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Applying for a Replacement Naturalisation or Registration Certificate

In this post, we explain how to apply for a replacement naturalisation or registration certificate when an original naturalisation or registration certificate is lost, damaged or stolen. What Is a Naturalisation...

British Citizenship for Children of Unmarried Parents

Historically, if a father was not married to a child’s mother, he could not pass on his British nationality automatically to his child. This meant that if a child was considered “illegitimate” and had a British...

British Citizenship Application Granted: What Next?

If you are 18 or over and have successfully applied to become a British citizen you will need to attend a citizenship ceremony.  Citizenship ceremonies were introduced in 2004 and are arranged by local authorities. ...

Updated Guidance on Registration of Children as British Citizens by Discretion

Section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (‘the Act’) states that:  ‘If while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British citizen, the Secretary of State may, if...

British Citizenship by Automatic Acquisition: FAQs

In this article we provide guidance on when an individual may have an automatic claim to British citizenship. What is British Citizenship by Automatic Acquisition?  Many people acquire British citizenship without...

Affordability Fee Waivers: Citizenship Registration for Under-18's

The fee for a British citizenship application for a child is £1,012. However, the Home Office has recently introduced fee waivers for registration citizenship applications for children under the age of 18 if they...

Nationality and Borders Act 2022: Discretionary Adult Registration and Naturalisation Requirements

The Nationality and Borders Act received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The Act has attracted a great deal of media attention for its reforms in a number of areas, including asylum, immigration enforcement,...

British Citizenship and the EU Settlement Scheme - Section 10A of the British Nationality Act 1981

The deadline for applications under the EU Settlement Scheme passed on 30 June 2021, as discussed in our previous post here. Home Office statistics, published on 21 September 2021, showed that as of 30 June 2021...

British Citizenship Application Refused - What Now?

The requirements to become a British citizen are set out in British Nationality Law; the relevant law is mainly in the British Nationality Act 1981. Some children and adult applicants may be entitled to register...

Is Your Child Eligible for British Citizenship? (Part 2)

In the last blog post entitled ‘Is Your Child Eligible for British Citizenship?’ we explored whether a child born in the UK can qualify as a British citizen and the routes available to register a child as...

Is Your Child Eligible for British Citizenship?

We frequently receive enquiries asking, ‘My child was born in the UK, can they become a British citizen?’ In this post we will explore whether a child born in the UK can qualify as a British citizen and...

British citizen children and entry clearance

In two recent cases, the Upper Tribunal has considered the relevance and weight to be accorded to having a British citizen child in: (i) entry clearance and (ii) deportation cases. The first will be outlined here,...