Guide to obtaining a passport in the UK

If you want to obtain a UK passport,you have to a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen, a British national (overseas), a British overseas citizen, a British subject or a British protected person. In addition, you may be eligible for a British passport through your mother, your partner or where you live. Find out more about how to obtain a UK passport.

Obtaining a UK passport through nationality

If you were born before 01.01.83, you can prove you are a British citizen and obtain a UK passport. If you were a UK citizen or a colonies citizen on 31 December 1982, you had the “right of abode” in the UK. The right of abode means
The right of abode means that you were entirely free from UK Immigration Control and did not mean the permission from an Immigration Officer to enter the UK and you could live and work in the UK without restriction. The above category includes individuals who:
-were born in the UK,
-were born in a British colony and had the right of abode in the UK,
-have been naturalised in the UK,
-had registered as a citizen of the UK and Colonies,
-can prove legitimate descent from a father to whom one of these applies. Born from UK citizens
If you were born after 31 December 1982, you can prove you are a British citizen and obtain a UK passport if either your mother or father was either a British citizen when you were born or settled in the UK when you were born. If you are not sure and you want to find out whether or not you fall into this broad category, contact the Passport Advice line. A British overseas territories citizen
If you are a British overseas territories citizen (you are if you come from territories which are still a British dependency, such as Gibraltar or Bermuda etc) A British subject
If you are a British subject (you are if you were born before 1949 with a connection to British India or the Republic of Ireland). A British protected person
If you are a British protected person (you are if you have a connection with territories which used to be British protectorates, protected states or mandated or trust territories).

Obtaining a UK passport through your mother/ partner/ where you live

- If your mother was born in the UK, you may be eligible for a UK passport (under certain requirements) if you were born overseas before February 1961. - If you were born after 1983 and your mother was born in the UK, you can automatically obtain a UK passport. - You may be eligible for obtaining a UK passport through marriage, civil partnership or through living in the UK.