Resumption of British Citizenship

If you have renounced British citizenship, resumption of British citizenship might still be possible for you. You should seek legal advice so your circumstances can be assessed to see whether you can make the application to resume your lost British citizenship in one of the following ways:

Resumption as of Right

The British Nationality Act 1981 provides that resumption of British citizenship is permitted if “renunciation was necessary to enable the applicant to retain or acquire some other citizenship or nationality.” This is a matter of right and is available once only.

In majority of the cases, people renounce citizenship because they want to hold a public office in another country or take part in politics there. These are not good reasons for the resumption of British citizenship as the applicant was not forced to give it up because he had to acquire another country’s citizenship.

In other words, if the other country of which you want to become a citizen does not bar dual citizenship, you will not be able resume your British citizenship as a matter of right because the renunciant is not acquiring or retaining the other *citizenship* through the act of renunciation.

Evidence

Applications under 13(1) should also be supported by a letter from the authorities of the country concerned (unless it is the UK or a British overseas territory) stating that the applicant’s renunciation of British citizenship was necessary in order to acquire or retain that country’s citizenship.

Discretionary Resumption

If you do not appear to resume British citizenship as of right, you might be able to apply to the Secretary of State and request her to exercise her discretion in your favour and register you as a British citizen under section 13(3) of BNA 1981. In seeing whether discretion should be exercised, the Secretary of State will have regard to:

♠ whether you have a reasonable connection with the UK; or
♠ whether you have been married to a person who has/had a connection with the UK.

The “connection to the UK” is taken as:

♠ born in the UK; or
♠ naturalised in the UK; or
♠ registered as a citizen of the UK and Colonies in the UK or a country listed in section 1(3) of the 1948 Act.

This discretion is intended primarily to benefit those who renounced British citizenship:

♠ in order to acquire the nationality or citizenship of their spouse or civil partner; or
♠ to assist them in their careers; and
♠ the marriage, civil partnership or the career has now ended; and
♠ they wish to remain in or return to the UK for settlement

You may therefore normally be registered under 13(3) if the conditions above are met, and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the applicant’s future is likely to lie in the UK if registered.

Evidence

Applications should be supported by evidence as set out above and/or evidence to support any other reasons for the renunciation of British citizenship and the wish to re-acquire it. If:

♠ renunciation of British citizenship was not necessary in order to retain or acquire another nationality or citizenship; or
♠ the applicant renounced British citizenship in order to apply for a repatriation grant to return to his/her country of origin (in such cases, discretion to register under s.13(3) should only be exercised in exceptional circumstances); or
♠ renunciation of British citizenship was not for either of the reasons given above; or
♠ the person has already been registered under s.13(1),

the application is considered on its merits, taking into account the reasons given for the renunciation and the reasons for wishing to re-acquire British citizenship. If no reasons have been given, the reasons will be requested.

Character

In exercising his discretion under s.13(3), the Home Secretary has to have regard to the character of the applicant and his suitability for registration. Applicants will not be expected to meet exacting standards, but it is necessary to try to identify those whose activities may suggest registration would not be appropriate and would attract criticism.

If the declaration or renunciation of British citizenship was made in order to acquire another nationality or citizenship, and no such nationality or citizenship was acquired within 6 months of the date of registration of the declaration, the renunciation was void and the person remained a British citizen. But unless the evidence or information available indicates that the other nationality or citizenship was not acquired, it should be assumed that the renunciation was valid and that British citizenship was lost.

In practice, the applicant should prove that they had a reasonable belief that the renunciation of British citizenship was a result of being deprived of citizenship of another Commonwealth country.

Wish to Apply?

If you’d like to apply for British Citizenship please be aware that most applicants are refused even though they appear to meet the legal requirements.These refusals are attributable to the applicant’s failure to provide evidence in the required format or to understand the applicable rules. The applicant, as a result, not not only loses the application but also the fees. Another costly consequence of a failed application is that applicants do not get the right of appeal. It is therefore critical that citizenship advic is sought before submitting your case to ensure compliance applicable citizenship rules and policies. Contact us to get the immigration advice you need to develop the best possible case and increase your chances of success.