Right of Abode - Timing of Birth

I'm sure this is a repeat, but I figured why not ask again!

I am Canadian. My dad was born in the UK in 1954 and I was born in Canada in 1976.

Does that mean I'm entitled to Right of Abode?


It can't be that simple, can it?

So, here's a little twist. At some point, my dad "gave up" his British citizenship and settled on the Canadian one. He doesn't remember if it was before or after I was born.

Did my dad have to have been a British citizen at the time of my birth for me to qualify? Or is that inconsequential?

I mean if it doesn't matter, then I won't need go through the bother of trying to piece together the timeline.


Thanks all for your help!

As far as I know in my research, you are still entitled to the Right of Abode- your dad was still born in the UK and as long as you have a long form birth certificate to prove it, you should be fine. However when I read the link, it still seems a little unclear to me with the mention of British citizen and a Commonwealth citizen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_a ... ed_Kingdom)

Check your birth certificate long form. it should tell nationality of your father when born. Much easier process than others.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll look into it!

As for my birth certificate, it's (unfortunately ) American, since I was born in Atlanta.

As long as the Ancestry rules apply to Americans I guess, unless you are a Canadian citizen now, you should be OK.

The other clincher, is that the parents need to be married when you were born - not sure why they introduced that, but, thems the rules.

As for the American thing, my understanding is as long as your are a commonwealth citizen, and they determine citizenship by the fact that your dad was born there - I'm over here on Right of Abode and I had the same concern as you do - so I phoned the British High Commission in the UK and they directly answered all my questions - long hold time, but well worth the wait once I got through to someone. Here's the wepage with the phone number:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/britis ... oliveinuk/

Hope that helps!