What is a British citizenship by descent?

Being a British citizen gives you the right to live and work in the UK permanently, without any immigration restrictions. The most common way is to acquire British citizenship is by being born in the UK to British parents. However, there are other ways to acquire British citizenship.

British nationality law distinguishes between those who are British citizens ‘otherwise than by descent’ and those who are British citizens ‘by descent’.

Holding British nationality otherwise than by descent usually means that the person acquired the status by birth, adoption, registration or naturalisation in the UK. They can pass their nationality on to children born outside of the UK.

Holding British nationality by descent usually means that the person has acquired this status by another means, for example having been born abroad to British-born parents. They cannot normally pass their citizenship to children born outside of the UK (though there are very limited circumstances where this is possible).

British nationality law is extremely complex, and whether you are eligible for British citizenship or not (in whichever category) depends on many factors, such as where and when you were born, where your parents were born, whether they were married at the time of your birth, and what their UK immigration status may have been at the time of your birth. These factors will also decide how you can claim British citizenship, whether you are automatically eligible or need to apply to be recognised as such, usually through registration or naturalisation.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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