United Kingdom - Passport & Nationality - British Citizenship by Double Descent (UKM 12(5)1948 PGM)

Section 12(5) of the British Nationality Act confers Citizenship of the UK and Colonies (CUKC) to a woman married to a CUKC man before 01.01.1949 if the woman was a British Subject. But this was gender discriminatory, because the husband could only pick up their CUKC through their own father's birth in the UK, and not if their mother was born in the UK.

Recent changes to remedy anti gender discrimination of woman in the older nationality legislation now means that such woman can pass their British nationality to children born after 01.01.1949. However, elements of gender discrimantion still apply, so we are looking to challenge the UK Home Office and establish a precedent that men and women should have been treated equally. We are looking to make an application for British nationality can be made in the modern day where:

• the applicant was born on or after 1 January 1949 and before 31 December 1982;
• the applicant's paternal grandmother (i.e. father's mother) was born in the UK (including Scotland and Northern Ireland);
• the applicant's paternal grandfather (i.e. father's father) was born outside the UK; AND
• the marriage of the parents must have taken place before 01.01.1949.

While the current position of the UK Home Office is not to allow such a claim, we believe that this is gender disciminatory and that new British nationality legislation should allow such a registration.