Possessing British citizenship is not considered an entitlement or a legal right in the United Kingdom. It is considered a privilege. However, acquiring citizenship isn’t the end of the immigration journey – the type of British citizen you are will determine whether you can pass on your citizenship to future generations.
This is perhaps best illustrated with an example.
Understanding British Citizenship by descent and its impact on future generations
Meet Mohammad. He is a Saudi national, but he was born in the United Kingdom on 1 January 1980. He has only ever held a Saudi passport and has never really lived in the United Kingdom. His parents were working for a UK business at the time of his birth and so were resident in the UK on work permits. Shortly after Mohammad was born, they left the UK and never returned. Mohammad has spent most of his life living in Saudi Arabia.
Under the British Nationality Act 1948, Mohammad is a British citizen. Not only is he a British citizen but he is a British citizen ‘otherwise than by descent’. This means he acquired his citizenship in his own right (i.e. because of his birth in the UK). The significance of this is that Mohammad can pass on his citizenship to his children, even if those children are born outside the UK. If his children are born outside the UK, then they will be British ‘by descent’. The significance in this slight change of status is that Mohammad’s grandchildren would not be automatically British if they are also born outside the UK. The only way to guarantee that citizenship continues to pass through to future generations would be to ensure that those grandchildren and great-grandchildren are born in the UK. There are potentially other routes to passing on citizenship but the important point to bear in mind is that not all British citizens have the same ability to pass on citizenship.
As the world becomes a smaller place and families start to consider where they want to be home, generational citizenship may become a key consideration (alongside succession and estate planning) when it comes to protecting future generations.
Contact a member of our Immigration team for any queries.
