If you or your parents were born in the UK, you might automatically be a British citizen. Check if you’re a British citizen based on whether you were: born in the UK or a British colony before 1 January 1983 born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 born in the UK on 30 April 2006 onwards born outside the UK or are stateless If you’re not automatically a British citizen, you may still be able to apply to become a British citizen . Your rights as a British citizen If you’re a British citizen you can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls. You can also apply for a UK passport .

Born in the UK or a British colony before 1 January 1983

You’re usually automatically a British citizen if you were born in the UK. There are 2 exceptions. You will not be a British citizen if your father was either: a diplomat working for a foreign country an ‘enemy alien in occupation’ - this only applies to you if your father was in the Channel Islands during World War 2 when you were born If you were born in a British colony You’re automatically a British citizen if both of the following apply: you were a citizen of the UK and Colonies ( CUKC ) on 31 December 1982 you had the ‘right of abode’ in the UK (this means you could live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls) There’s one exception. You might not be a British citizen if you got a certificate to confirm that you’re registered as a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies ( CUKC ) under the ‘British Nationality (No 2) Act 1964. Read more detail about who can claim British citizenship automatically .

Born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000

Whether you’re a British citizen depends on where your parents were from and their circumstances. There are different rules if, when you were born: at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country neither of your parents was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen You’re automatically a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen in a UK court. If at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen when you were born You’ll be a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was either: a British citizen an Irish citizen living in the UK If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country when you were born You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was both: a citizen of a country that was in the EU or the EEA and had full free movement rights - people from Portugal and Spain got these rights on 1 January 1992 living in the UK, and working or studying here If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If you’re not a British citizen and you live in the UK, you’ll need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to carry on living here after June 2021. Countries that were in the EU or EEA between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 (other than the UK and Ireland) Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands were in the EU by 1 January 1983. Although Portugal and Spain became EU members on 1 January 1986, their citizens did not get full free movement rights until 1 January 1992. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway joined the EEA on 1 January 1994. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined on 1 January 1995. If your parents were not British, Irish, EU or EEA citizens when you were born You’re only automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents lived in the UK and had one of the following immigration statuses: indefinite leave to remain ( ILR ) right of abode right of re-admission If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. You can check if your parents had ILR , right of abode or right to re-admission .

Born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006

Whether you’re a British citizen depends on where your parents were from and their circumstances. There are different rules if when you were born: at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country neither of your parents was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen You’re automatically a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen in a UK court. If at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen when you were born You’ll be a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was either: a British citizen an Irish citizen living in the UK If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country when you were born Most children of EU or EEA citizens born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 are not automatically British citizens. You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born all of the following applied to at least one of your parents: they had citizenship of a country that was in the EU or the EEA at the time they lived in the UK they had ‘indefinite leave to remain’ ( ILR ), ‘right of abode’ or ‘right of re-admission’ You might also be a British citizen if your parent or their family member died or stopped working before you were born. If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If you’re not a British citizen and you live in the UK, you’ll need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to carry on living here after June 2021. Countries that were in the EU or the EEA , or had equal status, between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 (other than the UK and Ireland) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden were in the EEA by 2 October 2000. Switzerland is not an EU or EEA member but has been part of the single market since 1 June 2002. This means Swiss nationals have the same rights to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals. Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. If your parent or their family member died or stopped working before you were born You’re automatically a British citizen if at least one of your parents was living in the UK and that parent, or one of their family members, was one of the following when you were born: an EU or EEA citizen who lived and worked in the UK and had died a retired EU or EEA citizen who had worked or been self-employed in the UK If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If your parents were not British, Irish, EU or EEA citizens when you were born You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents lived in the UK and had one of the following: indefinite leave to remain ( ILR ) right of abode right to re-admission If the parent that meets these conditions is your father, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. You can check if your parents had ILR , right of abode or right to re-admission .

Born in the UK on 30 April 2006 onwards

Whether you’re a British citizen depends on where your parents were from and their circumstances. There are different rules if when you were born: at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country neither of your parents was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen You’re automatically a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen in a UK court. If at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen when you were born You’ll be a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was either: a British citizen an Irish citizen living in the UK If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country when you were born You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born all of the following applied to at least one of your parents: they had citizenship of a country that was in the EU or the EEA at the time they lived in the UK they had ‘indefinite leave to remain’ ( ILR ), ‘permanent residence status’, ‘right of abode’ or ‘right of re-admission’ If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. If you’re not a British citizen and you live in the UK, you’ll need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to carry on living here after June 2021. Countries that are in the EU or the EEA , or have equal status (other than the UK and Ireland) Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden were in the EEA by 20 April 2006. Switzerland is not an EU or EEA member but it is part of the single market. This means Swiss nationals have the same rights to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007. Croatia joined the EU on 1 January 2013. If your parents were not British, Irish, EU or EEA citizens when you were born You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was living in the UK and had any of the following: indefinite leave to remain ( ILR ) right to re-admission right of abode If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born. You’re also automatically a British citizen if at least one of your parents was in the UK armed forces and you were born after 12 January 2010. You can check if your parents had ILR , right of abode or right to re-admission .

Born outside the UK or stateless

If at least one of your parents is a British citizen You might automatically be a British citizen depending on when you were born and your parents’ circumstances at the time. Find out if you’re already a British citizen or if you can apply to become one . If you were born in a British overseas territory Depending on when and where you were born, you might automatically be a British citizen if you were born in a British overseas territory . If you were adopted You’re automatically a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen in a UK court. If you were adopted overseas, you’re a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen and your adoption order is certified as having been made in accordance with the Hague Convention. If you’re stateless If you’re not recognised as a citizen of any country, you may be able to register as a British citizen depending on when and where you were born. Check if you can apply to register as a British citizen .

Your parents' immigration status when you were born

If you were born in the UK after 31 December 1982 and your parents were not British or Irish, you’ll need check their immigration status to be sure you’re automatically a British citizen. At least one of your parents will usually need to have had one of the following when you were born: indefinite leave to remain (ILR) right to re-admission right of abode permanent residence status Your parent would have been able to live and work in the UK without restrictions if they had any of these statuses. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) ILR is not usually a status you get automatically - your parent would have applied for it before getting it. If your parent has ILR, they will usually have one of the following to prove it: a stamp in their passport a letter from the Home Office a ‘vignette’ (sticker) a biometric residence permit Right of abode Your parent may have got right of abode automatically if they were a British national or from a Commonwealth country - they will not have applied for it. If your parent has ‘right of abode’, they’ll usually have either: a UK passport describing them as a ‘British citizen’ or ‘British subject with right of abode’ a non-UK passport with a ‘certificate of entitlement to the right of abode’ Find out more about right of abode . Right to re-admission Your parent may have got right to re-admission automatically if they were from a Commonwealth country - they will not have applied for it. If your parent has ‘right to re-admission’, they’ll usually have a passport that says they’re ‘entitled to readmission to the United Kingdom’. Permanent residence status Your parent will usually have got permanent residence status automatically if both the following apply: they were from an EU or EEA country they lived in the UK for 5 years and were working, studying, self-sufficient or looking for work here Your parent does not need to have applied for a permanent residence document to have permanent residence status. Find out more about permanent residence status .

Check if you're a British citizen

Overview

If you or your parents were born in the UK, you might automatically be a British citizen.

Check if you’re a British citizen based on whether you were:

born in the UK or a British colony before 1 January 1983
born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000
born in the UK between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006
born in the UK on 30 April 2006 onwards
born outside the UK or are stateless

If you’re not automatically a British citizen, you may still be able to apply to become a British citizen.

Your rights as a British citizen

If you’re a British citizen you can live and work in the UK free of any immigration controls.

You can also apply for a UK passport.

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Check if you're a British citizen

Overview

Your rights as a British citizen

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Check if you're a British citizen

Overview

Your rights as a British citizen

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