Nationality of child born in the UK

[Imm2021]

Hello,

I am preparing the application for British citizenship for my 5 year old daughter and I have a doubt;

There is one section where one is asked to select the current nationality. It reads as follows:

"Your nationality, country and date of birth
Country of nationality Type the name of a country; use the arrow keys to navigate and 'enter' to select one.
If you have previous or additional nationalities, you will be able to add these later in the application."

Both me and my wife are Mexican, however we haven't registered our daughter as Mexican, she currently has no passport of any country. She was born in the UK and she's been here ever since.

What nationality are we supposed to choose for her in that question? The system would not allow us to leave it blank, or to type something like 'NA.' One has to choose one of the options available.

Thank you for your help.

Best regards.

[alterhase58]

Your child is a Mexican national as far as I understand from this, regardless of whether child has a Mexican passport:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_nationality_law
"Nationality by birth
The Mexican Constitution states that Mexican nationals by birth are:[5]
people born on Mexican territory regardless of their parent's nationality.
people born abroad to at least one parent who is a national of Mexico.
people born on Mexican vessels or aircraft that are either for war or merchant."

Or perhaps it's more complicated?
Suggest you select "Mexico", it's not an issue for the UK as far as I can see.

[Imm2021]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your reply. I do appreciate it.

It didn't even cross my mind to check the details of how Mexican nationality is acquired. That was very helpful. Indeed, I guess 'Mexico' should be the best option to choose.

Let's see how that goes.

Thanks a lot.


G

[alterhase58]

Good luck with the application - please do post in this thread if you have further queries, or when the approval has been given.

[Ticktack]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your reply. I do appreciate it.

It didn't even cross my mind to check the details of how Mexican nationality is acquired. That was very helpful. Indeed, I guess 'Mexico' should be the best option to choose.

Let's see how that goes.

Thanks a lot.


G

By default, no one is stateless, kids would naturally adopt the nationality of their parents.

Jus sanguinis.

A rule of law that a child's citizenship is determined by that of his or her parents.

[Imm2021]

Thank you.

That makes sense.

I will definitively try post how it all went once it's all done (God first).

One more question; just to confirm, if I register my daughter as Mexican at the Mexican consulate and get a Mexican passport. That doesn't mean she would suddenly need a visa right? We could still proceed with her registration as British Citizen right? Of course we're not planning on traveling out of the country or anything. It's just that we thought we might as well do it now, and that way she would have an ID for her British citizenship application.

Thank you.

Br


Gio

[Ticktack]

Thank you.

That makes sense.

I will definitively try post how it all went once it's all done (God first).

One more question; just to confirm, if I register my daughter as Mexican at the Mexican consulate and get a Mexican passport. That doesn't mean she would suddenly need a visa right? We could still proceed with her registration as British Citizen right? Of course we're not planning on traveling out of the country or anything. It's just that we thought we might as well do it now, and that way she would have an ID for her British citizenship application.

Thank you.

Br


Gio

You don't need to register your child as Mexican. You can simply apply for a Mexican passport for your child if you choose to.
Child is already Mexican.

Your child doesn't need to have a passport to apply for British Citizenship, as she was born here.

If child gets a Mexican passport, you would need a residency visa for the child to (exit the UK and be able to) return. Otherwise it gets messy at the port of entry as Mexicans don't need a visa to enter the UK. There would be a lot of explanations required. Always nice to avoid that.

[kamoe]

If child gets a Mexican passport, you would need a residency visa for the child to (exit the UK and be able to) return. Otherwise it gets messy at the port of entry as Mexicans don't need a visa to enter the UK. There would be a lot of explanations required. Always nice to avoid that.

I think you are mixing up two very separate things:

a. Being a passport holder (of any nationality)
b. Actually using that passport to enter the UK.

The child is Mexican and they can get a Mexican passport any time, without that automatically requiring them to get a visa to stay in the UK.

If, and only if, all of the below are true:
1. the Mexican passport was the only document the child had, and
2. they wanted to exit and re-enter the UK, and,
3. the child was not yet a British citizen

then yes, they would need a visa.

But that is not what the OP is trying to do!!! I think the intent is to get the child British citizenship, and after that, getting them a British passport, which would be the document used to re-enter the UK in the event of travel. Then again, I don't think the OP is saying they are intending to travel at all, and also, if the child acquires British citizenship, then they cannot get issued a UK visa.

[kamoe]

Also, Mexico allows dual citizenship, so the child does not need to surrender their Mexican citizenship, and is of course allowed to have two passports at the same time. Mexican passport does NOT mean no British passport.

[Ticktack]

If child gets a Mexican passport, you would need a residency visa for the child to (exit the UK and be able to) return. Otherwise it gets messy at the port of entry as Mexicans don't need a visa to enter the UK. There would be a lot of explanations required. Always nice to avoid that.

I think you are mixing up two very separate things:Nope not mixing anything up. Maybe you should re-read my sentences. Don't take just one part, read it in it's entirety.

a. Being a passport holder (of any nationality)
b. Actually using that passport to enter the UK.

The child is Mexican and they can get a Mexican passport any time, without that automatically requiring them to get a visa to stay in the UK. That's what I said.

If, and only if, all of the below are true:
1. the Mexican passport was the only document the child had, and
2. they wanted to exit and re-enter the UK, and,
3. the child was not yet a British citizen

then yes, they would need a visa.

But that is not what the OP is trying to do!!!Never said he was. I was only clarifying the outcomes if they did. Because someone said they're not doing something doesn't mean you can't point out the dangers if they do! I think the intent is to get the child British citizenship, and after that, getting them a British passport, which would be the document used to re-enter the UK in the event of travel. Then again, I don't think the OP is saying they are intending to travel at all That was clearly stated here. Of course we're not planning on traveling out of the country or anything., and also, if the child acquires British citizenship, then they cannot get issued a UK visa I never said he needed a visa after acquiring British Citizenship..

You've taken my words and run away with parts that bits of it. Please read the full thing.

[Ticktack]

Also, Mexico allows dual citizenship, so the child does not need to surrender their Mexican citizenship, and is of course allowed to have two passports at the same time. Mexican passport does NOT mean no British passport.

Where is all this analogy coming from. Seriously, I'm mighty confused now. Are we talking about comments on this thread or a different one?

[kamoe]

All I'm saying is, the child does not need a visa just because, and if, they get a Mexican passport. That was the question, and the way you answered it could be interpreted as a "yes".

Precisely because the OP clarifies there is no intention to travel, there is no need to be saying they'll need a visa. Saying that will confuse them.

Good it's clear now.

[kamoe]

Also, Mexico allows dual citizenship, so the child does not need to surrender their Mexican citizenship, and is of course allowed to have two passports at the same time. Mexican passport does NOT mean no British passport.

Where is all this analogy coming from. Seriously, I'm mighty confused now. Are we talking about comments on this thread or a different one?

From the fact you are suggesting they'll need a visa on the Mexican passport. No need for that if they get a British passport, which is clearly the intent of the OP.

The visa suggestion only makes sense if there was an erroneous understanding that there would only be one passport, the Mexican one (but that's not the case).

Hope that clarifies it.

[Ticktack]

All I'm saying is, the child does not need a visa just because, and if, they get a Mexican passport. That was the question, and the way you answered it could be interpreted as a "yes".

Precisely because the OP clarifies there is no intention to travel, there is no need to be saying they'll need a visa. Saying that will confuse them.

Good it's clear now.

I give up! You've obviously made up your mind on what you've read.

No need trying to convince you.

[Ticktack]

Also, Mexico allows dual citizenship, so the child does not need to surrender their Mexican citizenship, and is of course allowed to have two passports at the same time. Mexican passport does NOT mean no British passport.

Where is all this analogy coming from. Seriously, I'm mighty confused now. Are we talking about comments on this thread or a different one?

From the fact you are suggesting they'll need a visa on the Mexican passport. No need for that if they get a British passport, which is clearly the intent of the OP.

The visa suggestion only makes sense if there was an erroneous understanding that there would only be one passport, the Mexican one (but that's not the case).

Hope that clarifies it.

The child is Mexican. Until such a child has British citizenship, you can't even start factoring in dual citizenship. You have to always talk about issues as they currently stand. No speculating as you're currently doing.

I deal with the status quo!

My kids have 4 passports, so I know how things work. I have 2. So not sure where the dual citizenship lecture is coming from.

[Imm2021]

Hey,

Thank you for your replies.

So, yes, we are not planning to travel outside of the UK with my daughter before applying for her British Citizenship. The only doubt was if, by virtue of getting her a Mexican passport first, she would need a visa. Which, from your replies, I understand the answer is No.

We do understand that she does not need to have a passport to apply for the British citizenship, however we just thought since we're in the middle of those transactions we might as well just get it already. The difference is that the Mexican passport is issued on the same day that we register her at the consulate, while the British citizenship can take up to six months if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks once again for all the info.

Best regards,


G

[Imm2021]

Hello,

I just wanted to write to confirm for everyone reading this who might be in a similar situation; that thank God we received the citizenship certificate for my daughter about a month ago.

It was substantially quicker than we were expecting it to be. I recall that when I finished filling out the application, somewhere it mentioned that it could often take up to six months or something like that. In her case it took about two months only. A bit less actually (I'm assuming it might be quicker in the chase of children).

For the record; she did not have any passport when her application was submitted. All we had was her birth certificate. Of course it must be noticed that she had never left the country. She'd been in the UK since she was born.

Thanks for all your help.

Br

[alterhase58]

Thank you for the update, good to know all went smooth and very quick. The stated processing target for nationality applications is six months, however it can be as fast as two months as in your case and anything up to six months++ but that's more in the case of adults.