Our first born

[user1476523549]

Hi all,

I am a new dad and I am seeking some direction on immigration laws in regards to new born babies. We just had our first born in America and I am trying to get both baby and wife over to UK. My wifes visa has been recently approved. I am just wandering if our first born is entitled to British citizenship or do I have to apply for a visa for her? I am a dual citizen here in UK.

Thank you in advance for any direction :)

[AmyGMumsnet]

Hi there

Welcome to Mumsnet and congratulations on your newborn!

We're going to move this thread over to our Living Overseas topic where someone is likely to be able to help you.

Good luck!

[Farandole]

This page should have the answers: www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/children-born-outside-uk

[stuckinny]

Congratulations on your baby. You can get them a UK passport very easily (much easier than getting them a US one) as you are a British citizen.

[stuckinny]

I should have added that I didn't register my child in the UK and have never had any problems getting him a UK passport.

[cannotseeanend]

Stuckinny, that is simply not necessarily correct. You do not necessarily have British citizenship at birth because a parent does. Read the link above.

[stuckinny]

Cannot, I have a bunch of British friends here, all with kids, none of us have registered the birth but all the kids have UK passports. Maybe things have changed recently but I've never had a problem with passports.

[lifeisunjust]

Nothing has changed recently.
Read the link.
Not all babies born to British citizens are automatically British citizens.
It s my job.
Your child might be British the op s child might not be.

[carmenta]

OP, it depends on what kind of British citizenship you have. Were you born in the UK?

[user1476523549]

Thank you all for the replies. I got my answer I phoned immigration services they confirmed that my daughter is qualified to be British Citizen. I wasn't born in the UK I had to naturalise to be a citizen. Since I naturalised before I got married and before our daughter was born that meets the requirements for my daughter to be a British citizen. No visa required just application for passport which is cheaper then paying for visa which was 1k plus.

[Want2bSupermum]

If you were not born in the UK double check that your child is entitled before you pay and send everything off. I was born in Canada to a British father and had british citizenship from birth, a passport from when I was 1. My parents lived between the UK, Canada and the US during my early years and I attended school in the UK from the age of 8. I own property in the UK and all of my dad's side of my family, except my brother and sister, live in the UK. My brother and sister both own property in the UK, my brothers wife resides in the UK and my brother is in the British Army.

My kids are not eligible for British citizenship.

[cannotseeanend]

The OP has already checked, what he has written is consistent with British nationality law, the OP doesn't need to check again, a naturalised British citizen is a BC other than by descent and as such children born of that person are automatically British, no matter where born, so the baby will now be BC by descent. It's all on the internet, just for double checking too!!! However no-one should assume because they are a BC that their children will be when the children are born outside the UK as the OP did not assume, unlike other posters.

[Want2bSupermum]

cannotsee I was told over the phone that DD1 was eligible. Applied, spent the time and money in getting everything sent off, only to be told, no she doesn't qualify. I was naturalized because we resided in the UK and that was the easiest way to get a NNI at the time. I hope the OP is able to get citizenship for their child but they do get it wrong sometimes hence why I said to double check.

[HearTheThunderRoar]

I agree with want2b, double check again because it is costly and I'm pretty sure one parent has to be born in the UK for the child to be a British Citizen.

There were so many hoops to jump through getting DD her British passport about 2 years ago even though my DH was born in England to English parents (I'm a Kiwi, Dd born and raised in NZ). They are making it more and more difficult for people to access British passports.

[cannotseeanend]

HeartheThunder, I'm afraid you are WRONG.

Go check British nationality law, you do NOT have to be born in the UK for the descendent to be BC, you need to have the status of BRITISH CITIZEN OTHER THAN BY DESCENT. For 99% of BCs, that means born in the UK, but for the 1% it does not, such as naturalised at the right time in their life, for a BC registered as a child as a BC is another example.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-born-outside-the-uk-british-citizenship

[cannotseeanend]

PS same link as already published, it contains the information needed!!!!

[Want2bSupermum]

cannotsee You work for the British government then? If so please can I send in applications on behalf of my kids to you because I would love for them to have british citizenship.

[FabFiveFreddie]

cannotsee the child (person B) of a British citizen other than by descent (person A) will be a British citizen, even if born overseas. However, the child of person B/grandchild of person A is NOT automatically a British citizen when born overseas. A British citizen otherwise than by descent cannot pass on citizenship indefinitely. It can only be passed on automatically one generation, presumably so that children are not separated from their parents.

I know this to my distressing and hugely brutal cost.

You need to understand WHY the rules are what they are. It goes back to England having had an empire and wanting to do the bare minimum for the people of the countries it colonized while staying just this side of reasonable and morally acceptable.

[FabFiveFreddie]

Sorry, got confused about who I was replying to. want2be your information is correct because you are person B and your children are persons C. They are not eligible. I am in the same situation as you.

OP is person A, his baby is person B. She is eligible.

Sucks.

[cannotseeanend]

You have failed to read what the OP has now written about personal circumstances. I am fully aware of how someone can be born with BC overseas when their parent is born overseas. I am also fully aware that this does not pass down 2 generations, the OP is passing down 1 generation!

The passport office will issue a BC passport, if what the OP says is their circumstances. It will probably take a little longer than a usual first issue as the child is born outside the UK and so is the parent, the passport office has access to the naturalisation databases etc, more checks will be made.

British nationality law is quite complicated, but Wikipedia does a decent explanation if you cannot follow the official link.

[OlennasWimple]

Fab - British citizenship might be one of the most costly to acquire, but we're actually one of the more relaxed countries in terms of citizenship. for example, we allow dual citizenship, whereas many countries require a naturalized citizen to renounce their birth citizenship

[FabFiveFreddie]

OleannasWimple "relaxed" has not been my experience. I grew up in the U.K., schooling, university, working (paying taxes and NI) for the better part of 35 years. It was just a fluke that I was born (prematurely) abroad. I am British through and through, it's where my heart (if not my soul) lies.

It's a source of great sadness and distress to me that my American children aren't British too. I'm not much bothered about other countries not allowing dual citizenship. I'd much rather my children be British than American (notwithstanding Brexit and Trump...).

[OlennasWimple]

All things are relative, Fab.

Your children may be able to acquire Brit cit status in their own right in due course (start saving now for the application fees....)

[Want2bSupermum]

Actually in my case I was naturalized BUT because my father was British they applied descent first so my kids don't qualify. The rules are very confusing which is why I say to call and double check. If you are naturalized, move away, marry someone who isn't British, have a child outside of the UK, I would be surprised if they were just going to give you citizenship. My experience isn't that of the DM who make out that they given citizenship away like smarties at a party.

[OlennasWimple]

Just to add, it might be worth paying for some professional legal advice, especially given how much the fees are for citizenship and you don't get them back if you are turned down because you don't qualify. Look for a lawyer who is ILPA accredited