For many years, British nationality law treated men and women differently, and children born outside marriage were disadvantaged compared to those born to married parents.

If you were born outside the UK and would have automatically become a British citizen — but did not, because of one of these historical inequalities — you may be able to apply to register under Section 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981, introduced by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

To qualify, you must be an adult of full legal capacity and be able to show that you would have been, or would have been able to become, a British citizen were it not for historical legislative unfairness. A common example is a Canadian-born person whose British mother could not pass on citizenship at the time of their birth, while a British father in the same position could.

Applications under section 4L are discretionary — the Home Secretary is not obliged to grant registration even if the criteria are met — and a good character assessment applies. A fee is also payable in most cases.

British nationality law is complex and establishing that you fall within section 4L requires careful legal analysis of the nationality legislation that applied at the time of your birth.

Get more information and legal help

To learn more, please get in touch with Sterling Immigration Ltd.

								
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