British citizenship by descent at a glance
In short
British citizenship normally passes down one generation to children born outside the UK. From 1983, a child born abroad to a parent who was born or adopted in the UK, or who became British by their own application, is usually British from birth. Others may register: some people born before 1983 to British mothers, some people born before July 2006 to unmarried British fathers, and some children under 18.
- Who qualifies
- A parent who was born or adopted in the UK, or who became British by their own application. As a rule, one generation born abroad
- Ways to claim
- Already British: confirm and get a passport, Register as a British citizen: British mother, born before 1983 (form UKM), Register as a British citizen: unmarried British father, born before July 2006 (form UKF), Register a child as a British citizen (form MN1) and Registration in special circumstances (form ARD)
Routes
Ways to claim.
Each route has its own steps, cost and documents. The official page has the full rules.
Route
Already British: confirm and get a passport
People born outside the UK to a parent who could pass on citizenship: a parent born or adopted in the UK, who became British by their own application, or who was a Crown servant. Before 1983 only a married father could do this. From 1983 to 30 June 2006 either parent could, but a father had to be married to the mother if she was not British. From 1 July 2006 either parent can, with an exception if the mother was married to someone else.
Steps
- Check your status on the GOV.UK page 'Check if you're a British citizen'.
- Apply for a UK passport (a child passport if you are under 16, an adult passport if you are 16 or over), or ask for a letter confirming your citizenship.
- Your own children born outside the UK will not automatically be British.
- Cost
- UK passport applied for in the UK: adult £102 online or £115.50 on paper, child under 16 £66.50 online or £80 on paper. The fee is different if you apply from another country. No fee for the letter is stated on the GOV.UK pages about this route.
- Time
- Not published
Documents
- For a first adult passport applied for in the UK, if you were born abroad on or after 1 January 1983: your full birth certificate showing your parents' details
- The passport you used to come into the UK, or a foreign passport you are included on
- Evidence of one parent's British nationality, for example their UK birth, adoption, naturalisation or registration certificate
- If that evidence is about your father: the certificate showing when he married your mother
- If you were born abroad before 1 January 1983 to a UK-born father: your full birth certificate, your father's birth certificate, your parents' marriage certificate and the same passport
"you can apply for a UK passport or ask for a letter confirming your citizenship" (GOV.UK: Apply for citizenship if you have a British parent (born between 1983 and June 2006))
Route
Register as a British citizen: British mother, born before 1983 (form UKM)
People born before 1 January 1983 who would have become citizens of the UK and Colonies if women could pass on citizenship in the same way as men, and who would have had the right of abode in the UK.
Steps
- Check your mother's status. She must have been a citizen of the UK and Colonies when you were born, for example by birth, adoption, naturalisation or registration. A British subject born before 1949 in a British protectorate, protected state or UK trust territory also counts.
- Check the right of abode test. For example, your mother was a citizen by birth, adoption, naturalisation or registration in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, or one of her parents was when she was born.
- Get two referees to endorse the application. Each must have known you for at least 3 years.
- Apply online or by post with form UKM.
- Give your fingerprints and photo (biometrics), usually within 45 days of applying.
- If approved, attend a citizenship ceremony within 90 days of getting your invitation.
- Cost
- GOV.UK lists one fee for this route: £130 to attend a citizenship ceremony.
- Time
- Usually within 6 months. If it will take longer, you are told before 6 months pass.
Documents
- Your passport
- Your full birth certificate, showing your parents' names
- Your mother's full birth certificate
- One of these for your mother: her naturalisation or registration certificate as a citizen of the UK and Colonies (or as a British subject before 1949), adoption papers, or her expired UK and Colonies passport
- Marriage certificates showing the name change, if your family name differs from your mother's
- If one of your mother's parents gave the UK link: her parents' marriage certificate, and that parent's birth certificate or naturalisation or registration certificate
"women had been able to pass on citizenship to their children in the same way as men at the time of your birth" (GOV.UK: Form UKM guidance)
Route
Register as a British citizen: unmarried British father, born before July 2006 (form UKF)
People who would have become British automatically if their mother had been married to their natural father, and who have never been British citizens. For people born outside the UK before 1 July 2006, this generally means their unmarried father was born, naturalised or registered in the UK before they were born.
Steps
- Check you would have been British automatically if your mother had been married to your natural (biological) father, and that you have never been a British citizen.
- Check your father was born, naturalised or registered in the UK before you were born.
- Gather proof that he is your father. A birth certificate issued within a year of your birth naming him counts if you were born before 10 September 2015. A DNA test report or a court order also counts.
- Get two referees to endorse the application. Each must have known you for at least 3 years.
- Apply online or by post with form UKF.
- If approved and you are 18 or over, attend a citizenship ceremony within 90 days of getting your invitation.
- Cost
- GOV.UK lists one fee for this route: £130 to attend a citizenship ceremony.
- Time
- Usually within 6 months. If it will take longer, you are told before 6 months pass.
Documents
- Your passport
- Your full birth certificate
- One of these for your father: his full birth certificate, his naturalisation or registration certificate, papers showing his legal adoption, or his UK and Colonies or British passport showing that status before you were born
- Proof of paternity, such as a birth certificate issued within 12 months of your birth, a DNA test report or a court order
- If you are under 18: the consent of everyone with parental responsibility
"You would have become a British citizen automatically if your mother had been married to your natural (biological) father" (GOV.UK: Form UKF guidance)
Route
Register a child as a British citizen (form MN1)
Children under 18 born outside the UK whose mother or father was British by descent when the child was born.
Steps
- Check the child is under 18. From age 10, the child must be of good character.
- Section 3(2): check the British parent's own mother or father was British otherwise than by descent when that parent was born (or became so on 1 January 1983). The British parent must also have lived in the UK for 3 years in a row at some time before the child's birth, with no more than 270 days away. For a child born on or after 21 May 2002, time in a qualifying British overseas territory also counts.
- Or section 3(5): check the child and both parents lived in the UK for the 3 years up to the day of the application, with no more than 270 days away. Both parents must agree. If they are divorced or legally separated, only one parent needs to live in the UK with the child.
- Get two referees to endorse the application.
- Apply with form MN1 before the child turns 18, online or by post.
- Cost
- £1,000 for a child. An extra £130 ceremony fee is due if the child turns 18 during the application. A fee waiver may be possible for a child under 18 who cannot afford the fee.
- Time
- Usually within 6 months. If it will take longer, you are told before 6 months pass.
Documents
- Proof of the child's identity. The guide lists a passport or travel document, a birth certificate showing the parents' names, a driving licence, or a bank, building society or credit card statement from the last 6 months
- The child's birth certificate, showing the parents' names
- The parents' marriage certificate, if they are married and the father is the British citizen
- The British parent's birth certificate or passport
- The British grandparent's birth certificate, registration or naturalisation certificate, or passport
- The grandparents' marriage certificate
- Section 3(2): evidence the British parent lived in the UK for 3 years before the child's birth. Section 3(5): evidence the child and both parents lived in the UK for the 3 years before the application
"Children born to parents who are British by descent have no automatic claim to British citizenship." (GOV.UK: Form MN1 guidance)
Route
Registration in special circumstances (form ARD)
Adults of full capacity who, in the Home Secretary's opinion, would have been British, or able to become British, but for historical unfairness in the law, an act or omission of a public authority, or exceptional circumstances relating to them.
Steps
- Check you are 18 or over and of sound mind.
- Check if past law treated your family unfairly. The guidance gives examples: men and women treated differently, children of unmarried parents treated differently from children of married parents, or a mother married to someone other than the natural father.
- Or check if a public authority's act or omission, or exceptional circumstances relating to you, stopped you becoming British.
- Say clearly on the form which law, act or circumstance it was, and how you would otherwise have become British. Apply with form ARD.
- The Home Secretary decides case by case. The guidance says this route is not an alternative to meeting the rules of another route.
- If approved, you become British otherwise than by descent, so you can pass citizenship to children born outside the UK.
- Cost
- No application fee if you would have been British automatically but for one of the three reasons. If you would only have qualified to register or naturalise, an application fee applies as well. Either way, the ceremony fee applies (£130 on the Home Office fees table).
- Time
- Usually within 6 months. If it will take longer, you are told before 6 months pass.
Documents
- Your passport
- Information showing how you would have been, or been able to become, British. This might include your full birth certificate with your parents' names, and your mother's or father's birth certificate and evidence of their status when you were born
- Information about the act or omission of a public authority, if you apply on that basis
- Evidence of your exceptional circumstances, if you apply on that basis
"historical legislative unfairness, an act or omission of a public authority, or exceptional circumstances" (GOV.UK: Guidance on registering as a British citizen (form ARD))
