What if you can't get Parents marriage certificate???

[Shevcraig]

Hoping someone can help. My mother-in-law, living in South africa, is applying for a british passport. Her father was a British citizen. She needs her parents Marriage certificate but they were married in Kenya. Kenya is going through a civil war and it is impossible to get hold of anyone. My mother-in-laws sister (same Parents) applied for her british passport while she was living and working in Saudi Arabia and recieved it no problem. She wasn't asked to produce the parents marriage certificate.
Has anyone encounted similar problems or can anyone advise on how to solve problem.
Thanks

[asim72]

well, I watch news every single day. Kenya is not going through any kind of civil war.

My workmate has just gone to Kenya on holiday. He goes there every year.

[Brigid from Ireland]

I am not so sure that her parents marriage certificate can be required. The children of non-married parents have the same rights as the children of married parents in many cases (not saying that her parents never married, just that I am not sure she needs the certificate to show they were married).
What details are on her own birth cert in respect of her father? Depending on where she was born, it may give the name of her father only, or it may give his name and his place of birth. If it gives his name and his place of birth on her birth cert, she has a very good case, even if she cannot get a marriage cert for her parents.
Is there anyone alive who attended the wedding of her parents? In Ireland the marriage was sometimes not registered (the parish priest was not good at paperwork and forgot). In these cases two people who attended the wedding were required to go before a solicitor and sign a sworn document, stating that they had attended the wedding of X and Y. This is sufficient in Ireland, if the cert cannot be found.
Look at the birth certs of this lady and all her siblings. Some countries require the birth cert to state when/where the parents were married. If this is on any birth cert for a sibling, it increases her chances of showing they were married.
If her mother got widows benefits from any country/company, they may have a copy of the marriage cert. Contact the relevant place and ask for a copy. Even if they have no copy of the marriage cert, they may be able to confirm in writing that payment of widows pension/benefits were made to Mrs ?, widow of ?. This again is proof of the marriage, as widows benefits are only paid to a widow, not to a partner.
Was her father by any chance also an Irish citizen? If he was she should try separately for an Irish passport, she might have better luck with that. Trace the family line back and see if either of her father's parents were born in Ireland. If one of her four grandparents was born in Ireland and she gets an Irish passport on this basis, that makes it easier to show she is the child of her father, even without a marriage cert. Irish law is firm on this issue - the child who cannot produce a marriage cert for the parents has the same rights as the child of a married father.

[JAJ]

I am not so sure that her parents marriage certificate can be required. The children of non-married parents have the same rights as the children of married parents in many cases (not saying that her parents never married, just that I am not sure she needs the certificate to show they were married).

If the claim to British nationality is through the father, and the person is born before July 2006, proof of parent's marriage is normally required.

A child under 18, who has an unmarried British father and would have been British otherwise, can normally be registered as a British citizen on application to the Home Office.