Registration offshore children born before a 4L registered parent

[sinerd]

My wife has recently registered as a British citizen under 4L (gender discrimination), her paternal grand mother was UK born while she and her father were born in S.A, hence I suppose registered as "otherwise than by decent"
We have 3 children under the age 0f 18 and we wonder if we can register our children as British Citizens and if so what would be the relevant section of the law and what form should we use for this and the fees associated.

Thanks

[meself2]

Why did you posted this in the thread that explicitly says "No immigration queries"


Moved to the correct one.

[alterhase58]

My wife has recently registered as a British citizen under 4L (gender discrimination), her paternal grand mother was UK born while she and her father were born in S.A, hence I suppose registered as "otherwise than by decent"
We have 3 children under the age 0f 18 and we wonder if we can register our children as British Citizens and if so what would be the relevant section of the law and what form should we use for this and the fees associated.

Thanks

The fee for child registration as British is £1,214, per child.
The form for minor registration is normally MN1, online: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.u ... 1697705242
Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... 1-guidance

Not sure how this works in the context of wife's 4L approval - hopefully someone here has more insight on this scenario?

[secret.simon]

Does your wife's certificate of registration explicitly state that the registration is under Section 4L? It is a newish section (about a year old) and I'm surprised that they have started issuing certificates under that Section.

Where are the children currently located?

British citizenship is very limited in being acquired outside the UK and acquisition normally places great emphasis on residency in the UK.

It is likely that the children will need to meet the same requirement for registration as that of children of parents who have naturalised in the UK (the British parent will need to sponsor the children and spouse to the UK, live here for at least five years meeting multiple requirements, etc).

Ironically, had she become a British citizen by descent under Section 4C (which would also have been possible), there would have been a three year pathway for the children (which would still require the children and other parent to move to the UK for at least three continuous years before the children's 18th birthday).

So, can you confirm the Section stated on the registration certificate and the location of the children? Also had either the mother or children ever resided in the UK in the past?

[sinerd]

Thanks for the response, we were among the first to apply (a year ago) and were notified in June that the application was successful (in total it took 6 months). The certificate of registration explicitly reads 4L at the bottom right of the certificate.
It appears that registration under 4L would be considered "otherwise than by decent" and that MAY suggest that it is transferable to the children, but reading all the possible categories of registration I could not find any reference to this situation except for the very general 3(1) which is totally at the discretion of the ministry.

We do not reside in the UK, never did and are unlikely to move there in the near future, certainly not if we need sponsorship for the entire family

I have contacted a solicitor who told me that they have verified with the UK HO and got a confirmation that such cases would qualify for registration. The issue is that unlike the registration of an adult for which one pays 80£ (for a 4L applicant), there is a fee of 1214£ for the registration of a child which is a rather steep fine in case the application is turned down (not to mention the legal fees this solicitor charges).

[sinerd]

Trying my luck again if anyone encountered this situation -

Can a minor child (under the age of 18) born outside the UK to a 4L registered parent (registered otherwise than by descent) and that never lived or intends to live in the UK (both child and parent) register as a British citizen ?
reading the provisions the only reference to a child of a 4L parent is in 3(2) or 3(5), 3(1) but none of these cover lack of residency in the UK, as 4L is relatively new I wonder if any part of the law addresses this
situation. generally speaking a parent that registered as a British Citizen under 4L is otherwise than by descent and technically could pass on citizenship but it seems to be tied to residency or birth in the UK

[secret.simon]

generally speaking a parent that registered as a British Citizen under 4L is otherwise than by descent and technically could pass on citizenship

Crucially the citizenship can be passed automatically on only to children born on or after the date of registration.

Citizenship acquired by registration (of any sort) is always only prospective and never retrospective.

Children of people registered under Section 4L will need to be registered under Section 3(1), at discretion.

[sinerd]

It is clear that we need to register, however 3(1) does not discuss our situation at all as it does speak about residency and intent etc. which we do not meet, my question is if we can possibly register without meeting any residency requirement.

Thanks,

[contorted_svy]

My understanding is that Section 3(1) does apply to you therefore you need to meet the residency and intent requirements.

[Pasmanv]

It is clear that we need to register, however 3(1) does not discuss our situation at all as it does speak about residency and intent etc. which we do not meet, my question is if we can possibly register without meeting any residency requirement.

Thanks,

Hello,
Any news on this particular topic?
I'm in a similar situation and I wonder where or how to register my child, who was born before I was registered as a 4L.
If we obtain a level Otherwise than by descent, I would expect there to be something specific for our case.
The law only talks about children who are automatically citizens if at birth their parents or one of them are British citizens Otherwise than by descent, but at this point, there is nothing clear.
Thank you."