British passport for child born outside UK to British citizen with Australian passport.

[syncswim]

Hello. I hope someone can help me. I’m trying to figure out if my 9 month old daughter is eligible for a British passport. I’ve contacted the UK passport office via 2 different channels. They both said they’d get back to me. Neither did. My situation is a bit tricky, therefore I can’t find a concrete answer on the gov.uk website.

I am a British citizen, born to British parents in 1968. I have a British passport, on which my nationality is given as British.

However, I was actually born in Australia and I have an Australian birth certificate. My parents emigrated to Aus. in 1968. I was born, then they returned to the UK in 1970/1. I do not have Aus. citizenship. I have never been back to Aus. since I was born there.

I lived in the UK from 1970 to 2006, when I moved to Poland.

Now I live in Poland with my Polish partner. We are not married. Last year our daughter was born here. She has a Polish birth certificate and will soon have a Polish passport.

The key question seems to be how I am British. If I’m British because my parents passed down their nationality to me, then (as I understand) I can’t do the same for my daughter.

If it weren’t for my Aus. birth certificate, I know I could easily get my daughter a British passport. Both my parents are deceased, so I can't get any info from them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[alterhase58]

You say your passport shows you as "British" - you mean "British otherwise than by decent" ? If so I believe your child is British by decent and entitled to a passport.

If it says "British by decent" then your child won't be British.
I have answered a similar question yesterday, my understanding:
british-citizenship/british-by-double-d ... l#p2152346
[CORRECTED]

[contorted_svy]

Passport doesn't usually state whether someone is British by descent or not so it won't be the ultimate answer. I think your daughter doesn't have a claim to Brtish citizenship nor can she register unless she moves to the UK for a while.

[CR001]

Passport doesn't usually state whether someone is British by descent or not so it won't be the ultimate answer. I think your daughter doesn't have a claim to Brtish citizenship nor can she register unless she moves to the UK for a while.

This is NOT correct. If you are unsure, please rather refrain from posting inaccurate advise, which only creates confusion. There are many routes to citizenship, not only through residence.

The child can be registered as British on form MN1 under section 3(2) of the nationality act as the OP has lived in the UK for at least 3 years BEFORE the child was born. The OP would have to demonstrate at least 3 years of residence in the UK between 1970 and 2006. A Section 3(2) registration, will make the child British by Descent, which would mean any children they have born abroad, cannot be registered as British either.

Page 9 of the MN1 Guidance Notes.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... t_2023.pdf

The is also a strong possibility, that the OPs parents registered his birth at the British embassy within 12 months of birth, which might change things a bit.

@secret.simon best place to advise of the finer nuances in these circumstances.

[meself2]

Would 3(2) work here?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... gistration

Edit: beaten with better info!

[secret.simon]

You say your passport shows you as "British" - you mean "British otherwise than by decent" ? If so I believe your child is British by decent and entitled to a passport.

If it says "British by decent" then your child won't be British.

British passports for British citizens only state their status as "British Citizen".

The only way to figure out if the person is a British citizen by descent or otherwise is by first principles and what documents they have to prove their British citizenship.

In this case, I think @CR001 is correct. As the OP was born in Australia, he would be a British citizen by descent. Therefore his children born abroad can't automatically inherit his British citizenship.

I concur with both @CR001 and @meself2 that a registration under Section 3(2) is possible, provided neither parent were married to anybody else at the time of the birth of the child and the OP has proof of their residing in the UK for three continuous years before the birth of the child.

The proof that will be required will be required will be the baby's birth certificate listing the OP as a parent, the OP's Australian birth certificate and their parents' (the child's grandparents') marriage and British births certificates.

To the OP: note that the child will not be able to pass on British citizenship at all to their own children (your grandchildren) born outside the UK, unless the grandchildren, your child/their parent and other parent have lived in the UK for at least three continuous years as a family unit before the grandchildren's 18th birthday and have applied to register as British citizens before that date.

Also be aware that many benefits of British citizenship (such as NHS care, student loans and Home Student status, etc) are restricted to those "ordinarily resident" in the UK and can be denied even to British citizens who reside abroad.

As an aside, all people born in Australia before 20th August 1986 were automatically Australian citizens. So the OP can apply for an Australian passport as well, based purely on his Australian birth certificate predating that date. But Australian citizenship law appears to require that passage by descent requires the parent to have resided in Australia for at least two years and an application to be made.