Confused if my new son is eligible for British citizenship

[craig_m67]

I am a British citizen by descent (born in Australia of married British parents). My partner/spouse of five years (not my wife) is Australian. She is here with me on an accompanied partner visa (no recourse to public funds etc) that I have sponsored as a British citizen. We had to prove our relationship (in great depth) to get this Visa. We also have a two year old daughter – again on a sponsored visa to accompany parents.

Question is this. Will my new son, born at Chelsea-Westminster in Jan 2007 and registered in the same borough to both of us (were not married, so I had to attend in person) be eligible for British citizenship and a UK passport ?

I get the feeling that as were not married (although clearly defacto/spouse as demonstrated by the granting of a visa – children, life in Aust, etc) that my son is technically illegitimate (lovely archaic term in use at UK Births, Marriages and Deaths registry) and as the mother is Australian and not British, then he – whilst the son of a British citizen born in the UK, is not eligible. We have only been in the UK since June 2006, so my partner does not have indefinite leave to stay

Anybody care to comment or point me to links, legislation etc that shows how we can get him a British passport, thanks in advance

If not, it begs the question do we need to get him an australian passport - leave the country - get a accompanied visa and re enter ?? - madness - but just wondering

[Smit]

Your son is an automatic British Citizen and most probably an Australian citizen as well.

See this link:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=8413


Just go ahead and apply for his UK passport.

[JAJ]

Your son is an automatic British Citizen and most probably an Australian citizen as well.

Australian citizenship by descent is never automatic but registration is a formality: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf

I concur the child is automatically a British citizen by birth. No problem with dual citizenship.

[JAJ]

I am a British citizen by descent (born in Australia of married British parents). My partner/spouse of five years (not my wife) is Australian. She is here with me on an accompanied partner visa (no recourse to public funds etc) that I have sponsored as a British citizen. We had to prove our relationship (in great depth) to get this Visa. We also have a two year old daughter – again on a sponsored visa to accompany parents.

Regarding the daughter, it would be best to wait until she has 3 years residence in the UK and then register her as British under section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act. That way, she becomes a British citizen otherwise than by descent (like her new brother) and hence will be pass on her own British citizenship to non-UK born children.

Any plans to get married? This will affect how quickly your Australian partner will be able to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen once she has ILR.

[craig_m67]

Little update - Finn's passport has arrived .. so, he's British afterall. Thanks for everybodies help in here.

I wasn't aware of the 3 year rule for Jemima (daughter) and will follow this up - thanks.

Re marriage, it's been the last thing on our minds as we bring up a severely disabled daughter, emmigrate and have a new son.. we consider ourselves married already. What's the fine print on this, if we got married tomorrow would the three year rule apply, and would it apply retrospectively (when we arived) or from the date of marriage ?

How long does she have to wait (in either circumstance) ?

The mad thing about Cathy is she cant seem get any EU status - even though her mother was born in a german work camp of (Polish/Ukraninan descent) and her father was Dutch (emmigrated to Aust. on his fathers passport when he was four).

[JAJ]

Little update - Finn's passport has arrived .. so, he's British afterall. Thanks for everybodies help in here.

I wasn't aware of the 3 year rule for Jemima (daughter) and will follow this up - thanks.

Incidentally I need to amend what I said earlier about your daughter. If you don't get married she won't be eligible for section 3(5) registration, however she could be registered under section 3(1) of the Act instead (discretionary registration).

If you clarify whether you intend to get married anytime soon, then that will also clarify your daughter's pathway to British citizenship.

Re marriage, it's been the last thing on our minds as we bring up a severely disabled daughter, emmigrate and have a new son.. we consider ourselves married already. What's the fine print on this, if we got married tomorrow would the three year rule apply, and would it apply retrospectively (when we arived) or from the date of marriage ?

Spouses (legally married, or civil partners) of a British citizen may be naturalised after 3 years legal residence in the UK, provided that ILR is held on the day of application

- there is no minimum time to hold ILR (some spouses are eligible to naturalise immediately after ILR)
- it does not matter if ILR has been obtained as a spouse or some other way
- it does not matter how long the marriage has existed for
- it does not matter how long the spouse has been a British citizen

A person not married to a British citizen must have at least 5 years legal residence in the UK, including ILR for at least 12 months. Also a naturalisation applicant not married to a British citizen must normally intend to remain resident in the UK.

The mad thing about Cathy is she cant seem get any EU status - even though her mother was born in a german work camp of (Polish/Ukraninan descent) and her father was Dutch (emmigrated to Aust. on his fathers passport when he was four).

If your future is in Britain then a British passport makes much more sense than a Dutch or Polish one anyway.