# Is there any way that I can assert I am a British? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415 "2016-11-10T22:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/21 "2016-11-11T19:03:54Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > From the horse’s mouth (if you ask a consulate, you may simply find yourself told to look up this link): > > [http://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen](http://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen) I took the test myself just to see if it was accurate (being a British citizen by birth, but resident in the US lo these many years). It was, though apparently if I’d been born five months later I might not be. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/22 "2016-11-11T20:16:57Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Are you sure? The Bahamas isn’t listed as one of the British Overseas Territories. It became independent from the UK in 1973. ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/23 "2016-11-12T00:49:57Z")
Yeah, I’m probably screwed. Thanks anyway. It just seems so weird that through no fault of my own I may not have a right that I would have had June 10, 1973 had my father merely sent a letter saying he wanted to retain UK citizenship. It’s all so arbitrary. My dad wasn’t even living in the Bahamas then. But because he didn’t assert his claim, I’m screwed by Trump. It’s all so incomprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/24 "2016-11-12T00:53:25Z")
I’m going to call my sister. There is a very low chance that my grandparents were British. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/25 "2016-11-12T07:54:03Z")
> [@fervour](#): > > It’s all so arbitrary. Inevitably. Every country has to draw the line somewhere: otherwise there’d have been the best part of 1bn people entitled to claim British citizenship and residence, which wouldn’t have been an entirely practicable proposition. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/26 "2016-11-12T11:56:18Z")
Another route might be to marry a British Citizen. This would not in any way automatically confer the right to apply for citizenship, but it could be first step in a long process. > **[Check if you can become a British citizen](https://www.gov.uk/british-citizenship/if-your-spouse-is-a-british-citizen)** > > There are different ways to apply for British citizenship, including ‘naturalisation’. Check your eligibility to apply. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/27 "2016-11-12T18:31:20Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > **UDS** , was this clause specific to Bahamians, or in general? > > My maternal grandmother was born in England, of an English mother and Irish father. Your inquiry above gives me a tiny bit of hope, but nothing I’ve read previously leads me to believe I might qualify for any UK status. IIRC - and you have to check the rules carefully - the grand **father** had to be born in the UK. Most citizenship laws were stupid that way. They started fixing it in the 70’s or 80’s but only slightly retroactive, IIRC. So as others have mentioned, the British laws are very complex. You don’t need to “claim” British citizenship, IIRC. you would want to apply for a passport if you qualify to have always been a British citizen, and supply the necessary documentation to show you are entitled to one. I would also read the laws very carefully. There’s no guarantee a consulate minion is interpreting the law correctly for anyone’s case if they say “no”. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415/28 "2016-11-14T00:46:30Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > **UDS** , was this clause specific to Bahamians, or in general? > > My maternal grandmother was born in England, of an English mother and Irish father. Your inquiry above gives me a tiny bit of hope, but nothing I’ve read previously leads me to believe I might qualify for any UK status. It’s general. If you’re a citizen of any Commonwealth country, and you’re outside the UK, and you have at least one grandparent who was born in the UK, and are over 17 and solvent, and wish to work in the UK, then you can apply for an ancestry visa which will allow you to enter the UK and work there for a term of five years. You can apply to have the term extended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-that-i-can-assert-i-am-a-british/771415.md?page=1)