United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship by Double Descent (48-5(1)a ETJ)

After 1948 and prior to 1983, British Citizenship could be passed two generations by Descent where the middle generation (the parent) or the applicant was born in a place where the Crown exercised Extra Territorial Jurisdiction over British Subjects. So the key requirements of this solution are:

• born between 01.01.1949 and 01.01.1983;
• a parent born in a territory where ETJ was exercised; AND
• that parent's father born in the UK.

An alternative set of requirements of this solution are:

• born between 01.01.1949 and 01.01.1983;
• born in a territory at a time when ETJ was exercised; AND
• either grandfather born in the UK.

If the relevant parent was the father, then the applicant is British by operation of law (i.e. automatically British), as long as the relevant family members were born legitimately. However, if the relevant parent was the mother, an application to register as a British citizen has to be made. This route through the mother has become available after recent anti-gender discrimination legislation was passed.

The list of territories where ETJ was exercised includes Albania, Algeria, Papua New Guinea, Bulgaria, China, Greece, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Japan, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Muscat and Oman (now Oman), Namibia, Nauru, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Romania, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South West Africa (now Namibia), Syria, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Vanuatu, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.