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Here is my situation. My father was British, my mother German. I was born in 1981 in Germany. At the age of 2 we moved to Great Britain.

I grew up in Wales and at the age of 17 I got a British passport. My father had to show his birth certificate to prove the both he and his father were British so that I could get a British passport.

Now my question is, am I British by descent or am I a registered British? I now no longer live in Britain. I moved to Germany at the age of 20 and have both nationalities.

Thanks for any help.

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  • Did you go through a naturalization process to get your British passport, or just depend on your father's nationality? – Patricia Shanahan Oct 9 '17 at 12:03
  • Was your father a British citizen otherwise than by descent? – user102008 Oct 9 '17 at 15:24
  • Yes my father was British otherwise than by descent. He was born in Wales and his parents were also british. – Slane Oct 20 '17 at 10:22
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From personal experience:

  • If your father was British otherwise than by descent, you are British by descent (because born abroad)
  • If your father was British by descent, you could not be British just via your parents. You could have been naturalised and then you would indeed by British otherwise than by descent.
  • On a side note, your children (if born abroad) would not be British at all, but you could still naturalise them (otherwise than by descent) because your father was so and you lived in the UK (this was the case 2 years ago when I last checked, things might of course have changed).

More info can be found at https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen

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  • "If your father was British by descent, you could not be British just via your parents. You could have been naturalised and then you would indeed by British otherwise than by descent." Not necessarily. If his father was British by descent, and he was registered as a minor under section 3(2) (father spent a continuous period of 3 years in the UK some time before the child's birth, and grandparent was British otherwise than by descent), the child is still British by descent. – user102008 Oct 14 '17 at 16:38
  • On the other hand, if the child was registered as a minor under section 3(5) (the child and both parents living in the US for 3 years before application), the child would be British otherwise than by descent. – user102008 Oct 14 '17 at 16:43
  • It would seem that I was very possibly registered as a minor under section 3(2). As already described my father was british born. So british otherwise than be descent. My british passport was issued to me bofore I turned 18 and I was living and had lived in the uk for most of my childhood at this time. I am unable to ask my father as he passed away when I was 19. – Slane Oct 20 '17 at 10:28
  • A way to check might be to ask for a birth certificate copy. In my personal example, the birth had been registered at the consulate (which I guess is mandatory to be then registered British) and there is a section 'claim to citizenship'. In my case it is s2(1)(a) which means by descent. Worth case scenario you are out 10 pounds out of pocket. – Guillaume Oct 20 '17 at 10:44

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