This section provides information about British citizenship and other forms of British nationality. It explains whether you are a British citizen, how you can apply for British citizenship and other forms of British nationality, and how you can give up your citizenship.
British citizenship is one of the six different forms of British nationality. Some of these were defined in the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. The laws that define how citizenship can be obtained changed on that date, which is why you will often see references to 1983 on this site.
The forms of nationality are:
Of these, only British citizens have an automatic right to live and work in the United Kingdom and to apply for a British passport. Those with other forms of British nationality must obtain permission to live and work here. They may be entitled to register as British citizens in certain circumstances.
You may already be a British citizen or be able to apply for citizenship or another form of British nationality. See Eligibility for more information.
A person may be a British citizen:
This is a legal difference that affects whether or not a person can pass on citizenship to his/her children.
A person is a British citizen otherwise than by descent if he/she was:
A citizen otherwise than by descent can pass on British citizenship automatically to his/her children born outside the United Kingdom. But any children born outside the United Kingdom will be British citizens by descent, and cannot normally pass their citizenship to their own children born abroad. However, they can register their children as British citizens in certain circumstances.
A British citizen by descent cannot become a British citizen otherwise than by descent.
The position may be different for people born before 1 January 1983. In most cases, if you have a passport issued before 1983 which describes you as a British subject (or Commonwealth citizen) citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies with right of abode in the United Kingdom, you will automatically be a British citizen.
Living in the UK
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Working in the UK
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Studying in the UK
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Life in the UK
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Please note CK and Jones is not currently providing any immigration advice until we become regulated by the OISC. Please browse our visa information sections in the meantime and use the contact us page to leave us a message.
