£10 poms history question

[MFree]

Hi. Wondering if anyone can help with my queries. 

My mother was born in the U.K. to British born parents. They emigrated to Australia when my mother was a child in the early 1960s via the Assisted Passage Scheme. My mother only applied for Australian citizenship after I was born in Australia in 1989. She has never left Australia since she arrived. 

1. Did these migrants give up their U.K. citizenship as part of the scheme? (I read they had to hand in their passports on arrival). If so, if they did not apply for Australian citizenship what was their legal status? (I read about British subjects?) 

2. Did my mother give up her UK citizenship when she became an Australian citizen, or is she a dual citizen? 

Thanks for any help! 

 

 

[doubter]

My understanding is she would be a dual citizen being born in the UK and eligible to apply for UK passport.

[Guest263228]

Still British. (in the sense of being able to reobtain a GB passport) if that is the question. In Britain one does not have to forfeit citizenship when taking out another nation's, unlike some other countries.

If she has not taken out Australian citizenship, she would be an Australian resident but remaining a citizen of United Kingdom.

[Eera]

My dad was in the same sort of boat; came out in the mid 60's, only took out citizenship a couple of years ago.  No, he didn't hand in his passport when he arrived.  He was a permanent resident in Australia all that time, but a British citizen.

[MFree]

Thanks everyone. 

Firstly im trying to establish if she was a British citizen at the time I was born, in order to understand if I need to apply for U.K. Citizenship or if I already am one by decent, and can simply apply for a passport. I believe if your parent was a 'British subject' at the time of your birth - according to the U.K. (there may be some discrepancy between what Australia considered a British subject to be and what the UK considered a British subject to be) then the British subject cannot pass down citizenship. 

Secondly I'd like to clarify if my mother is a dual citizen, or if she gave up her citizenship when moving to Australia / when she became an Australian citizen. 

It seems complicated! My mother is finding it difficult to remember / find out. Thanks! 

[Eera]

It wasn't and still isn't a condition of emigration that you had to renounce your British citizenship - had your mother done that she would have been granted a certificate that states she was no longer a citizen of Britain.  If she was a British citizen, got on a boat and became a permanent resident of Australia, she's still a British citizen unless she's made an effort to renounce it.  What's your date of birth?  If it's after 1983 you'd likely be a citizen by descent. 

If you're unsure send an email to the UK immigration people, they are very helpful - I had to query whether I was a citizen or citizen by descent to see if my kids are eligible for a passport and they were very quick to respond.

[MFree]

Thanks very much! I think that clarifies it then. I'm currrntly on a U.K. Ancestry visa and am unsure why if I am a citizen by decent! Why wasn't this queried when I applied? I was born 1988. Sounds like my mother is a dual citizen too. 

 

[MFree]

I have spoken to UU immigration on the phone, they are helpful but needed to know if mum was a U.K. Citizen at the time of my birth which we were unsure about. I will phone them again today. 

[Ken]

5 minutes ago, MFree said:

Thanks very much! I think that clarifies it then. I'm currrntly on a U.K. Ancestry visa and am unsure why if I am a citizen by decent! Why wasn't this queried when I applied? I was born 1988. Sounds like my mother is a dual citizen too. 

 

It wouldn't have been queried because if you wanted to travel to the UK on an Australian passport you would need a visa (such as a UK Ancestry visa). Australia prohibits Australian citizens travelling to Australia on a foreign passport and permanent residency visas are cancelled upon taking out citizenship but the UK doesn't work the same way. The UK (at present) doesn't prevent UK citizens entering the UK on foreign passports and Indefinite Leave to Remain visas remain valid after taking out citizenship. Tighter immigration controls post Brexit may change this (the pragmatic rules at the moment have a lot to do with many if not most dual nationals having another EU passport).