Advice needed for American British Descendant

[aleigh]

I have spent all night trying to find the correct visa/ilr/settlement/citizenship route for me and I'm just absolutely confused.

I'm a first generation British-American on my father's side but I never went through the citizenship process as a child. Now I am looking at moving in with my British grandparents in the next few months, if possible, and I would also like the possibility to work while in England.

What would be the fastest, cheapest, but also most correct way to approach this situation?

[nyclon]

You need to give more information. When were you born? Where were you born? Was your father married to your mother? Did your father have British citizenship when you were born? Is he British otherwise than by descent?

Here's a link:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/br.../bornoverseas/

[aleigh]

Originally Posted by nyclon

You need to give more information. When were you born? Where were you born? Was your father married to your mother? Did your father have British citizenship when you were born?

Thank you for replying so quickly. Right, okay. I was born in America, in 1994 to a married couple. My father was born in England so he was and still is a british citizen and now he is also a permanent US resident.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by aleigh

Thank you for replying so quickly. Right, okay. I was born in America, in 1994 to a married couple. My father was born in England so he was and still is a british citizen and now he is also a permanent US resident.

You are a British by descent and can apply for a British passport.

Start here:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...als/passports/

[aleigh]

Originally Posted by Crawford

You are a British by descent and can apply for a British passport.

Start here:

so i wouldn't need a visa or any other travel information? i would just need to apply for a british passport?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by aleigh

so i wouldn't need a visa or any other travel information? i would just need to apply for a british passport?

Correct .....

[aleigh]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Correct .....

and with that passport, i could work? wow this process just got 100 times simpler

"At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK." this confuses me though

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by aleigh

and with that passport, i could work? wow this process just got 100 times simpler

"At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK." this confuses me though

Read the following page taken from the UKBA web site. Scroll down to Born outside of UK on or after January 1983:

UK Border Agency | If you were born outside the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory

Your father was born in the UK - he is a UK citizen. YOU were born in the US and therefore are British by descent based on your father's citizenship and where he was born - YOU therefore can apply for a British passport.

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by aleigh

and with that passport, i could work? wow this process just got 100 times simpler

"At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK." this confuses me though

For those claiming British citizenship on the father's side, the stipulation until 2006 was that the father was British otherwise than by descent (as your father is, being born in UK) and your parents had to me married (either at the time of your birth or subsequently). So you are a British citizen by descent from birth and all you need is to apply for British passport, which gives you full rights as citizen (right of abode). Since 2006, a child born overseas to an unmarried British father is also British by descent. You will need to enclose your father's full birth certificate, his marriage certificate and your full birth certificate, among others.

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Your father was born in the UK - he is a UK citizen. YOU were born in the US and therefore are British by descent based on your father's citizenship and where he was born - YOU therefore can apply for a British passport.

Plus your father was married to your mother. This is important because you were born before 2006, when marriage requirement was dropped. They had this rule about marriage to stop single British men fathering numerous children overseas and each of them claiming British citizenship. This was seen to be discriminatory (because single British mothers can transmit citizenship) and there is no evidence to suggest that the change would open a floodgate of nationality claims.