Is my wife British?

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  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 34,685 Forumite
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    If she was only 3 when her family moved to the U K, does she have certificates from school - GCE, CSE, GCSE?

    Does she have a work record?
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,284 Forumite
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    UKSBD wrote: »
    Her Grandparents were in the legal divisions of one of the consuls so I would assume everything was done correct. I've no idea how these things work though.

    That might make a big difference: people who are abroad as "Crown Servants" are treated as if they were in the UK when it comes to issues such as this.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,284 Forumite
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    UKSBD wrote: »
    Thanks all

    She's had a passport in the past, has a National Insurance and NHS number so we are assuming everything is fine.

    See if you can find that passport and see exactly what it says.

    She would probably need to show a valid passport to any employer before being given a job: and of course would need a passport to travel abroad.
  • UKSBD
    UKSBD Posts: 797 Forumite
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    She has all the usual school certificates, but hasn't had a passport for 25+ years, no idea where it is and thinks it may have been a family one as she was only about 17 last time she went abroad.
  • arielsmelody
    arielsmelody Posts: 76 Forumite
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    I found this website by searching online
    https://www.immigroup.com/news/can-i-get-british-passport


    Going on the information there, as long as her parents were married it looks to me that in 1971, your wife would have inherited her father's nationality even though she was born abroad.


    It's probably worth going to an immigration lawyer and making sure she finds as much information as possible now before any more gets lost, so that she can be sure of her situation.
  • donnac2558
    donnac2558 Posts: 3,610 Forumite
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    At 16 she would have needed her own passport to travel abroad. I know because my mum waited until my 16th birthday to apply for one for me to visit Canada. I could no longer travel on her passport. this was back in the 70s.

    This is the problem they changed the rules in the 00s and people who thought they were legal are now told they no longer are.

    I remember Spike Milligan. His father served in the British army in India and Spike was born there. Also considered British had passport worked etc. Then suddenly the rules changed and he was told no he could not have a British passport and was Irish. His father originally came from there but lived in the UK and served in the army for most of his adult life
  • Savvy_Sue
    Savvy_Sue Posts: 46,022 Forumite
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    If she's thinking of ever getting a job, a valid passport is the easiest way of proving her Right to Work in the UK. So I'd encourage her to apply for one now: not being able to find one she had 25 years ago shouldn't be a huge issue!

    without a valid passport, there are other 'proofs' she can give but it will be a bit of a nightmare ... and I am sure some employers will be completely and utterly bewildered at being offered anything other than a passport.

    Proof of her NINo is not a lot of help. Driving licence ditto. Neither proves RTW: NINo just proves that at some point she was entitled to a NINo and may have worked, and driving licence just proves she's lived here long enough to pass a UK driving test.
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  • UKSBD
    UKSBD Posts: 797 Forumite
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    Her parents were married when she was born and her father is British.

    Pretty sure she qualifies as a British citizen, it's how to prove it if anyone asks that she is worried about.
  • susancs
    susancs Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    edited 21 April 2018 at 7:08AM
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    UKSBD wrote: »
    Her parents were married when she was born and her father is British.

    Pretty sure she qualifies as a British citizen, it's how to prove it if anyone asks that she is worried about.
    If your wife applied for a British passport and got one that would prove her citizenship. She would need her birth certificate, marriage certificate docs etc and her Dads birth certificate and marriage certificate. She can always order certified copies if she has not got her fathers documents.
  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,620 Forumite
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    UKSBD wrote: »
    Thanks all

    She's had a passport in the past, has a National Insurance and NHS number so we are assuming everything is fine.

    She just has no other documentation anywhere that she knows about.

    We don't even know what documentation if any is required.

    If she applied for a job, told employer she was born in Africa, what would they actually ask for and would just a NI number be all that was required?
    .


    An NI number would probably be insufficient these days. Everybody who works has an NI number so that wouldn,t prove your British nationality. When I worked in HR even ten years ago we asked every new employee to produce a Passport, either a British one or foreign one which included a relevant visa or right to remain documentation.
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