January 1949 for NZ citizenship ...yes
I was born a British subject in Dec 1948 but registered a month later as a New Zealander...
I don’t know whether that was because we lived in a little town miles from anywhere and they had run out of British forms and were sent the new NZ ones instead, or because the gov offices were closed over Christmas or because my parents wanted at least one New Zealand child...is that like an anchor baby ???
Anyhoo when I applied for a passport when I was 21 I was told I could have a British one but I opted for the NZ...my Mum wasn’t big on “Pommies”
With the British one I could have come and gone from England no problem...I was a citizen...as it is they see I was born in New Zealand and I’m in..
:)
about the father being born in NZ I don’t think it would have been a problem back then...something has changed since...
we could go back and forth NZ to Aust Aust to NZ without a visa and work etc just like going to another state here...
as for that British subject thingy it shouldn’t have mattered...youd think he wouldn’t have be automatically grandfathered into NZ citizenship in 1949... I wasn’t...it was a decision of my parents to wait for some reason...my birthdate was still recognized as making me British and not NZ...
Note: this is NOT like Ted Cruz’s situation...
A few things.
Until the early 1980s, both New Zealanders and Australians were (as well as being citizens of either country - or in some cases both) were still British subjects, and both countries allowed more or less free entry and exit for all British subjects.
Also (and this is part of what has caused the mess in Australia) until very recently (as in the last few years, maybe even the last few months) New Zealand did not treat people who were eligible for New Zealand citizenship by descent as being New Zealand citizens automatically. For some reason, that has changed very recently, and why is not entirely clear. Either New Zealand was mistaken in how it had been applying that aspect of its citizenship law since 1949 (which is not impossible) or they've actually changed the interpretation - which is their right. But from an Australian legal perspective, it's a bit weird for somebody like Barnaby Joyce to suddenly acquire New Zealand citizenship automatically when previous practice said he had to register (and would be granted that registration automatically if he did).
I have a similar issue myself with the UK - about twenty years ago, I paid them (if I recall correctly) fifty pounds to register myself as a British citizen by descent (from my mother). Apparently, from what I am being told now, I actually acquired that citizenship automatically at some point in the 1980s when British law decided mothers should be treated the same as fathers in terms of passing on citizenship - which makes me wonder what I actually paid them fifty quid for. In my case, I want both my Australian and British citizenship, but I'd like to be a bit clearer on the exact legal mechanics :)