Not sure if this is the right subforum, British Citizenship.

[ubersonic]

Hi, hope this is the right subforum, none of the others seemed to match the situation, basically I have an old friend who is trying to get back into the UK, who is technically a British citizen already.

I read this on the UKBA website:

If you were born on or after 1 January 1983, you will be a British citizen if your mother or father was either:

a British citizen when you were born

This applies to her, she was born and raised here and her father is British and I don't think he has ever left the country, however she has never had a British passport, before she turned 16 her mother took her and returned to her home country of NZ (on her passport).

My friend returned to the UK a few years ago on a NZ passport and was given a right of abode stamp in their PP so remained here, she then had to return to NZ for a funeral and upon leaving was told she could not return as she had overstayed her original entry visa, her NZ PP with the ROA stamp was destroyed in the NZ earthquakes and the replacement doesn't have it, she is trying urgently to return to the UK but is worried she will be turned away at customs. can/will they do this?

She is a British citizen by right and has previously been awarded ROA (of which UKBA should have record) so surely even if she is stopped at customs and explains they cannot turn her away? she has her UK birth cert and a copy of her fathers.

Thank you very much for any advice (I have tried calling every UK immigration/passport/embassy line I can think of but no help).

[vinny]

Was/is her British father married to her mother?

If a parent has ILR/PR/ROA/British citizenship, then baby subsequently born in UK will automatically be British (1(1)).

[Jambo]

It's a shame she did not apply for a British passport while she was living in the UK.

She can apply for another CoE (ROA) or a first passport from NZ or take her chances and have the birth certificate in her hand luggage if she meets problems on entry. Hopefully they would be able to verify her claim for BC at the border (or at least admit her to sort it out).