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tianka
Aug 4, 2014, 11:21 AM
Hey everyone,
I was wondering if I could get dual nationality.
My mother is portuguese and my dad is english ( never married though ) I was born and raised in portugal, and my nationality at the moment is only portuguese.
I have been living in the UK since I was 19 ( 6 years ) and I wanted to require dual nationality, is it still possible? Would I need some kind of approval/ signature of my dad? ( I'm already registered with his name )
Thank you for any help!

newacct
Aug 5, 2014, 04:01 PM
First of all, England is not a sovereign state, so there is no English nationality. It's British nationality you're talking about.

Whether you were a British citizen at birth due to your father. Usually, if a parent is a British citizen (specifically British citizen, not other types of British national) "otherwise than by descent" (i.e. by birth or by naturalization), a child born to them abroad is automatically a British citizen at birth. However, prior to 2006, this did not apply to unmarried British citizen fathers unless legitimated, or if at the time of your birth the British citizen father was domiciled in a country that treated illegitimate children the same as legitimate children. Portugal is such a country; I am not sure whether your father was domiciled there when you were born. But if he was, there is a good chance you're a British citizen from birth. (You would still need evidence that your dad was a British citizen otherwise than by descent.)