Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority · Ref No. F201700062
Citizenship
Children may be entitled to register as British citizens, or an application may be made on a discretionary basis.
Which applies depends on where the child was born, their parents' status and the child's residence.
Some children are British automatically and need no application at all: a child born in the UK to a parent who was British or settled at the time of birth is British from birth, and can simply apply for a passport.
Establishing this correctly saves a substantial fee and avoids an unnecessary application. It depends on the parents' status at the date of birth, which is a matter of evidence.
A child born in the UK who was not British at birth can normally be registered once a parent becomes British or settled, or once the child has lived in the UK for the first ten years of their life.
Children born outside the UK can be registered at discretion, most commonly where the whole family is settling in the UK. The Home Office considers the child's connections to the UK, the family's intentions and the child's best interests.
Both parents' consent is normally expected for a child's registration, and the position needs care where parents are separated or where there are court orders in place.
Good character applies from age ten, and a child aged ten or over will attend a citizenship ceremony after approval.
What is actually needed depends on your circumstances. We confirm the list with you before anything is prepared.
We start with your history, your relationships, your work and your time in the UK. The right route follows from the facts.
We explain which route fits, what it requires and what the realistic alternatives are if it does not.
We work out what the Home Office will expect, what you already have and what needs to be obtained.
We prepare the application, explain anything that needs explaining and advise on what happens after submission.
This page is general information about UK immigration and is not advice on your individual circumstances. Requirements, guidance and procedures change. Please obtain advice before relying on anything published here.
We will tell you how UKU can assist, and what the realistic options are.
