Is my son a British citizen?

[User221]

Hello, I'm an EU citizen and have been living in London since the late 90s, my son was born in the early 2000s (he's also an EU citizen) to a British man however we weren't married at the time and he refuses to vouch himself, he's not on my son's birth certificate, son was born in London and he's now 17 and already paying £1,000 is a lot for myself, but I'm hoping that considering he was born in the UK, went to Primary, Secondary and now Sixth Form here, he could get the passport within a month without paying quadruple digit fees for him.

Thanks.

[LaCerbiatta]

Were you settled in the UK for 5 years when your DS was born? Can you show this with p60s for that period?

If yes then he can get passport straight without paying for citizenship.

[WhiskyTangoFoxtrot]

Being born in UK is not enough. Not expert enough to know if (or how) residency counts for a minor.

Simplest way I'd entitlement through British parent, and marital status doesn't matter. Has your DS had any contact with his father? Because the DS asking him to step up might be the most effective.

[IWannaSeeHowItEnds]

I cant answer your question as to whether your ds is already a citizen, but came on to say that I think you should get legal advice to begin the process of proving paternity, to ensure your son can get citizenship through his father, regardless of how said father feels about it, if he isn't considered a citizen already. Also you are due child support, which might be backdated a bit, which would help with fees etc.

[Plexie]

www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality/british-citizenship

It seems if you were 'settled' in the UK then your son will be a British citizen.

Otherwise you would need to prove his father was a British citizen. It says that for people born before July 2006 the parents would usually need to have been married. So that route might not be open to you.

[Biologifemini]

No he isn’t.
Your son would need to apply for this and education isn’t taken I to account, including university.
My other half had to do this as will your son. Being born here to a mother without a british passport means neither of you are british.
I think a lot of children will get caught out on this.

[LaCerbiatta]

More information here:

www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen/y

[LaCerbiatta]

Biologifemini you are wrong as shown in the links already posted. Please don't post wrong information with such assurance. Get your sources right first.

[Biologifemini]

I may well be wrong but we were in a similar position only 2 years ago. As are colleagues now with children.
Having a residency is different from a passport.
The child doesn’t have a british parent as far as the UK is concerned.

[LaCerbiatta]

Dh and I are not British, we are from a EU country, and our UK born children have British passports. Having a British parent is not the only criteria to be a British citizen.

[JetJungle]

The status of EU children born in the UK can be complex and will often depend on the status of the parents at the time of the child's birth. I recommend that you request to join this Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/EUKCEN/.
They have brilliant FAQ and there are lawyers in the group, who can help with general queries (at no cost).

[CupMug]

I'd be interested to know how this turns out.

[User221]

LaCerbiatta I came to the UK in 1995 and my son was born in 2001, I stopped working in 2000, I'll be looking up my P60s but in case they don't match up to 5 years due to the timetable of tax day and such, can I use other evidence and proofs to supplement this? Thank you.

[LaCerbiatta]

As JetJungle said it's very complicated and for sure sorting out the issues with the British dad would be the easiest way.

If you were not working maybe you can justify by saying that you were looking after your son but for one you need to have kept your EU health card covering the period when you were not working.

Join the fb group and maybe they'll be able to help. My experience and knowledge are limited I'm afraid.