update :At the discretion of the home secretary

[space265]

Hi
Just a quick one.I got my ILR in feb 2019.Two of my daughters born in pakistan.one in 2016 and one in december 2019.They are here now on dependent visa .A solicitor told me that i can apply for their citizenship on the basis of discretion of home secretary.Is it true?

[CR001]

They need ILR first.

What is the immigration status of the other parent?

[space265]

Thanks cr001
One is british citizen and other one is on spouse visa same as kids.what he said was there is no category for that but we will apply and its on discretion of home secretary.They applied some cases and all of them approved.He is certain.I was surprise as well.

[secret.simon]

It is true that you can apply in that category. But discretion does not mean that no rules apply. There are still guidelines for the caseworkers to apply. Those state that for a child born outside the UK to be registered as a British citizen, at least one parent needs to be a British citizen- or applying to become one and for the child and the other parent to be on ILR.

That is the advice in the published government guidance.

Keep in mind that if you lose, you also lose the £1000+ per application (plus any solicitor fees).

But if your solicitor is so confident, ask them to make the application on a no-win, no-fee basis AND ask them to also cover the Home Office fees of £1000+ from their own pockets in case of loss. If they are willing to take that on, fair game to them.

[space265]

Thanks secret.simon
Look like its a bet.Good suggestion.I will have a word with him about no-win no fees basis.Home Office fees i have to pay.But if it happens,good for me at least,if it dosen't i will loose 2k+.So not a bad bet.I will have a word with him.Thanks for the guidence.

[secret.simon]

Please do update us on the success or otherwise of your applications as that is how others on these forums will learn.

[space265]

Hi secret.simon
I will certainly do!

[space265]

hello everyone
its been while i discussed here about application for british citizenship of my kids on the basis of discretion of the home secretary.I applied 7 months ago for me elder daughter 1st.I am british citizen , my wife is on spouse visa and two daughters on dependent visas.youngest born here in uk and have BP.
Today i recieve email from my solicitor and its refused.Following is the email.Its just for info for members here.Thanks
Your application for British Citizenship has been refused
Your application for British Citizenship was received on 2023-09. The application has been considered under section 3(1)of the British Nationality Act 1981.

You have not demonstrated that you meet the requirements for registration and your application has been refused.

What this means for you
You have not been registered as a British Citizen.

The reasons for this decision are set out in the next section.
Yours sincerely


On behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department

Your personal information
The Data Protection Act 2018 governs how we use personal data. For details of how we will use your personal information and who we may share it with please see our Privacy Notice for the Border, Immigration and Citizenship system at https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... itizenship. This also explains your key rights under the Act, how you can access your personal information and how to complain if you have concerns.

Reasons for decision
3(1) discretionary registration – reasons for refusal
Details of the usual expectations for section 3(1) can found at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/61/section/3
Section 3(1) allows for registration as a British Citizen at the Home Secretary’s discretion, the only requirements are that you are under 18 and of good character. I have considered whether to exercise discretion in your case. However, there are criteria that you would normally be expected to meet. These are set out in the Registration as a British citizen: children Nationality policy guidance, details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... y-guidance

You do not meet the criteria because:

you are not ‘settled’ in the UK, to be settled you must be free of immigration time limits or have permanent residence under EEA regulations or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
although one parent is a British Citizen, your other parent is not ‘settled’ in the UK, to be settled they must be free of immigration time limits or have Permanent Residence under EEA regulations or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
I am not satisfied that your future intention is to make the UK your primary home
Further explanation may be provided if needed.

I have considered whether there are grounds to exercise discretion to register you as a British Citizen and have taken into account your length of residence in the UK. However, I am not satisfied there are sufficient grounds to do so.

As you are a child, I have considered your best interests in making this decision. You can find out more about why and how we consider a child’s best interests at https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... y-guidance.

Next steps
The application fee for British Citizenship is not refundable and has been retained to cover the cost of handling and processing your application.

You can request a review of this decision using the form at https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ed-form-nr

If you still wish to become a British Citizen, you can make a new application. You can do this at any time, but you are advised to ensure, as far as possible, that the requirements are met before doing so.

as far as i know , we don't have any grounds to go for review as this is on the basis of discretion.Am i right?
Also, some of the points that i understand are
Parent(father or mother) should b british by decent also
Time spent in the uk should be more then 3 years for applicant

one thing that stuck in my mind is where he says "Section 3(1) allows for registration as a British Citizen at the Home Secretary’s discretion, the only requirements are that you are under 18 and of good character."
why it says only requirement here.It should be one of the requirement here is that .......
any thought?

[meself2]

You were warned about this by posters above, unfortunately.

It states that refusal reason is the lack of ILR:

You do not meet the criteria because:

you are not ‘settled’ in the UK,

And your spouse is not settled (which should be the case before child can get ILR).

your other parent is not ‘settled’ in the UK,

Time spent in the uk should be more then 3 years for applicant

I don't think this is what the line of "considering length of time" refers to.
If a child lived here long enough (10+ years) legally, they can be registered without the need for ILR - my suspicion would be that this is the length of time that would be necessary.

why it says only requirement here.It should be one of the requirement here is that ......

Because, technically, Home Secretary, if s/he so wishes, can register a person who only satisfies these two criteria. That's why it's called "by discretion".

[space265]

Thanks meself2
yh i know everyone talk about that at that time but it was a gamble and i get info out of it how it works.So thats not bad.
Your last line ,
"Because, technically, Home Secretary, if s/he so wishes, can register a person who only satisfies these two criteria. That's why it's called "by discretion"." means still there is a chance if he/she is in good mood as it is discretion.correct?

[meself2]

Thanks meself2
yh i know everyone talk about that at that time but it was a gamble and i get info out of it how it works.So thats not bad.
Your last line ,
"Because, technically, Home Secretary, if s/he so wishes, can register a person who only satisfies these two criteria. That's why it's called "by discretion"." means still there is a chance if he/she is in good mood as it is discretion.correct?

It doesn't exactly work like that.

First of all, cases are not dealt with by Home Secretary personally - HO employees are delegated this responsibility.
Second of all, situation I'm talking about is legally possible, but there's no reason for Home Secretary to exercise this. Legal possibility doesn't mean it happens routinely or happens at all.

For example, someone can move around by getting in a handstand and using their arms the way people normally use their feet. There are no laws against it, nothing stops them from doing so from legal perspective. But if they do it, they'll get a ton of weird looks, their friends and family will not approve of that and so on.
It's the same for this criteria. While legally possible, Home Secretary has absolutely no reason to deviate from the usual process. So there was no chance for this to be approved as it did not satisfy the criteria.

[space265]

these are the legislation they use to form the grounds for approval or refusal
Changes to legislation:
British Nationality Act 1981, Section 3 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 04 May 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. Help about Changes to Legislation
View outstanding changesstatus warnings
3Acquisition by registration: minors.
(1)If while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British citizen, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen.
(2)A person born outside the United Kingdom [F1and the qualifying territories] shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen made [F2while he is a minor], to be registered as such a citizen if the requirements specified in subsection (3) or, in the case of a person born stateless, the requirements specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection, are fulfilled in the case of either that person’s father or his mother (“the parent in question”).
(3)The requirements referred to in subsection (2) are—
(a)that the parent in question was a British citizen by descent at the time of the birth; and
(b)that the father or mother of the parent in question—
(i)was a British citizen otherwise than by descent at the time of the birth of the parent in question; or
(ii)became a British citizen otherwise than by descent at commencement, or would have become such a citizen otherwise than by descent at commencement but for his or her death; and
(c)that, as regards some period of three years ending with a date not later than the date of the birth—
(i)the parent in question was in the United Kingdom [F3or a qualifying territory] at the beginning of that period; and
(ii)the number of days on which the parent in question was absent from the United Kingdom [F4and the qualifying territories] in that period does not exceed 270.
(4)F5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5)A person born outside the United Kingdom [F6and the qualifying territories] shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen made while he is a minor, to be registered as such a citizen if the following requirements are satisfied, namely—
(a)that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British citizen by descent; and
(b)subject to subsection (6), that that person and his father and mother were in the United Kingdom [F7or a qualifying territory] at the beginning of the period of three years ending with the date of the application and that, in the case of each of them, the number of days on which the person in question was absent from the United Kingdom [F8and the qualifying territories] in that period does not exceed 270; and
(c)subject to subsection (6), that the consent of his father and mother to the registration has been signified in the prescribed manner.
(6)In the case of an application under subsection (5) for the registration of a person as a British citizen—
(a)if his father or mother died, or their marriage [F9or civil partnership] was terminated, on or before the date of the application, or his father and mother were legally separated on that date, the references to his father and mother in paragraph (b) of that subsection shall be read either as references to his father or as references to his mother; [F10 and]
(b)if his father or mother died on or before that date, the reference to his father and mother in paragraph (c) of that subsection shall be read as a reference to either of them; F11...

[contorted_svy]

As explained above, the legislation doesn't cover the actual guidance. It is at discretion - but there are guidelines according to which these applications get granted, it's not that the case worker decides who they like best. You are however welcome to seek a professional opinion or apply and use your money as you see fit.

[space265]

As i said, its for information to help other members.A healthy argument can help further to members here.
I am not asking help for this particular case as i will not proceed further.
ONLY THING is, i just tried to understand the grounds on which they use this discretion which is still i m unaware off.
Offcourse, my money my choice.
Thanks for your input!