United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship (Bechuanaland Birth)

Listen to our RECENT WEBINAR where our two British nationality experts - Philip Gamble and Mishal Patel - discuss a family birth in Bechuanaland and its implications for claims to British nationality in the modern day.

A person has a potential claim to British nationality where they were born in Bechuanaland before its independence on 30 September 1966 as Botswana. This solution arises where:

 - the candidate was born in Bechuanaland before Independence on 30 September 1966;

 - the candidate's father was born in a former British Colony that gained its independence before 30 September 1966 (these include the Aden Colony, the Kenya Colony, Basutoland and Mauritius);

 - the candidate's paternal grandfather was born in Swaziland; AND

 - the candidate has the Right of Abode.

The Right of Abode normally arises where:

 - the candidate has a UK-born grandparent; OR

 - the candidate is a woman and married a British man before 1983.

MORE ABOUT BECHUANALAND

Bechuanaland was a British Protectorate up until its independence on 30 September 1966. From that point, Botswana became (and still is today) an independent Commonwealth country.

A birth in Bechuanaland gave the status of British Protected Person (or BPP). Upon independence, this BPP status was either retained or lost depending on the circumstances of each person. The rules as to whether a person became a citizen of Botswana or not were determined by the Independence Day arrangements and the new Constitution.

We have found several other British nationality solutions that arise from a birth in Bechuanaland:

British Citizenship by Double Descent (48-5(1)a Botswana)
British Citizenship by Double Descent (Bechuanaland)
British Citizenship (Bechuanaland Birth - Married to British man)
British Overseas Citizen (BOC) - Bechuanaland Parent
British Protected Person (BPP) - Bechuanaland