How Can Children of EU Citizen Get Their British Citizenship If They Are Born abroad?
The Law
According to the British Nationality Act 1981:
‘A person born outside the United Kingdom shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother is a British citizen otherwise than by descent’.
What Does This Mean?
This means that if a child is born abroad, s/he can apply to register as a British citizen only after one of his parents becomes a British citizen, not by descent. In other words, when one of the parents gets their British citizenship NOT as a result of being born outside the UK to a British citizen parent.
How Can Children of EU Citizen Get Their British Citizenship If They Are Born abroad?
What If the Child of an EEA National Is Born in the UK?
There is a legal difference between children born in the UK and outside to parents who are settled in the UK.
By law:
‘A person born in the United Kingdom shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother is (a) a British citizen; or (b)settled in the United Kingdom’
This means that if the child is born in the UK, s/he will become automatically a British citizen. However, one of the parents will need to prove that they had Indefinite Leave to Remain. They’ll also qualify if the parent had a Permanent Residence Document at the time of the child’s birth.
What If the Parent of the Child Does Not Have a Settled Status?
If a parent does not have a settled status but qualifies for one and the child was born outside the UK, the parent will need to:
- Apply for a settled status first;
- After the application is approved, they’ll need to wait for 12 months;
- Apply to naturalise as a British citizen. Only after the application is approved they can register their child a British citizen by descent.
The Conditions
The above advice is based on the fact that parents as a NOT British citizen. If one of the parents is a British citizen and the other is an EEA national, the child will gain his British citizen by descent. They’ll do so through their British citizen parent.
More Help
You can learn how to make a visa application yourself by attending one of the UKVisaSuccess.com online courses. Get more information HERE.
You can get more information about various UK Immigration Routes HERE.