideration before I look at making a UKM application.
The Nationality and Borders Bill currently before Parliament includes the following…

5. Disapplication of historical registration requirements

(1) The British Nationality Act 1981 is amended as follows.
(2) In section 4C (acquisition by registration: certain persons born before 1983), for subsection (3D) substitute— “(3D) In determining for the purposes of subsection (3) whether a person would have been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, the requirement that a person’s birth was registered at a United Kingdom consulate, as set out in section 5(1)(b) of the British Nationality Act 1948, is to be ignored.”

Do you think it is worth delaying an application until after this is enacted? I feel it may improve the chances of gaining citizenship if the UKM guidance is updated with these changes.
Thanks for any feedback.

[luthersnowak]

Currently, the guidance for UKM applications does contain wording that reflects the outcome of the Romein case. "https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2016-0165.html" . The basic premise being that specific rights were afforded to men that weren't afforded to women. This included the ability to register a child as a British citizen in some cases. The result of the courts' decision being that it is impossible to determine which mothers were "actually'" impacted by this discrimination, and officials must therefore grant citizenship to those who fall under this category. This is an oversimplified explanation, but you seem like if given the appropriate breadcrumbs, you'll have no trouble following the trail.

I am no expert on this, and truly can only speak from my experience, but your wife's circumstances sound very similar to the above case. With the exception of your wife being born in a commonwealth country.

Also, I agree with Secret_Simon, There is no cost apart from the ceremony fee of £80. As long as the information in your application is correct and (I have to say it) truthful, there is very little risk. The only real cost is the time spent acquiring the appropriate documents and the ceremony fee.

[BurnyBoy]

Can anyone tell me if they have been able to successfully apply for UK Citizenship through their (Commonwealth born) UK Citizen mother if they themselves are also a Commonwealth Citizen.

I am looking at an application for my New Zealand wife. She has a New Zealand born mother (CUKC) and UK born grandfather.

The "Romein" example always emphazises that the applicant be born in a "foreign country" i.e. not in a Commonwealth country.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has had a similar application to mine approved.

Thanks

[luthersnowak]

I'm not sure what impact being born in a commonwealth country would have on your wife's situation.

If you are willing, I'm sure there are a lot of cases in the "UKM Timeline" thread that may be similar.

"british-citizenship/ukm-application-exp ... 05125.html"

Good Luck!