Children born abroad to parents who are British by descent and who have lived in the United Kingdom in the past

This page explains how a child born and living outside the United Kingdom whose parent is a British citizen by descent can meet the requirements to be registered as a British citizen.

A child will have an entitlement to be registered under section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 if:

• they were born outside the United Kingdom; or
• they were born after 21 May 2002 outside any of the British overseas territories; and
• they were born to parents, one or both of whom are British citizens by descent; and
• the parent who is British by descent was born to a parent (the child's grandparent) who was a British citizen otherwise than by descent (or would have been but for their death); and
• the parent who is British by descent lived in the United Kingdom at any time before the child's birth for a continuous period of three years*; and
• during the period they were living in the United Kingdom the parent was not absent for more than 270 days; and
• the application is made before the child's 18th birthday.

* The requirement for the parent to have lived in the United Kingdom for a three year period does not apply if the child was born stateless.

A child registered as a British citizen under this section will become a British citizen by descent. They will be unable to pass British citizenship on automatically to any of their children born outside the United Kingdom.

A child registered under section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981 will become a British citizen otherwise than by descent and will be able to pass British citizenship on automatically to any of their children born outside the United Kingdom. If there is a possibility the child may return to live in the United Kingdom before they reach the age of 15, you should consider whether it would be in their best interests to apply under section 3(5) at a later date.