Which other categories of persons may apply for British citizenship?

Dear Mr Bassie,

I would like to know what the other categories of eligible persons are who can apply for British citizenship other than being born, married or in a civil partnership with a citizen.

F.A.

Dear F.A.,

Persons who are Irish citizens may be able to apply for British citizenship. It should be noted that, as an Irish citizen, persons must have lived in the United Kingdom (UK) for five years.

Those persons who have settled status under the European Union (EU) Settlement Scheme, to apply for citizenship with settled status, they must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after obtaining it.

Persons who have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

Individuals may be able to apply for citizenship if they can show all of the following:

• they have pre-settled status

• they are from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and started living in the UK by December 31, 2020 (or they are their family member)

• they have lived in the UK for five years in a row and, in that time, they have been working (or looking for work for up to three months), studying or they are self-sufficient

Persons will then need to live in the UK for another year before they can apply, unless their spouse or partner is a British citizen.

Persons who have not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme

Persons may still be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and they can then use this to apply for citizenship. The deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for most persons was June 30, 2021. However, persons may still apply if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ for not having been able to apply by the deadline.

Other ways persons can be eligible

Persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship if:

• they have a British parent

• they have another type of British nationality

• they have a parent with British overseas territories citizenship

• they are stateless

• they previously gave up (renounced) your citizenship

• other special circumstances that apply to the individual

• persons are a Chagossian descendant (a direct descendant of someone born in British Indian Ocean Territory)

If they are a Commonwealth citizen

Persons may be eligible to apply for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme if both:

• person or one of their parents arrived in the UK before 1973; and

• they have lived in the UK and not been away from it for more than two years.

If the person’s parent arrived in the UK before 1973, they must have either:

• been born in the UK; or

• arrived in the UK before they were 18 years old.

Just for completeness, please note that some Commonwealth citizens have ‘right of abode’ in the UK. This means they can live or work in the UK without immigration restrictions. Persons are advised to check if they can apply to prove they have right of abode in the UK.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Chartered Arbitrator, The Past Global President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (U.K.). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com