During and after the Second World War, as many as 70,000 British
women, known as 'war brides', left the UK to start new
lives in the US with the American servicemen they married. What
most did not realise was that, under the law as it then stood, they
could not pass their British citizenship to their children born
overseas.
Today, thanks to changes in British nationality law, the
children and grandchildren of war brides may be able to claim
British citizenship. Great-grandchildren can also be eligible in
some cases, and claiming British citizenship can also open doors to
UK visa options for partners.
Why war brides could not pass on their citizenship
Prior to 1983 British nationality law treated men and women
differently. When a British war bride gave birth in the United
States, that child did not become British. Had the roles been
reversed, had an American woman married a British serviceman, the
child would have inherited British citizenship
