Hi All,
I guess the question now should be not how to get a British Passport but how does one hold British Nationality. My husband's father was born in England but came to Oz when aged 8 in the 1920s. Married an Australian but apparently my husband and his Australian born siblings are entitled to British Nationality. No idea what would happen if they applied for a British passport. Hopefully hubby doesn't want to become an Australian politician!
Andcarred
UK nationality legislation has changed many times over the years but in very simple terms, you get nationality by descent by either being born in the UK or by being the child of someone born in the UK. (You can also acquire nationality through the naturalisation process but I am pretty sure that’s not what you are asking about here).
So for someone born in the UK who moved to Australia and had a child in Australia, that child was entitled to a British passport. But nationality did not pass on to the next generation born in Australia, because that 3rd generation was not born in the UK or have a parent born in the UK.
So yes, your husband and his siblings would appear to be eligible for a British passport if they wanted. The UK has no issues with dual citizenship (and neither does Australia as far as I am aware) and people often have 2 passports for different countries. Means you can usually go through the “home citizens” passport desks at both ends of your journey without any detailed interviews by nasty immigration officials.
As has been mentioned some countries like the Republic of Ireland allow nationality to go back to grandparents. However the UK does not. (And I don’t think Australia does either).