Quote Originally Posted by creagdhubh View Post
The definitive answer, whichmost of has already been discussed and explained by Scott, is most readily available on the official website of the Court of the Lord Lyon - they is really no "shades of grey" when petitioning for arms (especially for non-British citizens), rather, it's very "black and white".
What is black and white there, Kyle, is how to obtain a grant of arms from Lord Lyon. Where there are numerous - countless even - shades of gray is whether or not one ought to seek a grant from Lyon in the first place. For non-Scots, the ultimate answer is really a personal preference much of which depends on where they fall on a wide continuum of heraldic traditions.