British citizenship through parent born outside of the UK

Children under 18

There are provisions in British nationality law for children under 18. It can be important to take action before a child turns 18. After they turn 18, several rights to British nationality fall away and can be lost forever.

Adult children of British-born parents

You can claim British nationality if your parent is classified as British otherwise than by descent, giving them the ability to pass British nationality to their children. To determine this, an analysis of how your parent became British must be done.

This area of British nationality law is too complex to document. Without undertaking a Status Trace, we cannot say definitively whether you have a claim. But if any of these factors apply to you, you should explore your rights further:

• Your parents were married before 1949
• You (or a parent) were born in a former british territory
• You (or a parent) were registered or naturalised as a British citizen
• You have/had a parent or grandfather in Crown service
• You were born in a country that is different to the country of birth of either parent or any grandparent
• You have a grandparent who was born in the UK
• Your maternal grandfather was born in the UK and you were born in a “foreign country” (including South Africa, the USA and most European countries)