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ISSUES: Citizenship
Chapter 1: Citizenship in the UK
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British Antarctic Territory
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British Indian Ocean Territory
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British Virgin Islands
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Cayman Islands
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Falkland Islands
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Gibraltar
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Montserrat
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Pitcairn Islands
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Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan
da Cunha
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South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands
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Turks and Caicos Islands.
Register as a British citizen
You may be able to register as a British
citizen if you became a British overseas
territories citizen after 21 May 2002 and
meet certain conditions.
British overseas citizen
You became a British overseas citizen
on 1 January 1983 if both of these
applied:
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you were a citizen of the United
Kingdom and Colonies on 31
December 1982
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you didn’t become either a
British citizen or a British overseas
territories citizen on 1 January 1983
Hong Kong
If you were a British overseas
territories citizen only because of your
connection with Hong Kong you lost
that citizenship on 30 June 1997 when
sovereignty returned to China.
However, you became a British overseas
citizen if either:
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you had no other nationality and
would have become stateless
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you were born on or after 1 July
1997 and would have been born
stateless if one of your parents
was a British national (overseas) or
British overseas citizen when you
were born
Rights as a British overseas
citizen
You can:
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hold a British passport
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get consular assistance and
protection from UK diplomatic
posts.
Unless you’re also a British citizen:
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you’re still subject to immigration
controls – you don’t have the
automatic right to live or work in
the UK
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you aren’t considered a UK national
by the European Union (EU).
Become a British overseas citizen
You can only apply to become a
British overseas citizen in limited
circumstances.
Stateless people
You may be able to register as a British
overseas citizen if you’re stateless (not
recognised by any country as having a
nationality) and both of these apply:
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you were born in the UK or an
overseas territory
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one of your parents is a British
overseas citizen.
Youmay also be able to register if you’re
stateless and all of these apply:
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you were born outside the UK and
qualifying territories
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one of your parents is a British
overseas citizen
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you’ve lived in the UK or an
overseas territory for three years or
more.
You have to fill in different forms
depending on whether you were:
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born before 1 January 1983 - read
the guidance and fill in Form S1
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born on or after 1 January 1983 –
read the guidance and fill in Form
S2.
Children
A child under 18 can be registered
as a British overseas citizen in special
circumstances.
British subject
Until 1949, nearly everyone with a close
connection to the United Kingdom was
called a ‘British subject’.
All citizens of Commonwealth countries
were British subjects until January 1983.
Since 1983, very few people have
qualified as British subjects.
Who is a British subject
You became a British subject on 1
January 1983 if, until then, you were
either:
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aBritishsubjectwithout citizenship,
which means you were a British
subject on 31 December 1948 who
didn’t become a citizen of the UK
and Colonies, a Commonwealth
country, Pakistan or the Republic
of Ireland
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a person who had been a citizen
of the Republic of Ireland on 31
December 1948 and had made a
claim to remain a British subject.
You also became a British subject on 1
January 1983 if you were a woman who
registered as a British subject on the
basis of your marriage to a man in one
of these categories.
Republic of Ireland citizens
You’re a British subject if you were a
citizen of the Republic of Ireland on 31
December 1948 and made a claim to
remain a British subject.
If you didn’t make a claim to remain
a British subject you can apply to the
Home Secretary to become a British
subject if either:
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you’ve been in Crown service for
the UK Government
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you’re associated with the UK
or a British overseas territory by
descent, residence or another way.
You can do this by applying for a British
subject passport.
Children of British subjects
British subjects can’t normally pass
on that status to their children if the
children were born after 1 January
1983.
However, a child may be a British
subject if they were born on or after
1 January 1983 in the UK or a British
overseas territory and all the following
apply when they are born:
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one of their parents is a British
subject
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neither parent is a British citizen,
British overseas territories citizen
or British overseas citizen
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they would be stateless without
British subject status.
