You may be a British citizen by birth (depending on when you were born and what the immigration status of your parent (s) was at the time of your birth), or you may apply to register or naturalise as a British citizen.
You might automatically be a British citizen by birth if you or your parents were born in the UK. You are usually automatically a British citizen if you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 and one of your parents was a British citizen or ‘settled’ in the UK at that time.
You may also be a British citizen by birth if:
You were born in a British colony before 1 January 1983;
You were born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000;
You were born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006;
You were born in the UK between 30 April 2006 and 30 June 2021;
You were born in the UK on or after 1 July 2021
If you are a British citizen, you can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls and apply for a UK passport.
In this blog, we explain situations in which you are automatically a British citizen by birth if you were born in the UK.
You are usually a British citizen automatically by birth if you were born in the UK. However, you cannot claim British citizenship by birth if, at the time of your birth:
• your father was a diplomat (such as an ambassador or a diplomatic officer) working for a foreign country or held diplomatic immunity in the UK
• your mother was a diplomat in the UK working for a foreign country or held diplomatic immunity in the UK, and you were born in the UK on or after 10 April 1968
• your father was an ‘enemy alien in occupation’ (essentially an enemy national) present in the Channel Islands during World War 2
You are a British citizen by birth if:
• on 31 December 1982, you were a CUKC (Citizen of the UK and Colonies); and
• you had the ‘right of abode in the UK’
However, there is one exception here. You might not be a British citizen if you received an official certificate confirming that you are registered as a CUKC under the ‘British Nationality (No 2) Act 1964 '.
Whether you are a British citizen by birth depends on whether, when you were born, at least one of your parents was a British/Irish citizen, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 (other than the UK and Ireland), your parents were not a British, Irish, or an EU or EEA citizen. Different rules apply for all these situations.
You are a British citizen automatically after a British citizen adopted you under the Hague Convention. You are a British citizen if a British citizen adopted you overseas and your adoption order is certified by the relevant authority of that country as having been made in accordance with the Hague Convention. Provided the statutory nationality and habitual-residence requirements must be met, including both adopters’ habitual residence in a joint adoption.
You will be a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was either a British citizen or an Irish citizen living in the UK.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
You are automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 (other than the UK and Ireland) and living in the UK with free movement rights.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
You are only automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
Whether you are a British citizen by birth depends on whether, when you were born, at least one of your parents was a British/Irish citizen, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 (other than the UK and Ireland), your parents were not a British, Irish, or an EU or EEA citizen. Different rules apply for all these situations.
You are a British citizen automatically if a British citizen adopted you in a UK court. You are a British citizen if a British citizen adopted you overseas and your adoption order is certified by the relevant authority of that country as having been made in accordance with the Hague Convention.
You will be a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was either a British citizen or an Irish citizen living in the UK.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
Most children of citizens of EU or EEA born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 are not automatically British citizens.
You are automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 (other than the UK and Ireland), and they lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
You might also be a British citizen if at least one of your parents or one of their family members died or stopped working before you were born.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
You are only automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
If that parent is your father, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
Whether you are a British citizen by birth depends on whether, when you were born, at least one of your parents was a British/Irish citizen, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 30 April 2006 and 30 June 2021 (other than the UK and Ireland), your parents were not a British, Irish, or an EU or EEA citizen. Different rules apply for all these situations.
You are automatically a British citizen if a British citizen adopted you in a UK court. You are a British citizen if a British citizen adopted you overseas and your adoption order is certified by the relevant authority of that country as having been made in accordance with the Hague Convention.
You will be a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was either a British citizen or an Irish citizen living in the UK.
If that parent is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
You are automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA between 30 April 2006 and 30 June 2021 (other than the UK and Ireland), and they lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status or permanent residence or settled status.
If that parent is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
From 1 January, a citizen of an EU, other EEA nations (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), or Switzerland with settled status under the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) cannot also have permanent residence status. This means that if such a citizen has a child on or after 1 January 2021, that child’s citizenship will be based on their settled status.
You are only automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
If that parent is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he usually must have been married to your mother when you were born.
If your father and mother married later, then you may still be treated as if they were married when you were born. This is known as ‘legitimation’ and depends on the laws of the permanent home (‘domicile’) of your father when they married.
You are also a British citizen by birth if at least one of your parents, at the time of your birth, was in the UK armed forces and you were born after 12 January 2010.
Whether you are a British citizen by birth depends on whether, when you were born, at least one of your parents was a British/Irish citizen, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country in the EU or EEA, or your parents were not a British, Irish, or an EU or EEA citizen. Different rules apply for all these situations.
You are a British citizen automatically if a British citizen adopted you in a UK court. You are a British citizen if a British citizen adopted you overseas and your adoption order is certified by the relevant authority of that country as having been made in accordance with the Hague Convention.
You will be a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was either a British citizen or an Irish citizen living in the UK.
You are automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents was a citizen of a country that was in the EU or EEA (other than the UK and Ireland) at that time, and they lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
You will be a British citizen automatically if your parent who held permanent residence status had applied for settled status under the EUSS on or before 30 June 2021 and you were born before they got a decision on their settled status application.
You will become a British citizen by automatically if you were born prior to the date your parent obtained settled status under the EUSS if they applied either on or before 30 June, and did not have permanent residence status or after 30 June, but had ‘reasonable grounds’ for not applying before 30 June, and would have met the settled status criteria under the EUSS if they’d been able to apply by this date.
In either case, you will become a British citizen automatically from the date your parent was granted settled status.
You may already be a British citizen by birth if your parent can show that, at the time of birth:
• they had EUSS - Pre-settled status
• they are from the EU, other EEA nations (Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein) and started living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• they lived in the UK for 5 years continuously and during that period they were working (or looking for work for up to 3 months), studying or were self-sufficient
You are only automatically a British citizen if, at the time of your birth, at least one of your parents lived in the UK with ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), right of abode, or right of re-admission status.
You are also a British citizen by birth if at least one of your parents, at the time of your birth, was in the UK armed forces and you were born after 12 January 2010.
We have a team of experts who can help you with British citizenship from start to finish. If you are unsure, we can assess whether you are a British citizen by birth, and if you are, we can help you apply for a UK passport.
We can also help you apply to register or naturalise as a British citizen if you are eligible.
For expert advice and queries on naturalisation and ‘Good Character’ requirement, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com
- October 5 2026
You may be a British citizen by birth (depending on when you were born and what the immigration status of your parent (s) was at the time of y...
- October 1 2026
If you have ROA (Right of Abode), you are exempt from UK immigration controls, meaning you can live or work in the UK without any immigration ...
- September 29 2026
Where you are required to meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement) when applying under Appendix FM, you can generally meet the financial requ...
- September 23 2026
When you are applying as a spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner of someone who is a British citizen or has settled status (Indefinite L...
- September 21 2026
UK family visa generally requires you to meet the MIR (Minimum Income Requirement). This means when you apply to enter the UK or remain here ...
- September 21 2026
The Home Office published the statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules – HC584 on 3 September 2026. The statement contains several change...
- September 14 2026
If you are a UK employer and have applied for a sponsor licence, you would like your application to be successful. You should note that to inc...
TBXH Sunley House, 4 Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AP
