Commonwealth citizens who have the right to live in the United Kingdom
This page explains which Commonwealth citizens have the right of abode in the United Kingdom. For an explanation of right of abode, see who has the right to live in the United Kingdom?
If you are not a British citizen, you may still have the right of abode if, on 31 December 1982, you were:
- a Commonwealth citizen with a parent who, at the time of your birth or legal adoption, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies because he/she was born in the United Kingdom; or
- a female Commonwealth citizen who was, or had been, married to a man who had the right of abode. You must have been married to him before 1 January 1983.
Restrictions on claiming right of abode
If you were not a Commonwealth citizen on 31 December 1982 or stopped being a Commonwealth citizen (even temporarily) at any time after that date, you will not have right of abode. For example, citizens of South Africa and Pakistan do not have right of abode because those countries left the Commonwealth before 1983 and joined it again afterwards.
If you gained the right of abode through marriage, as explained above, you will not be given a certificate of entitlement to right of abode if another living wife or widow of the same man:
- is (or, at any time since her marriage, has been) in the United Kingdom, unless she entered the country illegally, was here as a visitor, or had only temporary permission to stay; or
- has been given a certificate of entitlement to right of abode or permission to enter the country because of her marriage.
These restrictions do not apply if you:
- entered the United Kingdom as a wife before 1 August 1988, even if other wives of the same man are in the United Kingdom; or
- you have been in the United Kingdom at any time since your marriage and at that time you were the only wife of that man to have entered the United Kingdom or to have been given permission to do so.
This category applies mainly to people whose mothers were born in the United Kingdom but were not able to pass on their citizenship to their children born before 1983. If you were born between 7 February 1961 and 31 December 1982 and your mother was born in the United Kingdom, you may be able to register as a British citizen. For more information, see the section on children born to British mothers before 1983.