British citizenship for child born outside of the UK holding an ILR

[maverick278]

Dear gurus,

I have had great success in my naturalisation journey thus far and I can definitely attribute most of that to using this forum and reading through the threads and also seeking some valuable guidance in key steps in this journey.

Here's my present situation

I applied for naturalisation on 13/8/2021 and got my approval letter on 13/9/2021. My citizenship ceremony is on 8/10/2021. My wife and daughter are ILR holders since 13/8/2020 - over a year now.

2 questions

1) Can I apply for naturalisation just for my wife to begin with and later on apply for my child separately may be next year?

2) Part of the problem as to why I am pursuing point 1 above is, we do not have a suitable referee for my daughter yet ( no social care worker, GP, and she is in year 5 and her school head teacher etc doesn't qualify for knowing her for at least 3 years). So we are at a loss as to whom to go after for her second referee. For my wife, we secured a neighbour and her driving instructor. For my daughter, my neighbour will be one, but as outlined above, don't know about the other.

Finally, if I can indeed apply for my daughter separately, then may be I can do so next year to ease my cash flow as each application costs £1360 . Also if I am a citizen, and my wife is also a citizen, do I have to naturalise my daughter who already holds an ILR till 2024?

Any pointers as to the above would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[secret.simon]

How old is the daughter?

1) Can I apply for naturalisation just for my wife to begin with and later on apply for my child separately may be next year?

Yes.

Also if I am a citizen, and my wife is also a citizen, do I have to naturalise my daughter who already holds an ILR till 2024?

You only need to naturalise or register the child if you want them to become a British citizen. If you don't want British citizenship for them, you don't have to naturalise or register them.

[maverick278]

Also if I am a citizen, and my wife is also a citizen, do I have to naturalise my daughter who already holds an ILR till 2024?

You only need to naturalise or register the child if you want them to become a British citizen. If you don't want British citizenship for them, you don't have to naturalise or register them.

Thanks Simon - in my daughter's case, naturalisation is the only option right since she wasn't born here? How do we solve the referee problem for her

[CR001]

Only adults over 18 are naturalised.

Children under 18 are registered, regardless of where they are born.

[maverick278]

Only adults over 18 are naturalised.

Children under 18 are registered, regardless of where they are born.

What is the difference? Sorry for being daft, registration is done by paying the same fee but somewhere else? Or if we both become citizens, my daughter will just have to be registered? Where will I do that and does it cost?

[CR001]

Children are registered as British and the fee is less (£1012) than for adults naturalising. It is the same process of applying online, form MN1 for children and form AN for adults, and enrolling biometrics and submitting supporting documents. It is UKVI that deals with both registration and naturalisation.

Registering children doesn't require an oath ceremony either.

Children born abroad are registered as British citizen under section 3(1) of the nationality act.

Note that the child will also lose their indian citizenship once they are registered and approved as British.

[secret.simon]

What is the difference?

Different sections of the law, different requirements, different fees.

In your case, it is based on the age of the child.

[maverick278]

Children are registered as British and the fee is less (£1012) than for adults naturalising. It is the same process of applying online, form MN1 for children and form AN for adults, and enrolling biometrics and submitting supporting documents. It is UKVI that deals with both registration and naturalisation.

Registering children doesn't require an oath ceremony either.

Children born abroad are registered as British citizen under section 3(1) of the nationality act.

Note that the child will also lose their indian citizenship once they are registered and approved as British.

Thank you so very much for such a detailed response. Much appreciated. Have you come across a situation where the child doesn't have a good enough referee with a professional standing? Is that something I will have to wait for? Also, given that they ask for personal details and passport numbers, not many are coming forward to be referrees in the first place

[maverick278]

What is the difference?

Different sections of the law, different requirements, different fees.

In your case, it is based on the age of the child.

Thank you Simon