Hi, Can anyone tell me what British by Parentage means. Regards Geoff Ikin.
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It means exactly what it says, that a person was a British subject because their father was (or both parents were).
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Hi, I cannot understand why bring the parents into it, if they are British, that's it. There has to be another explanation. Regards, Geoff. Ikin.
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Sorry that you find it hard to accept, Geoff, but that was one of the fundamental ways in which one became a British subject. The others were being born in any country under the sovereignty of the Crown, naturalisation and (for a foreign woman) marrying a male British subject. This situation, which had been based on common law and various statutes, was finally codified in 1914.
In 1949 the whole terminology changed and the term "British Citizen" became the proper description for a person with full rights in the UK. The term "British Subject" then became reserved for a small class of people who were born in British colonies but were not entitled to citizenship.
Caroline
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Its not that I found it hard to accept Caroline, I just wanted someone to give me an explanation. Now I understand, thanks to the information you have provided. Geoff Ikin.
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You can acquire citizenship by various different routes. The two most common are by residence or by descent. Residence requires a period of lawful residence in the UK. Descent stems from being born to a British born parent (has to be a legitimate birth, if from the father). Other jurisdictions have different rules, which may include descent from grandparents etc, but in the UK these are the basic rules, as I understand them.
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Just to clarify and re-state what I said earlier, the status of "British Citizen" is a modern, post-colonial one. Residence alone is not, and never has been, enough to qualify for citizenship.
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