To ask if you have 4 British Grandparents?

[ThornInMySide84]

In conversation with friends last night about the perks of still having an EU passport I discovered I was the only one with all 4 Grandparents being British.

DH also has 1 non British Grandparent and now when I really think about it so do a lot of my other friends. I would say the majority have an Irish Grandparent but also Spanish, Indian, Chinese, Polish, Maltese and Italian amongst my close friends.

I recall reading somewhere that 25% of British people could get an Irish passport so I guess I’m now wondering if having all 4 British Grandparents are not being entitled to any other nationality is actually quite uncommon?

What is the holy grail of passports @CurlewKate ?

I’ve gone back about 6 generations on both sides of my family and everybody is British.

1734 was the first ancestor I can find (great great great great great great great grandfather) who wasn't born in Britain. Everyone else was born in the midlands or London

3 Irish grandparents here but I'm from Liverpool where approx 70% of us (I think) have Irish heritage. What would having the passport give me that I don't get from a British passport? Or does it just make a pro-EU statement (with which I would probably agree)?

It may not be so hard. Were they married in Britain? Maybe their place of birth would be on the certificate.

All my grandparents were born in Ireland while it was still part of the UK, so would have had British as their nationality. A grand uncle (not just Irish, but Irish as mother tongue) emigrated to the US before the first world war. He joined the US Army and fought (and died) in France. His U.S. papers had British down as his nationality.

Three Scottish grandparents, all born before 1907 so had dual French citizenship under the Auld Alliance. I'm sadly not eligible for a French passport though. Fourth one was born in England to Polish and Dutch parents, so not luck there either. Luckily I don't travel any more so don't need to worry about passports.

All four of my grandparents were Irish although one of my grandfathers joined the British army in WW2

Yep all my grandparents were British and pretty much all English going back generations

This is incredible. So, before 1907, Scottish people held french citizenship and vice versa. Is that true?

No it’s not. But pre ww1 citizenship was a woolly concept which didn’t really matter. Passports were not required to leave the UK until 1915. Before 1858 there was no link between passport and nationality, most British people travelling to continent took a French passport because it was cheaper and written in French. And very few people travelled anyway.

3 Brits one Northern Irish- but she described herself as Irish catholic but married a British Soldier

Nope. 2 Canadian (of British descent, but several generations back); 2 Israeli of Eastern Europaean origin.

To add : citizenship meant very little. Pre ww1 there were no or few immigration laws anywhere, you could just move anywhere you liked. Some laws about being a naturalised British subject (not citizen) to buy property, which was only an option for men. But again, property ownership was not that common. Most people never moved far from where they were born, or if they emigrated to America/Australia never came back. Where you were a “subject” of originally really was irrelevant.

All four were British, but I do have a set of Irish great grandparents.

Yes, the Alliance granted dual citizenship to those born in either country. Even after Westminster put an end to this in 1907, French Law still upheld the rights of Scots born before this time to be treated as French citizens.

None of mine are alive now.
But yes, all British. One set from Birmingham. One cockney, one Home Counties. Possible ancestry in France but we are talking a few hundred years ago!

But citizenship meant nothing. It is just not like it is now. Anyone could have moved to France if they wanted, lived there. French people could come to the UK. Hardly anyone had a passport. It’s like one of those honorific “freedom of the city” things. Nice honour, fairly pointless.

All British. Would have said it was British all the way back but then I did my family tree
My mums great great grandad was born in Barbados

Yes, and we have traced part of our family back to the 1500s and everyone is still English. Not even Welsh, Scottish or Irish. Feel very boring 😆

All British. I have a large extended family and only 1 has been able to get an EU passport thanks to an American parent with a European ancestor.

Yes. Two Welsh. Two English.

2 out of 2 British parents
Only 1 out of 4 British grandparents

Keep meaning to apply for my second passport.

British all through the generations as far back as we are able to go.

Although having a Jewish mother is what makes someone ethnically Jewish, people with one Jewish grandparent - even if it's their father's parent- are eligible for the 'Right of Return'. However, you're right that you do actually have to return/ intend to return there to get citizenship.

PM me privately if you want help with this. I'm very au fait with the Irish genealogy system.