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Closed petition: Allow British Citizens by Descent to upgrade their citizenship

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Allow Citizens by Descent to upgrade their citizenship after a period of UK residency, so they can pass on citizenship to their children born abroad without further requirements.

Remove the 3-year rolling residency requirement that limits them passing it on to ensure equality with all other British citizens.

Citizens by Descent can't pass British Citizenship to their children UNLESS their child is born in the UK, or they've lived in the UK for a continuous period of 3 years before the birth. Any prior residency outside this is disregarded and their children could be denied a British Passport.

The British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024, recent Canadian Court rulings and Naturalized British Citizens born overseas I see as highlighting this inequality.

3,106 signatures


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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 16 November 2025.