British Citizenship by descent or other than by descent

[mandhan]

Hi,
This is the situation:

Tthe baby is born in India to British father (through naturalisation) and Indian mother (on ILR), and has got an Indian passport based on the mother's nationality.

The questions:

1) What kind of visa will need to be stamped in the baby's Indian passport to bring him back to uk? Will it be an ILR or some other dependant visa? Would like to the waiting time and the costs involved. Can it be done from Bangalore?

2) Once the baby returns to UK and we want the British citizenship for him, would we need to fill MN1 (for registration) and then apply for his passport or we can directly apply for the passport as one of the parents was British at the time of the birth.

3) What type of citizenship will the baby get?
Citizenship by descent OR Citizenship other than by descent

Would really be glad to get the response, especially to questions 2 and 3 above, by experienced forum members or those who have been in this situation before.

Regards,
mandhan

[Lucapooka]

1) ROA if you don't apply for a British passport

2) No, just apply for the passport.

3) Citizenship by descent

[mandhan]

Thank you very much Lucapooka.

Can you please elaborate on your answer to bullet point 1? Did not really get what you meant by ROA.

Regards,
mandhan

[Lucapooka]

A person who has a right of abode in the UK, yet does not wish to apply for a British passport as it will run counter to the dual nationality policy of another country for which he has nationality (and does not wish to renounce that nationality) may apply for a certificate of entitlement stamp be to be inserted into the passport of his other nationality.

[mandhan]

Thanks again Lucapooka. You know, me and my wife are on the verge of gaining british citizenship and our baby is going to be born soon in India. Hence I am evaluating various options available for us before deciding on the best course of action.

Back to my post above, how will answer to questions 2 and 3 change if both parents have ILR and the baby is born in India.

Thanks a ton in advance!

Regards,
Avinash

[Greenie]

So your child has not actually been born yet? It would help if you made this clear at the beginning.

Given that your child is not yet born how can you be so sure s/he will be issued with an Indian passport when she will automatically be British by descent if born to a British parent? I would suggest you seek advice on this given the fact that India does not recognise dual citizenship.

If you both have ILR and the child is born in India then you will need to apply for a child settlement visa for the child in order for him or her to enter the UK

[mandhan]

Thanks Greenie.

Yes, the child is not born yet. However if born in India to at least one of the parents who is Indian, s/he will qualify for an Indian passport even though the other parent might be British.

It takes at least 4 months to get a British passport for a newborn from India whereas getting an Indian one might take at most 2 weeks with fast tract application.

Given the fact above, some might prefer to given the child an Indian passport first and then apply for the British passport once in UK.

Coming back to your reply, can you please confirm my understandin that when a child is born outside UK to parents having ILR, will get British Citizenship 'other than by descent'. This is because I think s/he will have to get the registration certificate (via MN1 application) before an application for a passport can be made.

Regards,
mandhan

[Greenie]

A child born in India to a British parent will automatically be British so I would advise you to check that you do not need to provide evidence that the child is not British in order to obtain an Indian passport for the child.

a child born outside the UK to two parents with ILR will not be British.

A registration application on form MN1 would need to be made, usually after at least one parent has naturalised.

This would confer British citizenship otherwise than by descent.

[mandhan]

Thanks Greenie. Its all a lot clearer now.

Regards,
mandhan