If you were born in England but big your parents were Spanish, surely you are British ?

[Lardlizard]

Born n bred here
So if someone said, about our child being a good footballer, and will be playing for England when he’s older, as a friendly compliment
It’s kinda rude to get offended and say we are not English we are Spanish
He will play for Spain if he plays for anyone in a really arsed way as if it’s offensive being. Called British or English

I’m Australian, my mum is also and my dad is Irish. I was born in Australia and identify as Australian. I have an Irish and Australian passport.

I have lived in the uk for nearly 20 years with my Australian husband who now has British citizenship. I have 4dc, they identify as English. They are entitled to 3 passports.

Important here is how they - dc - identify!

If my dc were good at football, they’d be happy to play for anyone!

My grandchildren' s father is Italian. They were born in the UK . They could play for either country if they were good enough . I think on balance they would choose England though they also love to watch Italy. I have a friend with Italian parents who was born in England and spent all her life here but calls herself Italian and would not dream of supporting England.
I am from Yorkshire but living away .When I was having my first child , in the seventies , I considered going home for the birth so if it was a boy he would be eligible to play cricket for Yorkshire. Thankfully the rules have changed but he is rubbish at cricket anyway !

It's surprising to me, just plain old British but people do hold fast to previous generations nationalities. I used to work in Bedford. Go ask them if they are British or Italian!!!
It's mad for her to take offence but kind of understandable clinging to her identity.

Maybe its just me being thick but I can't understand this thread at all. Are the parents Spanish or not??

That was hard to follow.

DH and I are both British living in Spain with DC born here. I would have considered them British rather than Spanish, feels a bit odd to me that the Op considers the reverse! Maybe when they're a bit older they'll disagree but they're very much little bilingual British kids to me.

What GreenFieldsofFrance said, exactly.

I do think its difficult for people who were raised totally 'British' to understand actually (looking at you DH). How, when growing up, immersed you are in another culture, even if you are born and raised in England.

Made even worse when you only have one Irish parent, so you are not 'Irish' enough in some people's eyes, but you still get ignorance from British people as well

I know lots of people who were born and raised here, with two Irish parents, who would never want their own kids to play for England!

In terms of football, I think they would be qualified to play for either country if they were selected. it is pretty edible to be eligible to play for either, just as it is possible to be a dual national.

Nationality acquired by descent may well only be valid for a specified number of generations, and parents need to check the rules. And check again if they are EU nationals here pl anning to remain and have DC after Brexit. If the Spanish rules mean that the DC in opening post retains Spanish nationality by descent from the mother, and as later posted has a British father, then the DC sounds likely to be a dual national. Which really isn't unusual (I'm not quite sure what OP was hoping for in this thread)

Where you feel your cultural affinity lies, could well be completely different to your actual nationality

I have north African and a European heritage but I was born here and consider myself English with a certain heritage.

If I had been born in the US then I would say I was American or in Italy I would say I was Italian

I cannot stand the hypocrisy that people who have children in Britain but then deny those children are British. Of course they are.

I would definitely say they are British but not English

Yellowbutterfly1

If they were born in England then they are definitely English.

If they were born in England then they are definitely English.

I was and I'm not. British maybe. But not English. European certainly, as it describes more of my heritage. But never English.

If they were born in England then they are definitely English

My partner was born in Germany, doesn't make him German

“If I was born in a stable would that make me a horse?”

DD is English because OH is English and he applied for her passport. That's nationality. She's also English because this is where she lives, the customs she observes,the language she speaks,where she goes to school etc. That's cultural.

Simply being born somewhere doesn't make you a citizen of that country or feel like you belong in/to that country.

If you and your parents are born and raised in one country to assert you are from somewhere else is a bit weird really. Most of us in the UK will have European and other heritage if we look back far enough. Having a Finnish great great great grandmother does not make me Finnish, for example.

Half the time i suspect it’s because people like to consider themselves exotic.

If the child's dad is British, then the child is also British, surely.

Several British professional footballers born in Germany with dads in the army stationed there have played internationally for England/Scotland/Wales/NI. They can pick whichever one they like.

As German national coach, Jurgen Klinsmann reversed this and selected several Americans who could not speak a word of German.

My Dad was born here but both parents are French. He can speak French and supports France during the Euro/World Cup rather than England. He is ‘allowed’ to do this imo because genetically he is French and I also think he could play for France if he were a good footballer.

I was born in England so to me that makes me English. I do have parents who were born in other countries so I am 1/2 and 1/2 but that is more my heritage than my nationality

Depending on your parent's immigration status you can be born in England but not be English/British or entitled to apply for British nationality.
eg, if a Japanese lady gave birth on holiday in London I don't think her DC would be entitled to a British passport. I don't know how it works for people living in the UK for fixed terms either (student visa, work secondments etc)

I'm always a bit confused on the English/British thing but would call DS (born in England) British rather than English. British Asian Father - Italian Mother. He's getting an Italian passport too and when he's older he can identify as whatever he likes.

If mother is a British Citizen then the child is automatically one

I tihnk it can take two generations. Eg my mother called her grandmother Irish although she - the grandmother was born in England and the grandmother's mother (but not older sibling) was born in England in 1852 but that person's parents were from Dublin. However my mother's mother born 1899 in England no one suggested would be Irish. I just feel it took about 2 generations for complete integration and inter marrying with English people.

Of course there are separate issues too such as 1. are you British nationality with a British passport and perhaps only that passport and no other and 2. what is your genetic heritage.

I think whatever my Grandma called us was what we actually were. Don’t think my parents had much choice in the matter

There are some really blinkered Little Englander views on this thread.