British Citizenship of a minor of a single mum

[Saanvi]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have a query with respect to my son's British Citizenship.

I am due my ILR in the month of May 2014, currently on Tier 1. I am an Indian and my son was born in the UK, so I am planning to apply for his British Citizenship one week after my ILR premium appointment. Is that ok?

Myself: Tier 1 visa expires on 29th May 2014.
My son under 18 years: Dependant visa on me expires on 29th May 2014.

I understand that I need to fill the form MN1 for my son's British Citizenship. In that there is a place where the child's father needs to sign and if it is not possible to get his signature then a reason needs to be given. The guidelines say, that if the mother has full parental responsibility of the child then father's sign is not required.
Could you please list which documents I need to provide to prove the above as I won't be able to get the other parent's signature and address etc. as required in the form MN1.

I am a divorced single mother. Documents I have include:
a) Divorced (divorce document available from Indian court as marriage happenned in India).
b) Domestic violence documents available from UK court (the reason for divorce).
c) An Injunction order from UK court which says the father cannot come near a perimeter of radius to me.
d) A Residence Order (from UK court) that says:
1. These proceedings are deemed to be served on respondent Father.
2. The child <child's name>(dob: XXXX 2007) shall reside with the Applicant Mother, <mother's name>.
3. The applicant's mother be given permission to remove the said child <child's name> (dob: XXXX 2007) from the jurisdiction of this court on either a temporary or permanent basis.

My question is: is this Residence Order enough to prove that I have full parental responsibility of the child? If not what else is required.

Also, would like to know:
- Can I wait and apply for my son's British Citizenship even after his visa expires? If yes, what documents do I need to produce extra for him as his visa would have been expired?
- What happens if my son's BC application is rejected for any reason that I don't know of and he doesn't have a valid visa by that time?
- Do I need to apply for his dependancy ILR then on an expired visa? Is it allowed to apply for a dependancy visa on an expired passport?
- If yes, which form should I be using?

Your advise will be greatly appreciated as it would help me in preparing for the ILR and my son's citizenship.

Regards,
Saanvi

[Saanvi]

Dear Moderators,

It would be of great help if the expert moderators can reply to this.

Thanks

[Amber]

Parental consent is not required for a section 1(3) application.

[Saanvi]

Parental consent is not required for a section 1(3) application.

Hi Amber,

Thanks for your reply. I was looking at the form MN1 wherein it says;

From the MN1 form:
Section 6: Consent to the Application:
The consent of both parents is required for applications made under Section 3(5) and Section 4(D) and Is expected for all other applications.
6.1: Father's consent.
6.2: Mother's consent.
6.3: If only one parent has signed please say why the other parent has not signed and provide supporting documents (see page 27 of the guide).

From the MN1 guide:
SECTION 6: CONSENT TO THE APPLICATION
For section 3(5) it is a legal requirement that both parents consent to the application.
(In the case of widowed, divorced or separated parents, this only applies to one parent.
If the child is illegitimate, only the mother needs to consent.)

The consent of both parents to the application is also a legal requirement for section 4D.
Where one parent has died only the consent of the surviving parent is needed. The Home
Secretary may also waive this requirement in exceptional cases.

For other types of application we require the consent of all those with parental
responsibility for the child. If only one parent has consented, please explain why at section
6.3. If it is not convenient for one of the parents to sign the form, consent can be provided
in a separate letter. If the father of an illegitimate child is making the application, we would
expect the mother to have consented.

Section 6.4 is to be completed if the application is being made by a guardian. Section 6.5
is to be completed by a child if he or she is making his or her own application.

If the application is being made by a guardian, we will expect to see evidence that that
person has parental responsibility for the child, such as a deed, will or court order. If the
child’s parents are living we would normally expect them to be British citizens and settled
in the United Kingdom.

Do you still think that I don't need a parental consent for section 1(3) application? It would be great to see any guidelines where it says so?

Regards,

[Amber]

As the applicant has an entitlement to be registered as a British citizen if the requirements in 8.1.1, 8.1.2 or 8.1.3 above are met, the absence of parental consent (in cases where the applicant is a minor) is not a reason for refusal. Therefore it is not necessary for the parent(s) or the person(s) having responsibility for the minor to consent to the application.

[Saanvi]

As the applicant has an entitlement to be registered as a British citizen if the requirements in 8.1.1, 8.1.2 or 8.1.3 above are met, the absence of parental consent (in cases where the applicant is a minor) is not a reason for refusal. Therefore it is not necessary for the parent(s) or the person(s) having responsibility for the minor to consent to the application.

Hi Amber,

Thanks a lot for that. That puts me at peace. Which documents do you recommend producing with the application anyways as the form asks for reason for father's signature being missing and supporting docs, from the ones listed in my original query.

I have one question w.r.t my ILR also. Its going to be just before I apply for my son's citizenship. People have different opinions and experiences on that. Do I need to provide evidence of my absences if they are within 180 days.
For more information: some are paid annual leaves as I was in salaried employment and some are unpaid as I am currently self employed. I don't have any allowed annual leaves or sick leaves being self employed. If yes, could you please suggest which docs?

Regards,
Saanvi

[Saanvi]

As the applicant has an entitlement to be registered as a British citizen if the requirements in 8.1.1, 8.1.2 or 8.1.3 above are met, the absence of parental consent (in cases where the applicant is a minor) is not a reason for refusal. Therefore it is not necessary for the parent(s) or the person(s) having responsibility for the minor to consent to the application.

Hi Amber,

Thanks a lot for that. That puts me at peace. Which documents do you recommend producing with the application anyways as the form asks for reason for father's signature being missing and supporting docs, from the ones listed in my original query.

I have one question w.r.t my ILR also. Its going to be just before I apply for my son's citizenship. People have different opinions and experiences on that. Do I need to provide evidence of my absences if they are within 180 days.
For more information: some are paid annual leaves as I was in salaried employment and some are unpaid as I am currently self employed. I don't have any allowed annual leaves or sick leaves being self employed. If yes, could you please suggest which docs?

Regards,
Saanvi

Please could the expert moderators reply on the above.

Thanks.