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

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

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. South West Africa (as it was then called) was such a territory between 17.12.1920 and 30.05.1962. So the two potential routes to British nationality occur as follows:

Situation 1

• applicant born between 01.01.1949 and 01.01.1983;
• a parent born in South West Africa between 17.12.1920 and 30.05.1962; AND
• that parent's father born in the UK.

Situation 2

• applicant born between 01.01.1949 and 30.05.1962;
• applicant born in South West Africa; AND
• a 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.