Citizenship by descent and child born in Uk

[Pitujones]

Hello

I was born in Spain in 1979, to a British father (born in the UK) and a Spanish mother.

I've been living in the UK since 2012 and have a little girl who was born here in 2012.

Can I ask for our passports directly or do I need to use UKF for me and MN1 for her?

Thank you so much for your help !!

[JAJ]

Presumably- you've never been issued with a British passport before.

Were your parents married?
What's the citizenship/immigration status of the child's other parent?

[Pitujones]

Sorry I forgot to say, The weren't married when I was born, but married years later. That seems to be the issue isn't it? It's easier when they are married

My husband is Spanish and have been living in the UK since 2012

[Richard W]

Sorry I forgot to say, The weren't married when I was born, but married years later. That seems to be the issue isn't it? It's easier when they are married

There are two issues here. Firstly, what is the history of your father's domicile? That will determine whether your legitimation would depend on the law of England, Scotland or Spain. If your parents were not married to anyone else when you were born, I would expect their subsequent marriage before your daughter was born, even as late as 2011, to have legitimated you, in which case, you and your child would already be British, so should simply apply for passports. Don't be surprised if you receive a questionnaire to determine your father's domicile.

[JAJ]

Sorry I forgot to say, The weren't married when I was born, but married years later. That seems to be the issue isn't it? It's easier when they are married

As someone else has noted, whether or not you became British (by descent) on marriage of your parents depends on the domicile of your father. It's unusual for someone with a U.K. origin to lose a British domicile- and in that case you would have become British when your parents married- however it is possible you or your father may be asked questions regarding domicile. If there are likely to be any issues obtaining this it may be better to bypass the Passport Office and apply for a Nationality Status Certificate using form NS:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... us-form-ns

If this was refused, then you would need to apply for British citizenship using form UKF, and subsequently a form MN1 application for your child.

Have you looked into what impact (if any) obtaining British citizenship and/or a British passport will have for your Spanish citizenship?

In addition- you may want to seek advice as to the impact on your spouses's immigration status in the United Kingdom if you claim British citizenship or become British, if he or she was admitted under the EEA regulations. In particular, you may wish to ensure that he or she has documented Permanent Resident status- or better still, British citizenship- before claiming your own British citizenship.

[Pitujones]

My father lived in Spain and then in the UK after they separated.

My husband is Spanish so he is in the UK as a EU citizen, we will ask for AN for him as he will make 5 years this year.

For my Spanish citizenship I can maintain if I send an application to the consulate, but even if I had to lose it it will be ok as my life is the UK.