Family Born in UK

This page caters for South Africans in South Africa that have family that were born in the UK. This content serves to clarify what options are available (or enabled) when a South African has a UK born relative.

Please note that this page caters for relatives that were born in the UK that need not be living in the UK (at present) for the below content to apply. We have put separate content together to address cases where relatives live in the UK (and not necessarily were born in the UK).

To best address the rules available to applicants that have family born in the UK, we need to identify which relatives that applicant is looking to making a claim through.

Family Born in UK

Father Born in UK

There are 3 different circumstances where an applicants father was born in the UK.

1. Father (biological) born in the UK

In the event that the applicants biological father was born in the UK, the applicant is automatically entitled to make the claim to British nationality through descent (this means that the applicant can apply for a British passport).

In the event that you are the applicant, we recommend you contact our British passport division and chat about the UKIASA Case C3 (regardless of the nature of relationship between the applicant and father).

2. Father (adopted) born in the UK

This applies to cases where the applicant was adopted (adoption registered before they turn 16 years old) by a British national father.

 There are different provisions available for different circumstances. Different rules apply if the adoption is registered in the UK versus adoptions registered in South Africa. Even further consideration is given to the type of British nationality held (how the father in question gained British nationaliy).

The default answer is to contact us for further evaluation.

3. Father (step) born in the UK

Claiming dependency on a step parent has the highest risk of refusal (when compared to biological and adopted dependent cases).

Birth rights cannot be passed down through marriage and therefore if the applicants Step Father was born in the UK, they unfortunately are not eligible to claim ancestry working rights nor are they able to claim British nationality (based on Step Fathers place of birth).

If the applicant is a minor at the time of visa submission (below the age of 18 years old), they are encouraged to contact us about further complicated visa requirements.

If the applicant is an adult at the time of visa submission (above the age of 18 years old), they unfortunately have no benefit to claim based on their Step Fathers place of birth.

Mother Born in UK.

The ghost of discrimination still haunts the British, thanks to the complicated past of woman rights only recently being implemented. When compared to birth rights passed down through the paternal line. There are 4 different circumstances where an applicants mother was born in the UK.

1. Mother (biological) born in the UK, applicant born before 1983

In the event that the applicants biological mother was born in the UK, the applicant is entitled to make the claim for British nationality through descent (this means that the applicant can apply for a British passport). There is a strange additional formality that needs to be followed before the request for a British passport can be made.

In the event that you are the applicant, we recommend you contact our British passport division and chat about the UKIASA Case C5 (regardless of the nature of relationship between the applicant and father).

2. Mother (biological) born in the UK, applicant after before 1983

In the event that the applicants biological father was born in the UK, the applicant is automatically entitled to make the claim to British nationality through descent (this means that the applicant can apply for a British passport).

In the event that you are the applicant, we recommend you contact our British passport division and chat about the UKIASA Case C6 (regardless of the nature of relationship between the applicant and mother).

3. Mother (adopted) born in the UK

This applies to cases where the applicant was adopted (adoption registered before they turn 16 years old) by a British national mother.

 There are different provisions available for different circumstances. Different rules apply if the adoption is registered in the UK versus adoptions registered in South Africa. Even further consideration is given to the type of British nationality held (how the mother in question gained British nationaliy).

The default answer is to contact us for further evaluation.

4. Mother (step) born in the UK

Claiming dependency on a step parent has the highest risk of refusal (when compared to biological and adopted dependent cases).

Birth rights cannot be passed down through marriage and therefore if the applicants Step Mother was born in the UK, they unfortunately are not eligible to claim ancestry working rights nor are they able to claim British nationality (based on Step Mothers place of birth).

If the applicant is a minor at the time of visa submission (below the age of 18 years old), they are encouraged to contact us about further complicated visa requirements.

If the applicant is an adult at the time of visa submission (above the age of 18 years old), they unfortunately have no benefit to claim based on their Step Mothers place of birth.

Brother or Sister.

There are 3 different circumstances of siblings being born in a different country (the UK in this context). This applies to cases where the applicant was born in South Africa and their sibling (either Brother or Sister) was born in the UK.

1.Brother or sister (biological) born in the UK

This applies to cases where the applicant shares at least one biological parent (therefore half brothers or sisters included). Naturally the question is asked “is their any benefit for me if my sibling was born in the UK?”.

From an immigration (and British nationality) perspective, there is no benefit given to siblings of British born nationals. No travel benefits. No entitlement to work in the UK. No birth rights are passed across. The legislation places emphasis on the parent status in the UK (one can conclude that birth rights are passed downwards and not sideways).

2. Brother or sister (adopted) born in the UK

This applies to cases where the applicant has an adopted sibling that was born in the United Kingdom.

Again, we appreciate that applicants are naturally curious if there is any benefit given to them if their sibling was born in the UK.

From an immigration (and British nationality) perspective, there is no benefit given to siblings of British born nationals. No travel benefits. No entitlement to work in the UK. No birth rights are passed across. The legislation places emphasis on the parent status in the UK (one can conclude that birth rights are passed downwards and not sideways).

3. Brother or sister (step) born in the UK

This applies to cases where the applicant’s parent(s) has remarried and now the applicant find themselves with step siblings

We acknowledge that applicants are naturally curious if there is any benefit given to them if their step sibling was born in the UK.

From an immigration (and British nationality) perspective, there is no benefit given to siblings of British born nationals. No travel benefits. No entitlement to work in the UK. No birth rights are passed across. The legislation places emphasis on the parent status in the UK (one can conclude that birth rights are passed downwards and not sideways).

Grandparent.

This caters for South Africans that have a UK born grandparent (either grandfather or grandmother). What we have found though is that there are 3 ways that a South African can have claim to having a UK born grandparent.

1. Grandparent (biological) born in the UK

This applies to either the paternal side (the applicants biological fathers parent) or the maternal side (the applicants biological mothers parent).

In these cases, automatically applicants are entitled to claim UK Ancestry working rights. British nationality (and a claim to getting a British passport) is not automatically made in these cases.

When compared to all the other UK visas available, the UK Ancestry visa is by far the best work visa in the market.

2. Grandparent (adopted) born in the UK

This applies to applicants that have a registered adopted relative.

This relative is usually a parent (the applicants mother or the applicants father) that was adopted (but not born in the UK). The adopted parent could have a UK born biological parent. Eg: Applicants adopted father has a UK born father (seen as the adopted fathers biological grandfather).

In the same case (ie. claim through the adopted fathers biological grandfather), the applicant is entitled to claim birth rights through either their biological grandfather (ie. their biological fathers biological father – seen as paternal grandfather) or through their adopted grandfather (ie. the applicants biological fathers adopted father – seen as adopted fathers biological grandfather).

There are also provisions for cases where the applicant is adopted and their adopted family was born in the UK.

3. Grandparent (step) born in the UK

This applies to applicants who have step family (either through their parent or through their grandparents remarrying).

Birth rights are unfortunately not passed through to step family members. Only immediate family members can qualify (married like dependent of UK born sponsor or minor dependents (below the age of 18 years old at the time of submission)).

It is not easily possible for applicants to benefit from having a Step Grandparent born in the UK.

Aunt or Uncle.

This applies to cases where the applicant has an Aunt or Uncle in the UK.

In terms of how the applicant can benefit from any of the above three available options, unfortunately the immigration (and nationality) legislation does not make automatic provision for this. This means that the applicant does not automatically benefit (like the USA system makes provision for).

For an applicant (adult or minor) to qualify, they need to be able to demonstrate complete financial dependency on the Aunt or Uncle (for a minimum of 2 consecutive years prior to submission). These cases generally are not feasible.

Cousin.

When it comes to relatives, we all have witnessed that when it comes to cousins (ie. children of Aunts or Uncles), that they share half your relatives. Either the applicants father side or the applicants mother side.

Even though the applicant shares half biological relations, if the applicants cousin was born in the UK and the applicant was born in SA, there is not benefit offered to the applicant.

Having a cousin that was born in the UK unfortunately does not open the doors of eligibility to go to the UK. In visa terms, it is rather just seen as a contributing factor (and not a qualifying one), that the applicant has stronger family ties to the UK than most.

Nephew or Niece.

The son or daughter of ones brother or sister. Having a Niece or a Nephew that was born in the UK does not impact the applicants eligibility.

There is no provision available to benefit the applicant if their Niece or Newphew was born in the UK.

The above serves to help create awareness of the UK visas available and how the UK visa legislation handles these applications.

Another frequently asked question we have at this stage of queries is what happens if my UK born family offers to sponsor me?

If you have any further questions regarding these cases, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Please try our free birth certificate assessment below if you are looking to claim UK birth rights.

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