# U.S. Born Adopted by U.K. Parents - British Citizenship eligible?



## maggie3 (Dec 21, 2011)

Hi,

New here and excited to have found this site. I've already spent too much time reading the many interesting posts. I've searched through the forum hoping to find an answer to my specific question: 

I was born in the U.S. in 1970 and adopted a month later by two English born parents, both lived in England until they were in their late 20's before heading to Canada and then the U.S. After my adoption, we lived in the U.S. but frequently visited England for long periods of time. My adoption was never registered in Britain (it didn't occur to them at the time to do so.)

Am I eligible for a British Citizenship thru descent? What about a British passport?

Everything I have found on the UK govt websites points to adopted children under the age of 18 and anyone older being born outside Britain refers to biological children, nothing in between.

Thank you,

Maggie


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

maggie3 said:


> Hi,
> 
> New here and excited to have found this site. I've already spent too much time reading the many interesting posts. I've searched through the forum hoping to find an answer to my specific question:
> 
> ...


You aren't eligible for citizenship because you never became British citizen because you were never registered as British as a child. It had to be done before you were 18. As it is, it's too late to do anything about it.



> Everything I have found on the UK govt websites points to adopted children under the age of 18 and anyone older being born outside Britain refers to biological children, nothing in between.


Adoption doesn't have the same effect on citizenship as biological descent. If you are adopted, you can only take on your adopted parents' nationality until you are 18 by registering. If you weren't registered as a minor, then you only have US citizenship by being born in US (_jus soli_). You also inherited your citizenship from your biological paremts.


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## maggie3 (Dec 21, 2011)

Thank you for the reply!


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## maggie3 (Dec 21, 2011)

I did a little more research and I think I do qualify without having been registered:

How do I know if I am a British citizen with the right of abode?

You will have become a British citizen on 1 January 1983 (the date on which the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force) and therefore have the right of abode in the United Kingdom if immediately prior to that date you:
•
were a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies and had your citizenship by being born, adopted, naturalised or registered in the United Kingdom 

•
were a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies with a parent who at the time of your birth or legal adoption was a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies, or that parent’s parent was a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies at the time of your parent’s birth or legal adoption by being born, adopted, naturalised or registered in the United Kingdom 

•
were a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies who had been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of five years or more and during that period you were not in breach of the immigration laws and at the end of that period you did not have any time limit attached to your stay 

•
were a citizen of the United Kingdom and colonies and were then, or had been, the wife of a man with the right of abode


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## rifleman (Jun 24, 2011)

I can't see how any of those are relevant to you.

You were never a citizen of The UK or the colonies, which is the first requirement under all those headings.


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## maggie3 (Dec 21, 2011)

rifleman said:


> I can't see how any of those are relevant to you.
> 
> You were never a citizen of The UK or the colonies, which is the first requirement under all those headings.


This is how I read this - perhaps I read it wrong....

"you...
were a citizen of the United Kingdom.....with a parent who at the time of your...legal adoption was a citizen of the United Kingdom

I checked with an old friend in the same boat and she said they recognized her U.S. adoption the same as if she was born to her parents and she was never registered either. She was told that she was always considered a "citizen of the UK"


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

maggie3 said:


> I did a little more research and I think I do qualify without having been registered:
> 
> How do I know if I am a British citizen with the right of abode?
> 
> ...


British nationality law is extraordinarily complicated (perhaps the most complex in the world) and it isn't easy to find out if someone is a British citizen or not. It depends on numerous circumstances. So what you've quoted is only a part of the equation and there are other factors that have to be established. In your case there are two relevant acts - British Nationality Act 1948 (and subsequent revision in 1950 concerning adoption) and British Nationality Act 1981.

Look at the following flowchart to see if you were a citizen of the United Kingdom and the Colonies (CUKC) on 1st January 1983:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/s...ityinstructions/nichapter2/annexc?view=Binary

I have followed the chart carefully, but since you were adopted outside the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and since you weren't registered as British before you turned 18, you were not a CUKC on the relevant date (see the first statement quoted, and the words *in the United Kingdom*).

Some people are eligible for British citizenship because they were Commonwealth citizen by birth. So if you had been born a Canadian or Australian, you might have had a claim for right of abode through adoption, but as a born American you don't qualify. This coresponds to the opening phrase of the second statement quoted above, *You were a citizen of the United Kingdom and the Colonies*

I'm 99% certain, but don't take my word for it. Consult the nearest British embassy/consulate, or an immigration adviser familiar with British nationality law.



> I checked with an old friend in the same boat and she said they recognized her U.S. adoption the same as if she was born to her parents and she was never registered either. She was told that she was always considered a "citizen of the UK"


Is her circumstance exactly the same as yours? Does she have a British passport through adoption?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

maggie3 said:


> This is how I read this - perhaps I read it wrong....
> 
> "you...
> were a citizen of the United Kingdom.....with a parent who at the time of your...legal adoption was a citizen of the United Kingdom
> ...


I'm afraid you've misread it. What that statement says is if you were a CUKC (by virtue of being a Commonwealth citizen under Nationality Act of 1948), and since you were born an American, you don't qualify.


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