What's the difference between a British National & a British Citizen?

Question

My parents both have "British National" on their passports. Although both my brother & I were born in the UK, we moved to Ireland when we were 5, and had our UK passports issued by the British Embassy in Ireland. Both my brother and I have "British Citizen" in our passports. Why are we different?

Thanks for the 2 answers so far. Both my parents were born in the UK and lived there for 30 years before we moved to Ireland. Yet they are "British Nationals" and my brother and I aren't. Surely if answer No 2 is correct then it should be the other way round?!

Answer 1

There are currently several classes of British national:
British citizens
British Citizens usually hold this status through a connection with the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man ("United Kingdom and Islands"). Former Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKCs) who possessed right of abode under the Immigration Act 1971 through a connection with the United Kingdom and Islands generally became British citizens on 1 January 1983.
British citizenship is the most common type of British nationality, and the only one that automatically carries a right of abode in the United Kingdom.
British Overseas Territories citizens (formerly British Dependent Territories citizenship) (BOTC)
BOTC (formerly BDTC) is the form of British nationality held by connection with an existing overseas territory. Nearly all are now also British citizens as a result of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. It is possible to hold BOTC and British citizenship simultaneously.
British Overseas citizens (BOC)
BOCs are those former CUKCs who did not qualify for either British citizenship or British Dependent Territories citizenship. Most of these derived their status as CUKCs from former colonies, such as Malaysia and Kenya.
British subjects
British subjects (as defined in the 1981 Act) are those British subjects who were not CUKCs or citizens of any other Commonwealth country. Most of these derived their status as British subjects from British India or the Republic of Ireland as they existed before 1949.
British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO)
The status of BNO did not originally exist under the 1981 scheme, but was created by the Hong Kong Act 1985 and the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Order 1986. BNOs are those former Hong Kong BDTCs who applied for the status of BNO prior to the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong BDTCs who did not apply to become BNOs, and who did not gain PRC nationality after the handover, became BOCs if they did not have any other nationality.
British protected persons (BPP)
BPPs derive from those parts of the British Empire which were not officially part of the Crown's dominions, but were instead protectorates or protected states with nominally independent rulers under the "protection" of the British Crown. The status of BPP is sui generis - BPPs are not Commonwealth citizens (British subjects, in the old sense) and were not traditionally considered to be British nationals, but are not aliens either.
Of the various classes of British nationality and BPP status, all except British citizenship and British Overseas Territories citizenship are residual categories. This means that they will become extinct with the passage of time, as they can only be passed down to the national's children in exceptional circumstances, e.g. if the child would otherwise be stateless. There is, consequently, little provision for the acquisition of these classes of nationality by people who do not already have them.

Answer 2

British Citizens have automatic right of abode in the UK.
British Nationals do not. They may not even have consular protection if they carry another passport. They just get the visa advantages.
A lot of Hongkongers are BN(O) (British National (Overseas)).

At a guess I would say that you and your brother where born in the UK, whilst your parents were not (and did not qualify for full citizenship from their parents). That they are British Nationals probably has something to do with Northern Ireland (at a wild guess, seeing as you mention Ireland).
The only British Nationals I know are Commonwealth (ex-colonial) citizens.

Answer 3

Excellent question though I think you have the answer in the question.

Please correct me if I'm wrong and i have been known to be wrong often

British National is shown on a passport when that Passport is issued in the country of ones birth, whereas British Citizen is shown when the passport is issued by The British Embassy in another country???? Does that sound feasible or not!

Of course it could be that the wording was changed time your passports were issued. .Logical ....

Answer 4

The first answer is not correct as my passport was issued here in YK and it is Bitish citizen.
In fact as the second answer says you must have this in your passport to have right of abode.
British nationality as he says is usually someone who was born in a colony befory independence.
I don't know how this can apply to your parents unlessthey were born to non British parents

Answer 5

Passports issued in Northern Ireland do not have "British National" on them they have "British Citizen" on them same as anywhere else in the United Kingdom