Does my child need to apply for settled status?

[LindsayMK]

Hi! The whole Brexit situation is leaving me very confused about my daughter's legal status in the UK post-Brexit. I'm British but my 6 year-old daughter was born in Spain and her dad is Spanish. My daughter and I live in the UK (since last year) and with Brexit looming I'm unsure whether she has to apply for settled status. I presumed being British there's nothing I need to do but I can't live on presumptions! Anyone in a similar situation or knows the rules on this?

Check U.K.gov websites. There's always information there. There was an article saying many people from the eu haven't applied out of complacency, so it's worth checking

Does she have a UK passport? (Which maybe hasn’t come up yet if you haven’t travelled with her.)

Does she have British citizenship? If so then no.

(Sorry of course she has a passport, you have travelled with her.)

If she has a UK passport she has UK citizenship in which case she wouldn’t need to register for settled status.

No, just apply for a U.K. passport for her, (as long as your own U.K. citizenship dates from before her birth and is not derived by descent.)

Report your thread and get it moved to legal, though. There are lots of actual solicitors haunting the board over there

I think she should be entitled to British citizenship from you. My DC were born outside the Uk in an EU country, with a non-British father, and they got British citizenship at birth. But we applied for British passports ASAP to make that official. So I'd advise you to go for a British passport first and see if that works.

(UK ‘Citizenship by descent’ is what she’s getting from you. So you only have a problem if you, too, were born abroad and got your citizenship from your parents. Or if you became a U.K. citizen after she was born.)

I assume that if her daughter already had a UK passport then OP would not be asking this?

In any case, I think she might be able to apply for UK citizenship. Have a look here
www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-born-outside-the-uk-british-citizenship

Thanks for all your feedback. It seems that my best option at the moment would be to get my daughter a British passport. My only concern is that I don´t want her to have to forfeit her Spanish nationality - I'm not sure if she can have both British and Spanish passports. I've looked into it but I can´t find any clear-cut info.

If you live in the U.K. I am not sure how the Spanish government would ever find out that your daughter has both passports. She should probably use her spanish passport when you visit Spain.

I would just apply for a U.K. passport if your daughter is entitled to one.

Check with the Spanish consulate/embassy here in the UK. I don't think a Brit in Spain can get dual citizenship presently but the rules may be different if she was born in Spain to a British mother and Spanish father.

There is also a settled status helpline you can call who are pretty helpful and should point you in the right direction for your daughter.

Why would you ask the Spanish consulate?

Just get a British passport if it's possible.

A passport does not confer dual nationality - if she is entitled to U.K. citizenship she is already a dual national. A passport is just a handy way of proving it.

Your daughter probably has both nationalities, but will have to decide for either or when she's 18.
But this is just a guess, I second asking in the Spanish consulate as it is Spain who doesn't allow dual nationality.

Thanks for all the useful feedback. I will make some calls

Spain does allow two nationalities:
www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/LONDRES/es/Consulado/Paginas/Conservacion.aspx

In any case, I agree with PP, I would not ask the Consulate, just get the British passport

Your DD is automatically a British citizen and you should get her a British passport.
www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-british-parent/born-on-or-after-1-july-2006

Yes she can have both nationalities. When she turns 18 she will have to go through some bureaucratic procedure if she wants to keep the Spanish one. A poster called LaBrujaPiruja wrote at length about keeping Spanish and British nationalies somewhere on the Brexit boards and was happy to be contacted. It sounded a faff but definitely doable.

Hope this puts your mind at rest

The Spanish dual nationality issue is irrelevant.

She's already a dual national. If this hasn't bothered you/the Spanish authorities for the last 6 years, then it shouldn't bother you now.

She may at a later date (eg if she decides to move to Spain) have to make a choice, but right now that's irrelevant.

People treat applying for a passport as if this is a way of obtaining nationality. This is the wrong way round - you can only apply for a passport if you already have nationality. It sounds like she does (but nationality law is complex etc so check before paying the extortionate U.K. passport fee).

Well the link that I already shared explains the rules and it shows that OP's DD automatically has nationality and can apply for a passport.

OP were you actually born in the UK?
Citizenship by decent only works for one generation i.e. if you were born in the UK

If you are British born and hold a U.K. passport, your children are citizens by descent. You can apply for a child first passport online- v straightforward.

You can retain Spanish nationality and passport by declaring you wish to do so to the Spanish Consulate within 3 years of obtaining U.K. nationality. All of the information and process is outlined here (in Spanish).- www.exteriores.gob.es/Consulados/LONDRES/es/Consulado/Paginas/Conservacion.aspx

within 3 years of obtaining U.K. nationality

If the OP's DD has U.K. nationality, she got it at birth i.e. 6 years ago.