Yes. I’m actually pretty straightforward, though my situation is affected by UK citizenship law being gender-biased when I was born. (If my mother had been my father, I would be a UK citizen). But there are plenty of cases, especially in the aftermath of war or oppression, of people being born without any citizenship, e.g., if their parents are refugees in country which doesn’t give citizenship simply because you were born there, and they don’t inherit their parents’ citizenship.
If he’s very lucky, they’ll include a lovely big jar of Marmite!
I’m jealous.
I have to go faaarr back to find British ancestry–back to 1600 something. Irony is I’m all British–Scots, English, (protestant) Irish, heck there may be some Welsh as well. We just came early to this country and stayed. I look English. I like the climate there (truly!). I like the towns and the people (except that one guy at the Chunnel crossing-never mind, he was a jerk).
But American I am and will stay–I’ll just visit a lot.
Over here, the only place I’ve seen that is in the cleaning-supplies section of the Dominion grocery store near Ryerson University.
I don’t think they knew what it was.
I have a follow-up question.
Does taking an oath to be loyal to HM The Queen (God bless 'er and all who sail in 'er) affect your American citizenship?
Congrats my good fellow, just one thing.
It’s “Merrie” not merry 
Oh and you have to learn to positively love the following culinary delights.
- Curry
- Mushy peas
- Tripe and Onions
- Liver and Onions
- Cowheel.
There are others of course but I guess you’ll discover those for yourself.
An addiction to “real” football is mandatory I believe
And you have to learn to like cricket.
And having a great-grandfather who was a well-known player doesn’t seem to help, unfortunately. I was hoping there was some sort of genetic predisposition or something, but no such luck.
Congratulations and welcome to the old country. 
I am a touch concerned about calling yourself a ‘Briton’, though. The correct nomenclature is ‘English’ if England win something and ‘British’ if another part of the Union does well. :smack:
Here is your essential guide to fitting in. You will need to be able to recognise and converse about the following:
- Marmite
- the weather
- cricket
- Manchester United
- Roman Abramovich
- Jose Mourinho
- Sherlock Holmes
- Bertie Wooster and Jeeves
- James Bond
- Discworld
- Monty Python
- Fawlty Towers
- Blackadder (especially the closing scene)
- George and Ben Cohen
- chicken tikka marsala
- Trafalgar Square
- Waterloo (especially the sunset)
- the relief of Mafeking
- battle of Stamford Bridge
- Bletchley Park
- Ladybower reservoir
I forgot Sherwood Forest and Alan Rickman. :o
You should also master these theme tunes:
- The Pink Panther
- Mission Impossible
- The Magnificent Seven
- The Great Escape
- Stranger on the shore
sniff Brings a tear to the eye. Greatest series finale, ever.
Apparently not. It’s considered a “routine” oath, and the default assumption is that by taking this kind of oath, you are not renouncing your original citizenship. Now, if I were to enlist in the Gurkhas, maybe it’d be a different story.
Thanks, glee. I’m at least semi-familiar with most of the things on the list (as a matter of fact, I was watching Fawlty Towers just the other day). Ladybower Reservoir is a new one on me, though.
I’m also figuring I’ll need an accent, a subculture, and a football team. Maybe I can get some recommendations.
Didn’t you have to learn how to spell the name of the country before they gave you citizenship?
I was under the impression he was declaring himself to be “a Briton”, rather than saying he was “from Britain”.
None of this much affects me, mind you. My closest european ancestry is via Germany in the late 1800’s.
Good old George III: last in war, last in peace, and last in the hearts of his countrymen.
What benefits (or obligations) come with a Right of Abode and/or an Ancestry Visa?
My most recent is from about 1800 (I think). My Dutch ancestry, reflected in my surname, is from 1640 or so. I was told at one point that immigration was impossible, and presumably it still is; absent marriage or membership in some preferred group. Not that I could now anyway; I can barely speak Dutch, but at the time I investigated it my Dutch was better.
I think that Right of Abode lets you live and work there indefinitely, and a UK Ancestry Visa lets you live and work there for five years. But I could be wrong. Every time I look at the rules, they seem to be squirming around and changing like drawings on the monitor after you’ve been looking at them all day.
There’s a few to choose from, you should have a listen here and pick one that you like.
So do you get a certificate, or something?
I’m afraid you don’t get to choose the latter. The rules about who you support are as strict as those for citizenship itself. Where was your mum from?