It is now simpler to obtain British citizenship through grandparents born in the UK thanks to recent revisions to the nation’s nationality laws. On June 28, 2022, “Section 4L,” a modification to the British Nationality Act of 1981, went into effect. As a result, numerous people who previously would not have been eligible for UK citizenship through grandparents may now apply.
Section 4L’s statement
In plain English, 4L says that if you can demonstrate that a previous legislative injustice, a public authority’s act or inaction, or mitigating factors specific to your situation prevented you from becoming a British citizen, you may ask to get registered for British citizenship.
Historical legislative injustice comprises situations where you would have been granted or kept your British Subjects, CUKC, or citizenship status if the legislation had:
- treated men and women fairly
- regarded unmarried couples’ kids in the same manner as married couples’ kids
What additional pathways to citizenship through a grandparent does Section 4L open up?
British citizenship can typically only be through one generation of ancestors. The implication is that while your parent might be able to claim British citizenship if your grandparent was born in the UK but later emigrated and had a kid outside of the country, you would not be able to.
A new path to British citizenship opened up for persons with a maternal grandfather who was born in the UK in 2018 due to a Supreme Court decision.
However, neither the court ruling nor the Home Office extended this option to people whose grandparents were born in the UK. We think there is a case to be present that this is an instance of legislative unfairness. Children born abroad before January 1, 1988, to grandmothers born in the UK should have permission to apply for British citizenship under Section 4L.
What does this entail for citizenship obtained through a great-grandparent in the UK?
Great-grandparent nationality is still a challenging and uncommon path to citizenship in the UK. Your grandfather and your parent both need to be British in some other way for you to take advantage of the 4L reforms. It is extremely rare if one ancestor of both generations was born outside of the UK. The possibility for both your parents and grandmother were born in distinct British ex-colonies and that both gained independence around the date of birth is the most plausible.
Complete any free online British citizenship test to find out your possibilities if you think you might be eligible through a grandparent or great-grandparent.
Mother-specific discrimination
Only males could inherit British citizenship before 1983. Since then, the legislation has changed to permit people who would have been British citizens but the prejudice to assert their citizenship.
However, people with other types of British nationality, such as citizenship from British Overseas Territories, did not have the statute changed in the same manner (BOTC).
Those who should have received BOTC status from their mothers missed out on the 2002 initiative that gave BOTCs full British citizenship. They can now submit a registration application using 4L.
You may now be eligible to file a claim if you, your mother, or your grandmother were all born in a British overseas territory. Included in these areas are:
- Falkland Islands
- Gibraltar
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Saint Helena
- Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- British Virgin Islands- Cayman Islands
- Montserrat
- Bermuda
- Anguilla
- British Antarctic Territory
- Pitcairn Islands
Being unfairly treated if you were “illegitimate”
The guy married to the child’s mother got regarded as the baby’s dad under earlier British law. Because of this, historically, children born outside of that connection could not acquire British citizenship from their biological fathers.
The law had a revision in 2006 to allow children born outside of marriage to receive their biological fathers’ citizenship. However, children born before that date had exclusion and needed to submit a pricey manual application to claim their right to inherit citizenship.
To allow some categories of illegitimate offspring to register as British citizens, the UK established a series of restrictive new conditions in 2016.
Even so, in our view, these proposed amendments did not assist customers who would have been British citizens had their grandparents married before the pertinent parent’s birth but only helped customers who would have been British citizens had their parents been wedded before their relevant births. We think Section 4L will deal with this injustice.
Discrimination In Different Contexts
We come across other instances where the unfairness is less obvious than it’s among genders. We think the UK Parliament intended Section 4L as a legal recourse. It is for those who got denied to acquire British citizenship by experiencing any form of discrimination. These cases will need to get evaluated individually because they are all unique.
It is challenging to apply for citizenship under Section 4L. It is because you must identify the specific law and provision that you think was discriminatory. The citizenship staff at Sable International is knowledgeable and can help make the process easy and stress-free.
Importance Of New Rule
A reform in that regard gets about by the Nationality and Borders Act of 2022. Someone with indefinite leave to enter or reside there applied to legitimate as a British citizen after June 28, 2022. The Home Office will no longer get essential to look into that person’s business immigration history. The Home Office can depend on the bursary of indeterminate leave to satisfy the requirement. It is the person who was not in the UK in violation instead of being necessary to inquire. People who previously overstayed and can meet all naturalization criteria will benefit from this change.
Final Remarks
We hope all details about the new British rule for citizenship are clear. It is crucial to remember that the relevant Act clause only permits the Home Office to do so. It is before granting permission to enter or remain indefinitely; it does not make this automatic. As a result, there may be circumstances in which the Home Office decides not to.