Referee a non-UK resident - child UK citizenship

[The_Boss]

Hello All,

My son is currently on a dependant child visa that is due to expire on 07/06/2024. I've recently received my ILR (after 3 years on GTV) and planning to apply for my son's citizenship (he was born in the UK).

I understand that the current time scales for processing citizenship applications in 4-6 months. If my son's citizenship application is not decided through before the expiry of his current visa, do I need to extend his dependant visa further (by 3 years as a standard I guess) so that his immigration status is kept alive until a decision is made ?

I understand that there is no IHS refund when converting to ILR or citizenship from a standard visa, so extending his visa for another 3 years only to have his citizenship decided in few months time is an expensive route.

Appreciate thoughts from experts on the above. Thank you

[CR001]

A UK born child does not need to have a valid visa, no need to extend.

Ensure you have medical cover as he wont be eligible for free nhs if he has no visa.

[The_Boss]

Thanks CR001, that's good to know.

Is it okay to apply for my son's GTV extension and pay IHS for just 1 year instead of 3 years ? The only part of an extension application where the "years" are required is the IHS payment section. Besides, when extending his dependant child visa there is a mention about the main applicants' (myself in this case) visa expiry, which doesn't exist anymore in this case as I have an ILR. Though the mandatory dependant visa extension is 3 years (specifically for IHS), but will a 1 year IHS payment cover his healthcare for an year ?

[contorted_svy]

You don't need an extension, you only need to arrange private medical insurance which likely will be cheaper than a visa extension.

[alterhase58]

And IHS term cannot be chosen, it’s due for the term of the visa, which of course is not required for a UK born child.

[The_Boss]

@contorted_svy - thanks for the reply. I applied for a dependant visa for my son immediately after he was born as we had to travel outside the UK. He's back to the UK now. Does your suggestion still hold good in this situation ?

[contorted_svy]

Yes, it does. Your son can live in the UK without a visa, as stated above. Arrange private health insurance, and don't travel until the MN1 application is processed. If you want your son to travel he will need a visa, but what I outlined is the cheapest route.

[The_Boss]

@contorted_svy - Should my son ever travel outside of the UK while his MN1 application is still under progress, will that result in the cancellation of his MN1 application ? Assuming he travels outside of the UK, can he come back to the UK on a visitor Visa or any relevant short term visa ?

[CR001]

will that result in the cancellation of his MN1 application ?

No.

Assuming he travels outside of the UK, can he come back to the UK on a visitor Visa or any relevant short term visa ?

Likely not as he is obviously not a visitor and there isnt any other short term visa either. And if he bevones british while abroad, he cant get a visa anyway as he is british and not subject to immigration control.

[contorted_svy]

@contorted_svy - Should my son ever travel outside of the UK while his MN1 application is still under progress, will that result in the cancellation of his MN1 application ? Assuming he travels outside of the UK, can he come back to the UK on a visitor Visa or any relevant short term visa ?

If the application isn't approved by the time he is back and he doesn't have a valid visa it may result in issues at the airport/ border I would think. No consequence on the application.

[The_Boss]

Another alternative-

I apply for an extension of the dependant child visa on the last day of the current visa expiry, and delay the biometrics appointment by 3-4 months. The citizenship decision would come through before the biometrics and I could cancel the dependant extension application with a full refund of the application fee + IHS charges (any deductions expected for the elapsed time between IHS payment to cancellation ?) ?

Appreciate thoughts on the above approach and its plausibility from your perspective. Thanks

[contorted_svy]

You don't know when the acceptance would come. current standard processing times are of 6 months. What happens if the application takes longer than 6 months? If you want your child to be able to travel you need to get an extension, if you want to go the more affordable route you need to take into account child's inability to travel.

[The_Boss]

At the moment, the child doesn't have the need to travel in the next 6 months. If any travel requirement arises, the child can travel out of the UK, even without a visa, and can apply for his dependant visa from abroad that has much faster processing time (3-4 weeks).

"I apply for an extension of the dependant child visa on the last day of the current visa expiry, and delay the biometrics appointment by 3-4 months. The citizenship decision would come through before the biometrics and I could cancel the dependant extension application with a full refund of the application fee + IHS charges (any deductions expected for the elapsed time between IHS payment to cancellation ?) ?"

The above approach is to ensure the the child has NHS cover while waiting for the citizenship decision. Is the deferment of biometrics post fee + IHS payment for longer duration allowed or has any consequences in doing so ?

Also, does the child have to be physically staying in the UK when the citizenship decision is made or delivered ? Assuming the child has to travel out of the UK before a decision is made on his citizenship.

[contorted_svy]

May I ask why do you want to ensure NHS coverage rather than getting a private insurance, if travel isn't what concerns you? It's much simpler and potentially a lot cheaper to get private health insurance, especially if you ended up having to pay for 3 years of IHS which you wouldn't need once your child becomes British. Child can travel while application is in process.

[The_Boss]

@contorted_svy - Wouldn't I get a refund of the IHS if the application is cancelled before the biometrics is done ? Also, your thoughts in the biometrics deferement ?
Because, NHS vs private insurance, I am not sure if all that NHS provides (like vaccinations and etc.) is covered under private insurance. I'll have to research on this separately. If private insurance does the job, then that's a choice.

If the child is staying abroad while his citizenship decision is made, which is allowed I suppose, then I can aswell apply for his British passport from abroad right ?

[contorted_svy]

I don't know about deferring biometrics, hence why I didn't comment on that.
Child can apply for passport from abroad but those applications notoriously take a lot longer (6 months and sometimes more) so it is advised to get back to the UK to apply for the first passport.

[MylaHughes]

Given that the citizenship application process takes between 4 and 6 months, you can expect your son to remain in the UK on his current visa for at least this time. Remember that extending your visa may be costly, but it may be necessary to avoid your son being in the country illegally.

[The_Boss]

@MylaHughes - as per the discussion here, I believe my son can remain in the UK without a visa as UK is his place of birth. Only concern would be access to NHS after the expiry of his current visa. In fact, for the first 3 months after his birth he didn't have a visa at all.

[The_Boss]

Hello All,

This is regarding the 2 referees for my child's (< 1 year age) British citizenship application.

1. The first referee is a UK citizen and over the age of 25 years. I believe this should be fine.
2. The second referee is a doctor however, is a non-UK citizen and a non-UK resident. Can he act as a referee or should the second referee be a UK resident too ?

Appreciate thoughts on the above situation from members of this group. Thank you

Regards

[contorted_svy]

Doctors are no longer accepted as referees.

[The_Boss]

contorted_svy - As per the MN1 guidance October 2023, the below is acceptable as a second reference

For child applicants at least one of the referees must be a person who has dealt with
the child in a professional role such as a teacher, doctor, health visitor or social
worker. Where a child cannot provide a referee who has dealt with them in a
professional capacity and has provided documents to show that they have attempted
to do so, two referees who meet the criteria for referees on adult applications can be accepted.

It is clear from the above that Doctor can be one of the referee, right ? Let me know if I am missing anything here.

Thank you

[contorted_svy]

Doctors then are accepted for children but not adults. From the guidance you quoted it should be ok.

[The_Boss]

contorted_svy - the doctor here is a non-resident of the UK. He is from India. Will this be admitted as a valid reference ?

[contorted_svy]

Where does child live? Normally commonwealth residents are OK, but best would be to get a UK resident for an applicant that lives in the UK.

[The_Boss]

The child is a UK resident currentlyon a dependant child visa. The GP, health visitor are unwilling to provide the reference for reasons better known to them. For a 8 month old child I am left with limited options, if not zero.