British Citizenship via born to settled persons

[steerpike88]

I'm looking to apply for my British passport on account of being born in the UK to a settled Irish Immigrant. I have my Irish passport already. Has anyone else gone through this route? Have you had any problems in proving your parents settled status at the time of your birth?

[Obie]

You need to provided evidence that on the day you were born, your Irish parents were resident in the UK. Bills, Council tax payment, evidence of employment at the time of your birth will prove this.

If you deriving Citizenship from your father , you will need to also show that he was married to your mother at the time you were born.

[steerpike88]

Thank you for the quick reply. He was living in a council house and was in receipt of benefits at the time. I suppose I could try to ask for a statement of what he was receiving, I'm just not sure what forms to send to request that information. Do you think it would be on his national insurance contributions?
I guess I'll be up all night trying to figure out how to obtain all the information and who to request it from. Thank you.

[CR001]

Due to the Data Protection Act, the Council is unlikely to provide you with any information, same for the DWP/HMRC regarding the NI number records, without a Power of Attorney or written permission from the claimant. Also depends on how many years back this goes.

Assuming this is your father, was he married to your mother at the time of your birth or thereafter?

What year were you born?

[steerpike88]

I was born in 1988 and he was married to my mother at the time. He has agreed on making the requests himself so I can have access to the information.

[CR001]

Hopefully the Council, DWP, HMRC have records going back that far.

For housing benefits, he likely had a reference number from the Council.

DWP might be able to help with what he received based on his NI number.

[steerpike88]

Okay, so we found all sorts of bank statements and statements of benefits paid just before (like a month before) I was born and then again more evidence at about a year later. But It was all at the same address. So we might request any and all files we can get our hands on for the time and maybe talk to an immigration lawyer if we can't get anything definitive.
Are they likely to reject my application on this? or is that a worst case scenario?

[Obie]

If the evidence is indicative that your father was resident in the UK and married to your father, then you will be fine.

Shame you gad not applied all these years.

[steerpike88]

I know! I always wanted to but my father was fiercely proud of being Irish and wouldn't help me find any of the documents. He's very stubborn. Everything points to him being at the same address for years and years, so I might get a lawyer for some help. He arrived in 1970, so he's been a resident for ages. We'll apply for a freedom of information act with the DWP they should surely have some file on his NI contributions, else how else would they be able to calculate his state pension?

[Obie]

You could get a confirmation of how long he has been on the electoral role or his HMRC record, which can be obtained on the phone.

Lawyer cannot get document for you, you will need to get it yourself.

If he was registered for GP, that evidence can be used.

[steerpike88]

Thank you Obie. You have been such fantastic help to me! I can't thank you enough for all of this wonderful insight you have.

[JAJ]

Confirmation of British nationality status may be preferable to a passport application:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... us-form-ns

In general- any evidence that the parent was ordinarily resident in the U.K. at the time the relevant child was born should be acceptable. National Insurance records are generally kept indefinitely, more so than tax/PAYE records.

Was the mother settled in the United Kingdom at this time? Either way- if she is not a British citizen, there may be scope for claiming whatever citizenship she holds.

[Obie]

It is difficult to understand how confirmation of British Citizenship status that cost £234 is better than applying for a passport which cost £72.50, in circumstances where the person will need to provide the same information they will use for From NS for a British Passport.

In my view, it makes little sense for people who the statute confers British Citizenship to, to apply form NS.

[JAJ]

A confirmation of British nationality status is valid for life (unlike a passport) and allows for the quicker replacement of a passport in cases of loss or theft. In addition, there are some scenarios where the nationality claim is such that it is better to allow the Home Office to adjudicate rather than the Passport Office.

If applying directly for a British passport, it is important to keep originals/copies (permanently) of all documentation used to support the passport application as it may be required again many years later.

[Obie]

I appreciate the importance of Confirmation, but it has no statutory basis. Only the court can confirm conclusively that a person is citizen or not.

I have undertaken work with children in care homes, who have been taken away from their parents since very young age. Only have birth certificate and no documents of their parents nationality. They are mostly the people for whom form NS is vital, as they have no evidence, so the special unit in the nationality team was set up to assist these people as HMPO will not issue passport to them.

In circumstance where a person can prove that their parents was for example an Irish citizen, and he was residing here at time of their birth, it will seem unnecessary.

If the have the Irish passport and NI statement proving this, then I fail to see the logic of applting for confirmation , when HMPO will only need that to issue a passport.

From an economical and practical perspective, I am of the view that it is unnecessary in those circumstances.

However in complex cases like the one I mentioned in my previous paragraph, then confirmation may prove necessary, as these people simply do not have the evidence and it will therefore be necessary for them to ask the Home office, whether based on the information they have and the records held about those individuals parents and ancestral linage, they are on a balance of probabilities a British citizen.

[JAJ]

I would agree that a Confirmation of Nationality Status is probably not necessary - provided that the Passport Office understand the special rules for Irish citizens and don't request unnecessary information. However, as a document it still has some value and may be worth the cost to some.

It is understood that it is not conclusive evidence of British citizenship however it would be highly unusual for the Home Office to seek to revert its decision. The concern with using a passport as exclusive evidence of British citizenship is that with an inbuilt expiry date, it allows the decision to be revised every time renewal is sought. Especially if the passport has been lost or expired for too long.