Fees for Section 4F Registration using form UKF

[HCJNL]

My daughter, born in The Netherlands in 1992, would have qualified for registration under Section 3(2) if I, a British Citizen by descent, had been married to her mother at the time. She is a Belgian citizen via her mother, resident in Belgium. She has never lived in the UK.

I married her mother in The Netherlands in 1996. We divorced in The Netherlands in 2009.

My daughter is now 32 years old. Is registration under section 4F possible?

[HCJNL]

The Fees for UKF Citizenship applications appear on the the government website
UKM, UKF, BOTC(F), BOTC(M) Section 4C, 4G, 4H, 4I registration (ceremony fee only) £130
But these fees do not mention Section 4F registrations
My daughter wishes to use UKF for a Section 4F registration. She was unable to be registered, at birth, under Section 3(2) because her parents were unmarried.

QUESTION: Is the fee for a Section 4F registration also £130 pounds?

[secret.simon]

She will likely not qualify for registration under Section 4F.

(Page 11)
Registration under section 4F
The Law
A person qualifies for registration under section 4F if:
• their mother was not married to the natural father at the time of their birth
• they have never been a British citizen
• their parents had married, they would qualify for registration under:
o section 1(3)
o section 3(2)
o section 3(5)
o paragraph 4 of Schedule 2
o paragraph 5 of Schedule 2
• they would have qualified under section 3(5) - the consent of the natural father and mother must normally be provided (this can be waived in
exceptional circumstances, subject to SCW approval, general guidance on consent can be found in the guidance on registration as British citizens: children)
• they would have qualified under section 1(3), 3(2) or 3(5) and they are of good character if over the age of 10

They must meet the requirements for registration on the date of application apart from the requirements relating to a ‘father’ or ‘parent’. This means, for example, that a person seeking to rely on an entitlement to registration under section 1(3), 3(2) or 3(5) would need to be under 18 on the date of application. This provision does not apply to those who could have registered in the past but no longer qualify.

Evidence to be supplied
You must see the following evidence:
• documents to establish a registration entitlement – see the guidance on registration as British citizen: children

But, as she was born in 1992 and her biological mother and you did marry in 1996, there may be another possibility.

Section 47 of the BNA 1981 may possibly apply to your daughter. It was repealed in July 2006, but presumably applied to your daughter automatically before then.

47 Legitimated children

(1)A person born out of wedlock and legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his parents shall, as from the date of the marriage, be treated for the purposes of this Act as if he had been born legitimate.
(2)A person shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have been legitimated by the subsequent marriage of his parents if by the law of the place in which his father was domiciled at the time of the marriage the marriage operated immediately or subsequently to legitimate him, and not otherwise.

You may need to find out the laws of legitimacy in the Netherlands and Belgium and whether your daughter was retrospectively or prospectively legitimised by your marriage, and documentary proof of such legitimacy.

[HCJNL]

Thank you secret.simon

It's not entirely clear to me. I have read the following (courtesy of xxxxxxx Solicitors)

British citizenship through unmarried fathers to commence on 6 April 2015.
Section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014 – Children of British Citizen Fathers The Immigration Act 2014 received royal assent on 14 May 2014. Section 65 of that Act will be commenced on 6 April 2015.
Section 65 will insert new registration provisions (sections 4E to 4J) into the British Nationality Act 1981 for persons born before 1 July 2006.
..
Background Information:
Before 1 July 2006 a child could only obtain citizenship through his or her father if the parents were married. The law changed on 1 July 2006 to allow a person to acquire citizenship through his or her father, irrespective of whether the parents were married, subject to proof of paternity. That change was not made retrospective. The new provisions will create a registration route for those born before 1 July 2006 who would have become British citizens had their parents been married.

To sum up:
2006 Law changed in favour of unmarried fathers
2015 Change was made retrospective

[HCJNL]

Xxxxxx LLP writes the following (my emphasis added)

Section 65 of the IA 2014 will insert new sections 4E to 4J into the BNA 1981 *so that persons over 18* born before 1 July 2006 to unmarried British fathers will now be able to register as British citizens.

[secret.simon]

My interpretation is that the situation is much more nuanced than that. Also note that the interpretation that I gave above is not mine, but that of the Home Office, whose caseworkers would follow that interpretation.

My interpretation of the the purpose of the amendments in 2015 (Section 4E to 4J of the BNA 1981) is that it was to put the applicant in the same position as if their parents were married. So the children of an unmarried British citizen otherwise than by descent father would have a lifelong ability to register as a British citizen. After such registration, they would become a British citizen by descent, just as they would have been if their parents were married.

Your situation is different. You yourself are a British citizen by descent and would have been unable to automatically pass on your British citizenship to children born to you outside the UK, even if you were married to the mother of the child at the time. And that makes all the difference.

The Home Office's interpretation, and one that I agree with, is that your daughter would be in the same position as if her parents were married. She would have been able to register as a British citizen before the age of 18 under Section 3(2) and Section (4F). But that does not confer a lifelong ability to register. Essentially, as the Home Office interpretation states, it only relaxes one specific requirement of Section 3(2); that the parents were married at the time of the birth of the child. The other requirements for registration under Section 3(2) remain in place.

Note that there is a newer Section 4L of the BNA 1981, which allows adult applicants to register as a British citizen, due to either "historic legislative unfairness" or "exceptional circumstances". I have been unable to find any guidance on what those overtly broad categories mean, but others on these forums have reported success in registering under these categories. You could give that category a go, but obviously, your daughter would have to give a justification as to why she qualifies for either of the two categories above.

[HCJNL]

Thanks secret.simon
Section 4L does indeed look promising. It feels historically unjust that people born before May 1997, who would have qualified under Section 3(2) if the parents had been married, are not given any relief by Section 65 of the IA 2014 (entered into force in May 2015)

[HCJNL]

I understand the caseworker interpretation you kindly provided. But I do not understand their interpretation of the law.

Section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014 makes no reference to being under 18. It only refers to people being born before 1 July 2006.

For the purposes of sections 4F to 4I, a person (“P”) meets the general conditions if—
(a)P was born before 1 July 2006;
(b)at the time of P's birth, P's mother—
(i)was not married, or
(ii)was married to a person other than P's natural father;
(c)no person is treated as the father of P under section 28 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and
(d)P has never been a British citizen.

4F Person unable to be registered under other provisions of this Act
(1)A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an application made under this section if—
(a)P meets the general conditions; and
(b)P would be entitled to be registered as a British citizen under—
(i)section 1(3),
(ii)section 3(2),
(iii)section 3(5),
(iv)paragraph 4 of Schedule 2, or
(v)paragraph 5 of Schedule 2,had P's mother been married to P's natural father at the time of P's birth.

...

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/65

[contorted_svy]

4F Person unable to be registered under other provisions of this Act
(1)A person (“P”) is entitled to be registered as a British citizen on an application made under this section if—
(a)P meets the general conditions; and
(b)P would be entitled to be registered as a British citizen under—
(i)section 1(3),
(ii)section 3(2),
(iii)section 3(5),
(iv)paragraph 4 of Schedule 2, or
(v)paragraph 5 of Schedule 2,had P's mother been married to P's natural father at the time of P's birth.

Your daughter would not be entitled to be registered as she is over 18, which would be required for the sections you would like to rely on.

[HCJNL]

Thanks contorted_svy. Not good news for me, but it is what it is.
The Section 4L suggestion, made by secret.simon, seems my daughters' best chance.

[HCJNL]

I would be very grateful for opinions concerning the following.

I have indeed been informed that a section 4L application has a good chance of being successful.
But I am worried about the consequences of my marriage, in The Netherlands, to the mother in 1997.
If that marriage had legitimated my children, for UK nationality purposes, then that would have opened up a path to registration under 3(2). A path I did not take.

The consequence of this may be that I am no longer be able to argue that my registration to 3(2) was blocked because of an historical anomaly.

Dutch law states that the act of marriage did not automatically legitimate the children in 1996. I had to erkennen (recognize) the children after the marriage, as a separate legal act. And this is something I did, shortly after the marriage in 1996. And this allowed me to have the children's birth certificates updated with my name appearing as the father. On the original birth certificate the father's name was blank, because the mother and I were not registered or in a registered partnership.

Do you think this subsequent marriage and recognition will rule out my 4L application?

If the fees were low then I would be inclined to apply and see what happens. But it is a lot of money to lose, simply because a lack of knowledge of UK law.

[contorted_svy]

If I am correct, fees for this class of application are quite low if not zero. Unless you inted to use a solicitor, the financial risk to you is minimal.

[HCJNL]

Thank you for your answer. And that's very encouraging! I see indeed that all Section 4L Form ARD applications require the citizenship ceremony fee only. Reimbursable if the application is refused. So there is nothing to lose.

My oldest daughter now has settled status in the UK and qualifies for naturalisation, in the normal way, with the associated high fees. She is happy to accept becoming a citizen by descent, as opposed to otherwise by descent, if she can be registered at very low cost.

I have two more questions:

Is she still entitled to register under 4L, even if another citizenship pathway is open to her?

Will she still be able to apply for naturalisation if her Section 4L application fails?

[contorted_svy]

She can apply by whatever route she wants. A refusal under a route (unless it brought to light some serious offence) wouldn't affect her application under.another route later on.

[HCJNL]

Unfortunately I think I will have to pay the 'normal' registration fee.
Looking at Form ARD I read
1.4 (a) Would you have been able to become a British citizen through registration or
naturalisation, but for historical legislative unfairness, an act or omission by a public body or
because you have exceptional circumstances, that prevented you becoming a British citizen?
The ‘Historical legislative unfairness’, ‘Act or omission of a public authority’ and
‘Exceptional circumstances’ sections of ARD Guide provide more information: www.gov.
uk/government/publications/application-for-registration-as-a-british-citizen-form-ard
Yes - you will need to pay a fee to register - see fees for citizenship applications: www.
gov.uk/government/publications/fees-for-citizenship-application