# UK citizenship for my daughter



## Econogirl (Jun 14, 2011)

Thanks in advance for your help.

When my daughter was born, 19 years ago, in Toronto Canada my then husband and I tried to have her birth registered with the British consulate. They denied her that on the basis that even though her father had lived his whole life in the UK he was actually born in Tokyo Japan. His father was working for British Airways at the time and even though her father was born over seas he was issued a British birth certificate at his birth.

I understand that they recently revised the laws on these types of situations but the new laws only apply to children under the age of 18. It seems that by very bad luck we have lost out on this.

I am, however, tempted to apply for a British passport for her to see if there is any chance they will issue one. Both her parents are citizens of the UK (although I also was born outside of the country) and three of her four grandparents were British born.

Does any one have any idea if this will work or not?

Thanks,

Marina


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Econogirl said:


> Thanks in advance for your help.
> 
> When my daughter was born, 19 years ago, in Toronto Canada my then husband and I tried to have her birth registered with the British consulate. They denied her that on the basis that even though her father had lived his whole life in the UK he was actually born in Tokyo Japan. His father was working for British Airways at the time and even though her father was born over seas he was issued a British birth certificate at his birth.
> 
> ...


Probably not, for the following reasons:

Your daughter was born in 1992 in Canada to parents who were both British citizens by descent and were married to each other. Under the British Nationality Act of 1982, she isn't eligible for British citizenship. 

The only exception is if one of the parents was in certain categories of work:

_You are a British citizen otherwise than by descent if at the time of your birth one of your parents was a British citizen in Crown service, *designated service*, or service of a European Community institution and he/she was recruited to that service:

in the United Kingdom;
in the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory (if you were born on or after 21 May 2002); or
in the European Community (for service with a European Community institution)._
UK Border Agency | If you were born outside the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory

'Designated service' is defined in detail in Annex A: UK Border Agency | Chapter 4: Automatic acquisition by birth
Working for British Airways, or any commercial company, isn't included.

Your daughter could have registered as British before she was 18. See
UK Border Agency | Children born abroad to parents who are British by descent and who have lived in the United Kingdom in the past
So you've missed the boat - a great pity.

So it looks like the only way to gain British nationality is through naturalisation. She needs to live in UK for 5 years, and the last 12 months before application she has to be settled with indefinite leave to remain (ILR; or 3 years when married to a British citizen and on ILR on the day she applies). Because she has British grandparents and a Canadian (i.e. Commonwealth citizen), she is eligible for 5-year ancestry visa, and can apply for naturalisation after 6 years, or if she has meanwhile married to a British citizen, two years after her marriage if she changes her visa to further leave to remain as spouse, provided she has lived in total for 3 years (but rules are probably changing soon and will in future require 5 years of residence).


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## Econogirl (Jun 14, 2011)

I spoke the Vice-consul at the British Consulate here in Paris about this week and she felt that we still had a chance given that we did apply before her 18th. birthday, in fact we applied several times since she was born. Every time the application was rejected. It seems very unfair that simply because we didn't know the laws was about to change (it changed 2 months before she turned 18) that she loses out. 

I think, what we really need is a lawyer to sort this out for us. After all it won't be that much more expensive than having to go through the whole immigration process after living in the country for five years on an ancestry visa.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Econogirl said:


> I spoke the Vice-consul at the British Consulate here in Paris about this week and she felt that we still had a chance given that we did apply before her 18th. birthday, in fact we applied several times since she was born. Every time the application was rejected. It seems very unfair that simply because we didn't know the laws was about to change (it changed 2 months before she turned 18) that she loses out.
> 
> I think, what we really need is a lawyer to sort this out for us. After all it won't be that much more expensive than having to go through the whole immigration process after living in the country for five years on an ancestry visa.


Yes, they can and do sometimes grant British nationality through registration for compassionate reasons, but the Home Secretary (usually one of the senior civil servants) has to authorise it. I don't think you need an immigration lawyer, but you need to describe her circumtances in detail and state why she should be granted discretionary registration.

Also read http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/children/britishcitizen/othercases/.

One of the advantages of naturalisation, in spite of greater costs and time required, is that she will get British citizenship otherwise than by descent, meaning she will be able to pass on her nationality to children born anywhere in the world.

Yes, the law was changed through clause 43, Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, effective from 13 January 2010, when the age limit for child registration under her circumstances was raised from 12 months to 18 years.


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## Econogirl (Jun 14, 2011)

Do you know how I would go about doing that? For example who I should contact?

One other note, I did try to register her before she was 12 months old. In fact I personally took her to the British consulate within weeks of her birth to make sure it was taken care of. It was particularly important to us at the time since we had only just moved from the UK to Canada just before we had her and didn't know if we would be moving back or not. We were told there that she could not be registered because her father was born in Japan, even though he had spent the last 32 years in the UK>


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Econogirl said:


> Do you know how I would go about doing that? For example who I should contact?
> 
> One other note, I did try to register her before she was 12 months old. In fact I personally took her to the British consulate within weeks of her birth to make sure it was taken care of. It was particularly important to us at the time since we had only just moved from the UK to Canada just before we had her and didn't know if we would be moving back or not. We were told there that she could not be registered because her father was born in Japan, even though he had spent the last 32 years in the UK>


I'm puzzled by your experience. In 1992/3, you could have registered your child as British citizen under section 3(2) of British Nationality Act 1982 because of your then husband's long residence in UK:

_Section 3(2) Registration 
The child can be registered as a British citizen if: 

a parent is a British citizen by descent at the time of the child's birth; and 
the child has a grandparent who was a British citizen otherwise than by descent when the parent was born. (this effectively limits this kind of registration to the second generation born overseas); and 
*the British parent has lived in the United Kingdom or a British Overseas Territory for a period of 3 years in which absences do not exceed 270 days*, (this does not apply if the child has no other nationality at birth); and 
application is made while he is a minor (under no circumstances can this be extended)._

Perhaps you tried to register her birth at British consulate (i.e. in order to get British birth certificate), which of course wasn't allowed because she wasn't automatically British. Did you specifically ask to register her under section 3(2)?

As I said, try to register her under 3(2), even though she is now 18+, detailing all her circumstances and asking for discretionary registration.


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## Econogirl (Jun 14, 2011)

The British consul was also puzzled as to why we had this problem in 1992.

Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it. I just have one more question. Am I correct in thinking that by "register her under 3(2)" you mean submit a passport application for her? There is spare page on the application (Section 7) that gives me space to detail her circumstances. 

Thank you again.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Econogirl said:


> The British consul was also puzzled as to why we had this problem in 1992.
> 
> Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it. I just have one more question. Am I correct in thinking that by "register her under 3(2)" you mean submit a passport application for her? There is spare page on the application (Section 7) that gives me space to detail her circumstances.


No, to register means completing application form MN1 with a covering letter that you are applying for someone aged 19 and asking for discretionary registration.
All applications are sent to Liverpool for processing, and current wait time is between 4 and 6 months. I don't think you need to pay any fees, but you should check it.
UK Border Agency | How do I register a child aged under 18 as a British citizen?
Dowload Form MN1 and Guide MNI.

They do state that there is no consideration given for someone who has already reached 18. Also the fact that she has no personal connection with UK through residence will be a negative factor.


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## Econogirl (Jun 14, 2011)

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.


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