Born in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland (Mafikeng)

[Fairtrade]

Hi all...

I have a relative of mine who was born in Mafikeng in 1952, (British protectorate of Bechuanaland)

Will they be entitled to any form of British overseas citizenship based on the fact that she was born in a british protectorate??

The person also has a scottish born grandparent but she has no intention of coming over to Britain as she is already settled in South Africa. I'm only asking as a relative and out of my own interest.

Any information would be appreciated. Thank You.

[JAJ]

Here's an interesting conundrum ... Mafikeng was the capital of Bechuanaland but was not located on its territory!

(it's on South African territory).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafikeng

If she had been born in a British protectorate then (with a Scottish grandparent) then she would now be a British citizen by descent, but that may not have been the case.

Where was your relative's father born and what was he doing in that area in 1952? Any form of U.K. recruited Crown Service?

[Fairtrade]

All I know is that her dad worked in Mafikeng for a Railway Company??
He use to (when he was still alive) talk about his experiences on the steam engines .....(don't ask me which railway company or whether it was part of the crown service??) All I know he was based in Mafikeng and she was born 1952 when it was still a british protectorate.


Her father himself was born in Kimberley, (that town where all the diamonds were found) South Africa but his mom was from Scotland and he use to go over to Scotland to visit family from time to time.


Like I said, I was more interested out of my own interest whether she would have been entitled to any form of british overseas citizenship or not. She would probably not even go to the effort of finding out herself and even though she had a Scottish grandparent she has no intention of moving back as she is happily settled now.

[Siggi]

Fairtrade,

Interesting question you pose, but I'm of the opinion, Mafikengs status as prtectorate ceased long before 1952 and was incorporated into the Union of South African in 1910, in which case she has no claim on BOC.

Her only option if she wanted to come to the UK settle would be Ancestral visa route via her Grandparents.
This is a long frustrating and expensive way of becomming British.

[JAJ]

All I know is that her dad worked in Mafikeng for a Railway Company??
He use to (when he was still alive) talk about his experiences on the steam engines .....(don't ask me which railway company or whether it was part of the crown service??) All I know he was based in Mafikeng and she was born 1952 when it was still a british protectorate.


Her father himself was born in Kimberley, (that town where all the diamonds were found) South Africa but his mom was from Scotland and he use to go over to Scotland to visit family from time to time.


Like I said, I was more interested out of my own interest whether she would have been entitled to any form of british overseas citizenship or not. She would probably not even go to the effort of finding out herself and even though she had a Scottish grandparent she has no intention of moving back as she is happily settled now.

Once again - Mafeking wasn't in the British protectorate!

Even if she had been born in the Protectorate, it appears that her father was South African and not a United Kingdom citizen (at the time, British mothers could not pass on their citizenship), and hence she would not have acquired United Kingdom citizenship at birth.

And there is no evidence she was registered as a United Kingdom citizen by the Governor of the Protectorate.

Based on all that, I see no claim for British nationality. If you could find a good British nationality lawyer you could check this for sure, but the answer might well be the same.

The Ancestry Visa is an option to immigrate to Britain: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

[Fairtrade]

I think the bit that confused me was the fact that Mafikeng served as capital of the Bechuanaland Protectorate even though it was outside the protectorate's borders from 1894 until 1965.

That's like Calais serving as capital of England even though it just outside the border of England. Very strange indeed.

Like I said she is not bothered about moving to the Uk.
My curiousity getting the better of me.