If you were born in the UK, you may already be a British citizen and eligible to apply for a passport immediately. Your eligibility depends on factors such as your parents’ citizenship and immigration status at the time of your birth. Understanding these rules can help you determine your next steps in securing a British passport.

If you were born in the UK, it’s possible that you are already a British citizen.

If you were born outside the UK, you can check whether you are already a British citizen in our separate article here.  Also, if you satisfy some – but not all – of the conditions for acquiring British citizenship automatically, you might be able to register as a British citizen instead.  Find out how in our article here.

If you are automatically a British citizen from birth, you can apply immediately for a British passport.  This can have significant benefits.  For example, for anyone not living in the UK, having a British passport means that they can live, work, study or set up a business in the UK without any further UK visa application.  Their family members (spouse/partner and children under 18) can apply for simple family visas to move to the UK with them.

Whether or not you acquired British citizenship automatically at birth depends on your parents’ circumstances when you were born.

Born before 1 January 1983

If you were born in the UK before that date, you will automatically be a British citizen unless, at the date of your birth:

• Your father was a diplomat working for a foreign country;
• Your mother was a diplomat working for a foreign country and you were born on or after 10 April 1968; or
• Your father was an ‘enemy alien in occupation’ in the Channel Islands during World War 2.

Note that if you were born in a British colony before 1983 rather than in the UK, you must also have been a citizen of the UK and Colonies on 31 December 1982, and you must have had the ability to live and work in the UK without any immigration restrictions, known as having the ‘right of abode’ in the UK.

Born between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000

For all births in the UK in this period, if the relevant parent is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

One or both of your parents was a British or Irish citizen

You will automatically be a British citizen if at least one of your parents was a British citizen, or an Irish citizen living in the UK, when you were born.

If one or both of your parents was an EU or EEA citizen

You will automatically be a British citizen if at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country when you were born and was living in the UK with free movement rights at the time.

If neither parent was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen

To be automatically British under this category, at least one of your parents must meet the following conditions when you were born:

• They were living in the UK; and
• They had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006

If you were born inside the UK in this period, the conditions are as follows.  Again, if the relevant parent in this category is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

One or both of your parents was a British or Irish citizen

You will automatically be a British citizen if at least one of your parents was a British citizen, or an Irish citizen living in the UK, when you were born.

If one or both of your parents was an EU or EEA citizen

You will be British automatically if, at the date of your birth, one or both of your parents:

• Lived in the UK;
• Was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA at the time; and
• Had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Note that you can also qualify for automatic British citizenship if your parent (or their family member) had died or stopped working before you were born.  Specifically:

• One or more of your parents were living in the UK;
• That parent, or one of their family members, was either:
  • An EU or EEA citizen who lived and worked in the UK and had died; or
  • A retired EU or EEA citizen who had worked or been self-employed in the UK.

If neither parent was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen

To be automatically British under this category, at least one of your parents must meet the following conditions when you were born:

• They were living in the UK; and
• They had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Born between 30 April 2006 and 30 June 2021

Again, if you were born inside the UK in this period, whether or not you are British automatically depends on your parents’ circumstances at your birth.  Here too, if the relevant parent is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

One or both of your parents was a British or Irish citizen

You will automatically be a British citizen if at least one of your parents was a British citizen, or an Irish citizen living in the UK, when you were born.

If one or both of your parents was an EU or EEA citizen

You will be a British citizen automatically if, at the date of your birth, one or both of your parents:

• Lived in the UK;
• Was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA at the time; and
• Had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • Settled status;
  • Permanent residence status;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

If neither parent was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen

To be automatically British under this category, at least one of your parents must meet the following conditions when you were born:

• They were living in the UK; and
• They had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Alternatively, you will also have acquired British citizenship automatically at birth if:

• You have no British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen parents; but
• One or both of your parents were in the UK armed forces; and
• You were born after 12 January 2010.

Born on or after 1 July 2021

For births in the UK from this date, if the relevant parent is your father, there is no longer any requirement that he was married to your mother at the date of your birth.

One or both of your parents was a British or Irish citizen

You will automatically be a British citizen if at least one of your parents was a British citizen, or an Irish citizen living in the UK, when you were born.

If one or both of your parents was an EU or EEA citizen

You will be a British citizen automatically if, at the date of your birth, one or both of your parents:

• Lived in the UK;
• Was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA at the time; and
• Had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • Settled status;
  • Permanent resident status (provided they had applied for settled status and had not received a decision on the application before you were born);
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Note too that you will still acquire British citizenship automatically if:

• Your parent was granted settled status after 30 June 2021;
• They applied for settled status:
  • Before 1 July 2021, if they did not have permanent residence status; or
  • On or after 1 July 2021, if they had reasonable grounds for not applying beforehand.

Lastly, you can still be automatically British if all of the following can be demonstrated, as at the date of your birth:

• One or both of your parents had pre-settled status;
• They are citizens of the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein;
• They were living in the UK by 31 December 2020; and
• They had lived in the UK for 5 years in a row, in which time they were:
  • Working;
  • Looking for work for up to 3 months;
  • Studying; or
  • Self-sufficient.

If neither parent was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen

You will be British automatically if at least one of your parents met the following conditions when you were born:

• They were living in the UK; and
• They had one of the following:
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain;
  • The right of abode; or
  • The right of readmission.

Alternatively, you will also have acquired British citizenship automatically at birth if:

• You have no British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen parents; but
• One or both of your parents were in the UK armed forces; and
• You were born after 12 January 2010.

How we can help

We are experts in securing British passports for our clients through HM Passport Office.  It doesn’t matter if the client applies from inside or outside the UK; we can quickly confirm a client’s eligibility and can help them negotiate the application process speedily and successfully.

In complex cases, we have sophisticated software that analyses all possible routes to British nationality.  Even if someone doesn’t meet the criteria above, we can quickly and easily review all relevant British nationality legislation to confirm whether there is another path to British citizenship for them instead.

Of course, the explanations in this article are summaries only, and careful advice is required to confirm a person’s eligibility.  However, we are adept at navigating these rules, so please get in touch to find out more.

Contact our Immigration Law Partner, Charlie Fowler for more information.