M.Ham wrote:Hi guys,
This is my first time here, so please excuse me if I break any of your protocols.
I'm a Tier 1(General) migrant who holds a UKBA travel document for stateless persons. So I have an official recognition from the Home Office that I'm stateless. I'm applying for the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in August 2014. My wife (also stateless) is due to give birth in April. My questions:
- Is there away to get the British nationality for my child?
Yes. After you get ILR, you will be able to register the child for British citizenship under 1(3). I'm saying this under the assumption that the child will be born in the UK.
M.Ham wrote:
- If I do some sort of application for the child and they do not reply until after August, should I apply for the baby as well to the ILR?
Do you need to travel? If not, then there is no need to apply for any leave for the child.
M.Ham wrote:
- Can I not register my child until I obtain the ILR? This means leaving the child unregistered for 4 to 5 months!
Is that important for you? If the child is born in the UK, and both parents are stateless, then presumably the child could get UKBA stateless travel documents as well if needed. But if you don't need to travel, there is no need even for that. I can understand you perhaps not wanting the child to be stateless for even one minute of their life for emotional reasons. But from a practical perspective, there doesn't seem to be any need if the child will be born in the UK. From my own personal experience, we have only just now applied for my daughter's British registration despite her having qualified under 1(3) for almost 4 years. And we are only really doing it now for emotional reasons (well... she was born here afterall, and has lived here all of her short life... so...), as well as potential future reasons for her own personal life (maybe she will want to move to other parts of Europe some day?). Otherwise, if you can get travel documents, and are otherwise settled here (a child born in the UK does not require a visa unless they leave the UK and need to return), is 4 to 5 months a problem?
M.Ham wrote:
- Or should I play it safe and apply for here as a dependent?
It depends on what you mean by 'safe'. If the child is born in the UK, the child cannot be found to be in violation of any immigration rules that I can think of. However they also have no legal status with regards to any need to return to the UK should they have to leave. Once they get a valid visa, sure they can return to the UK under the guidelines of the visa, but now they can also potentially be classed as an overstayer,
even if they've never the left the country.
