Query about child's route to British nationality

[smartchap2k]

Dear all,

I am a married Indian national on work permit since last 4 and half years in UK (3 years on student visa prior to that) we just had a baby born in UK in May 2009. (Say congratulations ! …..Thank you)

Our PR is due in March 2010. I haven’t applied for my Baby’s passport nor his registration with Indian embassy yet. I understand, as long as one of the parent for a child born in UK is permanently settled ( PR) the child is automatically eligible for British nationality.

By reading this forum I understand the application for British passport for a child born in UK does not take more than a month approximately. My intention is to apply for my child’s British nationality ( registration) ASAP.

As we don’t have any travel plans till August 2010, would it be advisable in my case to wait and apply directly for British nationality for my child instead of getting an Indian passport for a child born in UK now and then applying for british nationality/passport 5 months down the line.

Any disadvantage/advantage in going down the Indian to British route compared to getting the British nationality directly??

Please advice. Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

[Obie]

The way i see it is this; you can get indian Citizenship for child in his own rights, now, and this will not affect his British Citizenship registeration application . If you wait until he has obtained British citizenship, then the child will not qualify for indian citizenship as you will have to disclose this on the registration form, which would disqualify him/her.

I suppose with an Indian Citizenship, which will be abandon after a successful registeration application, the child is likely to obtain an Overseas Citizens of India Passport, than without one.

[smartchap2k]

Hi Obie,

Many thanks for your prompt response. However i found the following information from the indian embassy website about OCI. I suppose OCI
would be available to the child even after directly having british nationality based on parents and grand parents.


Do you still envisage any other advantage/disadvantage in directly aquiring british nationality for the child. (rather than making child Indian for 5 months and then applying for british nationality registration)

I am more concerned about any disadvantage ( if any?) the child born in uk has to become indian and then british compared to becoming british directly.!
Please advise. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


Persons of Indian Origin, who migrated from India after 26 January, 1950, and

who were citizens of India on or at anytime after 26.01.1950 or

who were eligible to become Indian citizens on 26th January, 1950 or

belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947 and

their children and grand children,

whose present nationality is such that the country of nationality allows dual citizenship in some form or the other under the local laws, will be eligible to be registered as OCI. Minor children of such persons are also eligible for registration as OCI. (Application cannot be submitted on the basis of spouse’s qualification.) However, minor children, whose both parents are Indian citizens, are not eligible for OCI.