Child born in the UK. Does he/she need a visa? Does he/she become a British Citizen?
Our most popular posting - with almost 1,000 views since the beginning of August 2012:
There are plenty of Rules governing children who
are born in the UK, so we'll try to keep the answer simple.
1) If child's parent (one or both) is British then the child will be a British citizen too.
A child born in the UK does NOT automatically
become British (unlike in America). Instead, it depends on child's parents
status.
1) If child's parent (one or both) is British then the child will be a British citizen too.
2) If child's parent (one or both) is not British
but has permanent residency in the UK, ie holds an Indefinite Leave to Remain or
Permanent Residency under European law, then the child will be British also
(even if both parents aren't British).
3) If the child's parents are both not permanent
residents and hold visas, such as Tier 1, Tier 2, Work Permit etc, then the
child will NOT be British, even though he/she was born in the UK. In such cases
a child can be given a dependant visa on his/her parents. This can be done as a
separate application, though it's not compulsory and can be done instead at the
time of parents' next application, such as at the time of Tier 1 extension.
3.1) Once child's parent (one or both) gets an
ILR, ie becomes a permanent resident in the UK, then the child can be registered
as British straight away, even before parent(s) qualify for Citizenship
themselves.
For example, mother and father have a Tier 1
General and a dependant visas. They have a child who was just born in the UK. At
the time of Tier 1 extension the child gets a Tier 1 dependant visa also while
parents get a Tier 1 extension. Later parents apply for an ILR. Once ILR has
been granted to the parent(s) this child can be registered as British and then
get a UK passport. Parents, however, will be waiting for another year to apply
for British Citizenship.
3.2) Does the child need to be included in the ILR
application? Costing another £689! Answer: no, he/she doesn't need to be
included, saving £689 in UKBA official fees. Instead in the above example,
parents can apply for an ILR on their own. Once they have an ILR, child can be
registered as British, as above.
4) What is the difference between 'will be
British' and 'can be registered as British'?
In points 1) and 2) the child 'will be British'
from birth meaning parents can just apply for his/her UK passport, in the same
way as British parents apply: sending documents to IPS (Identity and Passport
Service), paying a passport fee and getting a passport.
In point 3) the child will need to be registered
as British first meaning submitting a Registration application to the UK Border
Agency, similar to a visa application
process, paying a fee (£570 on August 2012), waiting for a decision. Once
decision has been made - and decision is positive - then parents can apply for a
UK passport for the child to IPS, same process as above.
Fore
more individual advice book our advice session now, over email or at our office
at Tower Hill in Central London, email info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com
