United Kingdom Naturalization and Citizenship: Difference between revisions

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Aliens could become naturalized British subjects only by Act of Parliament before 1844, and after this by a certificate from the Home Secretary. This allowed them all the privileges of someone born in Britain but was costly and time-consuming so usually only achieved by those higher up the social and business scale. Others chose to get denization, but the vast majority did not bother taking out papers at all because they couldn’t afford to. Upon marriage to an Englishwoman their children born in Britain automatically acquired British nationality. Naturalization papers can be most informative, giving:  

;ENGLAND - NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP

This is the considerably easier process of granting to an alien by ''letters patent'' some of the privileges of naturalization, for example allowing the buying and devising (bequeathing in a will) of land, which aliens could not do. However, a denizen could not inherit land, nor could any of his children born before denization. Neither could he hold any office of trust or receive grants of land from the crown. The original records are at the PRO from about 1400 to 1844 in series C 66 and 67. The indexes to the records of these two processes have been published by the Huguenot Society (Page, and Shaw) and are on microfilm:  

Record content varies greatly by court and by time period. Some records give only names, but others give birthplace or place of origin, length of residence in Britain, occupation, employees, age, parish of residence, and wife’s name.  

Boroughs (towns or cities possessing special privileges conferred by royal charter) granted privileges similar to naturalization by admitting a man to the "freedom of the city". He was then referred to as a "freeman".