British Protected Person

What is a British Protected Person?

If you are a British protected person, you are effectively stateless, living in a territory controlled or once controlled by the British Empire. This means that you will be a national that possesses a British passport, but you will not have direct access to British citizenship. The UK government lists three key reasons that someone will have this status. These included that you met the following requirements on 1st January 1983:

• You were a citizen or national of Brunei.
• You already had protected person status.
• You were born stateless in the UK or in one of its overseas territories, and one of your parents was a British protected person.

When the British Empire was expanding, it included a number of territories. The people inside of these territories were technically residing in a foreign land. Therefore, they were not British citizens. However, they were also not living within independent countries.

The British government created the protected persons status so that they would have some kind of nationality in 1981 under the British Nationality Act.

Rights of a British Protected Person

The main right afforded to protected persons is that they have held a British passport and the majority of the privileges that brings. This includes the following:

• Consular assistance while abroad from UK diplomatic posts.
• Exemptions from having to get a visa to come to the UK for less than six months.
• Can serve in non-reserved civil service posts.
• Can enlist in the British Armed Forces.

However, people with this status will still be missing out on a range of different rights. They will have no automatic right to live and work in the UK and will not be considered UK nationals when travelling in the European Union. This means that you will have to get a standard visa to visit the EU for any length of time and will not be eligible for ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System). Other restrictions include the following:

• You must pay a health surcharge to access National Health Service care if you are in the UK for over six months.
• You may not vote or stand for election.
• You cannot sit in the House of Lords.

Becoming a British Citizen

Because of these restrictions experienced by all people that are British protected persons, many choose to obtain British Citizenship. Additional rights you will experience as a British citizen include:

• A full and unrestricted British passport.
• The automatic right to live and work in the UK.
• The right to vote in national and local elections.
• Partial travel freedoms within the EU and other British partners’ territory.
• Citizenship for your children and easier immigration to the UK for your relatives.

Although protected persons are not automatically citizens, they will still find it easier to gain citizenship status. They will not have to undergo the usual naturalisation process. Instead, they can become British citizens by registration. This requires five years of residing in the UK, at least one year of which must be while possessing indefinite leave to remain.

Common Origins for British Protected Persons

The British Empire was an enormous institution occupying vast swathes of the world. Therefore, there are many different origins for British protected persons. These are different for protection by birth and protection by descent.

Protection by Birth

Protection by birth refers to being eligible for protected person status because of where you were born. Common circumstances of eligibility because of birth include the following:

• Kenya, where the applicant is born between 1921 and 1963.
• The Malay States if you were born before August 1957.
• Nyasaland for people born before July 1964.
• All people born in Tanganyika.
• All people with a father born in Brunei.

Protection by Descent

Protection by descent is a much more complicated matter. It requires key circumstances around your birth and your father’s birth to line up in a specific way.

The only common reason for protection by descent applies to people in Kenya. This occurs if your father was born in the Kenya Protectorate between 1920 and December 1963 and you were also born in the Kenya Protectorate.

How to Apply for British Protected Person Status

If you believe you fit one of these requirements, you will not have an automatic right to British protected person status. You must contact UK Visas and Immigration to apply to register for this unique status.

The Application Process

After you contact UK Visas and Immigration, HM Passport Office will get in touch. They will send you a letter asking for the documentation and information they will need to process your application. This may include any or all of the following:

• Proof of origin, such as identity documents and birth certificates.
• Any passport you hold with a colour copy of your personal details page.
• Parents’ documents, including their birth, marriage, and death certificates.
• Documents confirming they have no citizenship.
• Evidence of settlement in the UK.

The HM Passport Office has the right to ask for any further documentation they require on top of this. If you cannot provide any documentation they ask for, you will need to explain why and provide evidence.

If the government can confirm that you fit all of the requirements for protected person status, you will receive your protected person’s passport.

Can I Renew a Protected Persons Passport?

Like all passports, a protected person’s passport will eventually expire after several years. To maintain the right to travel, you must request to renew it with the HM Passport Office. This will also be the case if your passport is lost or stolen.

This is a simple process if you could submit all required documentation on your initial application. They will not need to see them again, and you should receive your new passport within a few months.

The process will be more complicated if you achieve protected persons status despite not having all the required documentation. In this case, you will be asked to send the documentation again, and you must re-justify why you cannot provide them.

How Can IAS Help?

At IAS, we can help you to understand if you are eligible for BPP status and can help you with the complex application procedure. Once your application is submitted, we liaise with the UK government to track its progress and keep you updated about when you can expect to learn the result of your application.

To find out how our expert team of immigration lawyers and advisers can help, contact us at +44 (0)333 414 9244. Alternatively, you can contact us online via our online chat.