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Overseas adoption and British citizenship

The entitlement of adopted children to British citizenship is not a straightforward matter. In some circumstances, adopted children are British citizens automatically from the date of their adoption. In others, the...

What is British Citizenship by Double Descent?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as British citizenship by Double Descent for those born after 01 January 1983.  If you were born outside the UK, and so was your British parent, you are unlikely to be British...

Deprivation of British citizenship

Who said immigration woes are reserved for the non-British? Section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (“1981 Act”) affords the Secretary of State a power to deprive an individual of their British citizenship...

Good Character Requirement in Citizenship Applications

The British Nationality Act (BNA 1981) contains a good character requirement, which applies to certain applications for registration and naturalisation for those over 10 years old at the date of application.   The...

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...

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,...

Children born outside the UK to British mothers

British nationality law has undergone several important changes in recent years, in many cases in order to reflect changes in social attitudes and to correct historic injustices. Section 4C of the British Nationality...

British Citizenship: The Citizenship Ceremony

If an individual is over 18 and has made a successful application to become a British citizen, they will be required to attend a citizenship ceremony.  The individual is required to attend a ceremony by law.   Background...

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...