Automatic british citizenship

[Shazzzzy72]

My daughter was born in the UK and her father had ILR at the time of her birth.How can I prove this if her father is not giving the information we need to apply for a passport and does it matter if we were not married

[CULLINAN]

You need father’s consent and his original ILR to apply for a British Passport for your child.

Do you have sole custody of your child?

[Shazzzzy72]

Yes she lives with me.dhe will be 22yrs old

[CULLINAN]

Yes she lives with me.dhe will be 22yrs old

Do you have any court orders to prove sole custody?

[Shazzzzy72]

He doesn't live in the UK
He was deported bk to the caribbean after serving a prison sentence in 2003

[Lopand]

Custody is irrelevant if the child is 22 and to my understanding, registration for children is only possible before they turn 18.

[CULLINAN]

Custody is irrelevant if the child is 22 and to my understanding, registration for children is only possible before they turn 18.

Child has to prove father’s consent to apply for British Passport otherwise. Child (now adult) is British by birth and applying for British Passport.

[secret.simon]

If the child is 22 years old, she is no longer a minor and can apply directly for a passport. However, she will need to prove that her father ILR at the time of her birth. So, from that point of view, she will need the father's co-operation at the very least, as she will need the ILR documentation from him.

An added twist is that as the parents were not married at the time of the child's birth and as the child was born before 2006, the child is not automatically a British citizen, but would need to register as a British citizen using Form UKF and with proof of the father's ILR status at the time of the child's birth. It can get more complicated if the mother was married to somebody else at the time of the child's birth.

to my understanding, registration for children is only possible before they turn 18.

True in most cases. However, if the child was born in the UK AND has proof that they resided in the UK for the first ten years of their lives, with absences of no more than 90 days in every year, they have a life-long entitlement to register as British citizens, using Form T. Be aware that the cost for that is about £1000.

The evidence that can be used is generally school records for when the child was in school, but evidence for the first 3-4 years is generally harder to source. Generally doctor records, etc, can be used as proof, but doctors and other organisations do not retain information for that long due to the Data Protection Act.

So, to sum up, either the child needs proof that the father had ILR at the time of her birth OR they need proof that they resided in the UK for the first ten years of their life (with the stated limited absences) and £1100 (for registration followed by passport).

So, back to the OP. What was the immigration status of the mother at the time of the child's birth? What was the mother's subsequent immigration status in the UK?

[CULLINAN]

Thanks for the useful information @secret.simon.

[1mic]

@secret.simon

(Mother’s marital status is irrelevant in these circumstances)

It is necessary to note that provisions concerning people born to fathers out of wedlock have created anomaly. A person born in these circumstances before 1 July 2006 was not a British citizen at birth but she,he, or they now have an entitlement to citizenship under s4G (form UKF). This is so whether or not the person’s mother was married to someone other than the person’s father.

However, someone born after that date in these circumstances will not acquire citizenship if the mother is married to someone else, who like the mother is not a British citizen or settled.

[secret.simon]

A person born in these circumstances before 1 July 2006 was not a British citizen at birth but she,he, or they now have an entitlement to citizenship under s4G (form UKF). This is so whether or not the person’s mother was married to someone other than the person’s father.

However, someone born after that date in these circumstances will not acquire citizenship if the mother is married to someone else, who like the mother is not a British citizen or settled.

That is not an impossible construction and a valid point. @vinny may be well placed to advise on it.

[vinny]

Yes. There is an anomaly. If mother was married to someone else, who was not British nor settled, and child was born from 1 July 2006, then there are complications. Registration under Section 3(1) is possible, but not registration under Section 4G, as 4E(a) fails. But 3(1) requires that the child is a minor at the time of registration.