Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason it is his policy that a person born between 2 October 2000 and 29 April 2006 is only considered to have British citizenship at birth if their British citizen father was married at the time of their birth to their EU citizen mother.

Between 1 January 1983 and 30 June 2006, a child could only obtain British citizenship through their father if the parents were married. The law changed on 1 July 2006 to allow a person to acquire citizenship through their father, irrespective of whether the parents were married, subject to proof of paternity.

The 2006 change only affects children born after 1 July 2006: the earlier law continues to apply in relation to people born before that date. The change was not made retrospective, to avoid altering a person’s status after their birth without allowing them to make an informed choice about acquiring British citizenship.

A person born before 1 July 2006 can register as a British citizen if they would have become a British citizen automatically had their parents been married. Those applying under this route do not have to pay a registration fee.