Indian or British Passport for British Indian Child

[technoguy]

Guys, Need some advice from you experts. I am an ILR holder and recently I had a child. Child will be a British citizen by birth as at the time of his birth parents had settled status in UK.

Now I am not sure about getting a British passport or Indian passport for the child. This is because India doesn’t allow dual citizenship so child can’t have both unlike UK where dual citizenship is allowed.
Now one obvious option for child is to get a British Passport + OCI for India (I will be getting British citizenship for child to quality for OCI).

Other option include getting an Indian passport for the child and certificate of entitlement stamped on his Indian passport to prove right of abode in the UK. This way child is not losing Indian citizenship and still retaining his right of abode in the UK. At any moment later if child wants to apply for UK passport he can renounce Indian citizenship. Since child is a British by birth he can get British passport anytime he choose later in his lifetime.

I could not find enough details if something like this is possible. So need advice on pros and cons or any legal difficulty.

[IndiMarshall]

If I am in your situation I would get British citizenship as of now with OCI card for him.

You can always get Indian citizenship any other day without much hassle when the kid starts living in India with minimum period of stay..

As days go by I think it will more and more tougher to get a British passport.. with thousands of documents to save and Home office can come up with any new rule .. it wont be easy..

And if he gets Indian citizenship now should he wait till his 18th birthday to apply for British passport ?
I think yes. I may be wrong..

If this is correct imagine how Homeoffice rules will be after 18 years lolll

[technoguy]

Hi IndiMarshall, Thank you for your reply. Actually my reason for not having British PP now is my assumption that getting a British PP can be done at any time (not wait for 18 years or any other reason) as the child is British by birth. And having an Indian PP now can give child more options out of the two till he decides what he wants.

Getting British PP now means that child is not Indian citizen (as India doesn’t allows dual nationality) and child can’t have an option of Indian nationality as he will have to renounce British citizenship, which will not be easy to resume once renounced. But having an Indian PP now gives child more options until he can decide what is best for him.

[O_Relly]

Hmm interesting discussion, just out of curiosity, technoguy, don't both settled parents intend to get british citizenship at any point?

Also, as much as he is British by birth, he is also Indian by descent, as both parents are Indian passport holders at the time of his birth.

Also if he has to renounce his British citizenship at some point, it appears shouldn't be too much hassle resuming it although, it comes at a cost of 831 quid for now

[technoguy]

At the time of birth both the parents are Indian citizen with ILR in UK. Both parents intend to get BC + OCI.
Money is not a deciding factor to choose which PP child should go for.

BC + OCI for Child
Pros:
1) Child can travel and have access to other European countries for education etc.

Cons:
1) Child will lose Indian citizenship. OCI is not as good as having a full citizenship for a minor. Once all the major decisions like education and career are sorted then choosing between Indian and British citizenship is better for child.
2) Difficult to renounce BC and take Indian Citizenship. Once the child is adult BC looks like a better option as of now.

Indian PP + COA
Pros:
1) As both parents are Indian we would like to have India connection for the child as well. We are not yet decided to be living in the UK indefinitely for some more years. So child may end up spending most part of his childhood in India.
2) We have made our decisions and passed education and chosen carriers. So now we know that we are not loosing much and gaining more with BC. But for a child he is yet to decide on these things.
3) Easy to renounce Indian Citizenship and get British PP later if child want so.

Cons:
1) Visa required for travelling to many countries on Indian PP and no access to EU for education and carrier. Of course if child is interested he can get British PP any time to pursue his carrier.

So I want to know other than this is there any obvious I am missing. And can child renounce Indian Citizenship and get British PP at any point in time later in his life without hassle?

[technoguy]

I would like to post a reply to my own query for others benefit. At the end I have applied for Indian passport with UK COE to ROA. For ROA you need to fill the form send it with payment slip for £144 to UKVI Liverpool address. Documents required are 2 * passport photos, original detailed birth certificate, original Indian child passport, and proof of mother’s residence to prove child is born citizen. If applying through father then instead of mother’s residence proof, father’s residence to prove child is born citizen original marriage certificate in English to prove relationship with mother.

Send documents to UKVI Liverpool address with a self-address prepaid special delivery envelope for return. It took 10 days for acknowledgement letter and total of one month and a week for the passport with ROA sticker with all the documents to come.

[lappi831]

Hi Guys,
Just wanted to know :
On what basis we can apply Right of abode for a child born in India to a British Parents if so what documents are necessary ?

Regards,
Harry

[vinny]

See also answer in your previous thread.