Report on United Kingdom 3. Current British nationality and citizenship regime 3.1 Citizenship by birth Under the current law, one may be born a British citizen through birth in the UK to at least one parent who is either a British citizen or settled in the UK or a member of the armed forces. ‘Settled’ is a technical term, meaning resident in the UK without restrictions and applies to those with indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence under EU law. It no longer matters whether the parent is the mother or father or whether or not they are married.24 Ius solis was removed from temporary or irregular migrants by the British Nationality Act 1981. Those born after that time must produce evidence of their parents’ immigration status at the time of birth in order to obtain or renew a passport. It has also interacted with law in other areas to create new excluded groups. For example, before August 2005 a refugee received indefinite leave to remain immediately and thus was settled in the UK and able to give British citizenship at birth to any child subsequently born in the UK. Now, however, they receive five years’ limited leave before receiving indefinite leave and their children will not necessarily be born British although there are later opportunities to register as British once the parent is settled.25 These slower consequential changes suggest that the impact of the loss of ius soli in 1983 is only now being properly felt. Until 2002, a parent exercising free movement rights in EU law was regarded as sufficiently settled to pass British citizenship to a child at birth. In 2006, the position changed: regulations now provide that if the parent has a permanent right of residence, the condition is satisfied, but not if the parent is a ‘qualified person’, meaning a worker or job-seeker, a self-sufficient or self-employed person or a student. The condition is also not satisfied if the parent is resident as a family member of a resident or qualified person. However, after five years as a lawful resident under the free movement rules, a parent gains the status of permanent resident and can then pass British citizenship to a child born in the UK.26 A person may be born a British citizen by descent, if born outside the UK to a British citizen otherwise than by descent. This form of citizenship, by descent, generally lasts only one generation. Thus for a child to obtain British citizenship from a parent who is a British citizen by descent, the child must either be born in the UK or other requirements met that show a continuing connection with the UK. There is however provision to register a child when the British parent’s own parent was a citizen other than by descent and either the child’s British parent lived in the UK for three years prior to birth or the family unit, after birth, lives in the UK for three years. However, if when the child is born outside the UK one parent is a member of the armed forces or diplomatic staff or working in some official European institution, the child will be a British citizen otherwise than by descent and able to pass British 24 The child of a mother who is neither British nor settled only has to show proof of paternity to claim British citizenship through a British or settled father; this is satisfied by the father’s being married to the mother, or on the child’s birth certificate, or by blood or DNA tests, or otherwise (British Nationality (Proof of Paternity) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1496) ). This is however comparatively recent; until July 2006 an unmarried father could not automatically pass British nationality to a child, although registration would usually be permitted where the child would have been born British had the parents been married (SI 2006 1498). 25 There are however generous practices for those children who are born stateless as a result of the parent’s country of origin’s not granting citizenship by descent for those born outside the territory, and there are also generous provisions and practices for the registration for children who are born and grow up in the UK. 26 A child born before the parent achieves the five years’ residence may subsequently be registered. RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-CR 2014/1 - © 2014 Authors 11