Girlfriends father holds a UK passport

Good Morning All,

This is my first time posting on here as I have been tasked with sorting this out.

So my Girlfriend is currently here on a student visa and has been for over 3 years from the United States, she informs me that as her father holds a UK passport and she has resided in the UK for 3 years she is now entitled to a British Passport. Could anyone please advise as to what process needs to be undertaken in order for her to receive a Passport?

Thank you in advance.

How did her father obtain his British citizenship and where was she born?

Casa wrote:How did her father obtain his British citizenship and where was she born?

I beleive he received it by descent and she was born in Florida, U.S.

Did her father at any time before or after her birth live in the UK for at least 3 years and would she have the documents to prove it?

Unfortunately, if she is 18 or over, then she may be too old for her entitlement to register.

vinny wrote:Unfortunately, if she is 18 or over, then she may be too old for her entitlement to register.

Of course yes, forgot about that aspect

Her father has never resided in the UK despite holding a British Passport and she is over 18.

I am assuming for Naturlisation she would have had to been here for 5 years?

...and have held ILR (permanent residence) for 12 months, unless married to a British citizen.

Have a read through Section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981, which your girlfriend may think applies to her.

She needs to have resided in the UK with the British citizen by descent parent for a period of three years and the application needs to have been logged while she was a minor. So, the only prospect is if she had moved to the UK with her British citizen parent before the age of 15 and stayed in the UK for the three years.

JDRows wrote:I am assuming for Naturlisation she would have had to been here for 5 years?

Years on a student visa do not count for Indefinite Leave to Remain (the precursor to naturalisation) except under the 10 years legal residency rule. After gaining ILR, it would be another year before naturalisation.

So, if she were to be counting on her student years to count towards acquiring British citizenship, she will have to wait for a further 7 years on a collection of visas and then a further year to naturalisation.

Very valid point by secret.simon regarding qualifying residence for BC. I overlooked the fact that she is currently here on a student visa.

I did forget to mention that if your girl-friend intends to work in the UK, the easiest way for her would be to apply for an Ancestry visa, which only requires proof that one of her grandparents was born in the UK (including Ireland till 1922). That is the easiest work visa to acquire as it has no earnings requirements.

After five years on the Ancestry visa (and working in the UK), your girl-friend could then apply for ILR , followed in a year by naturalisation.

secret.simon wrote:I did forget to mention that if your girl-friend intends to work in the UK, the easiest way for her would be to apply for an Ancestry visa, which only requires proof that one of her grandparents was born in the UK (including Ireland till 1922). That is the easiest work visa to acquire as it has no earnings requirements.

After five years on the Ancestry visa (and working in the UK), your girl-friend could then apply for ILR , followed in a year by naturalisation.

Ancestry visas are not available to US citizens. It is only available to Commonwealth citizens.

CR001 wrote:Ancestry visas are not available to US citizens. It is only available to Commonwealth citizens.

Thanks for catching that, CR001. I forgot that requirement.

secret.simon wrote:

CR001 wrote:Ancestry visas are not available to US citizens. It is only available to Commonwealth citizens.

Thanks for catching that, CR001. I forgot that requirement.

It's the heat

Perhaps there is a chance that she is a dual Canadian/US citizen.

Long residence under student leave may be difficult due to the study caps. She may have to switch to a different category first.

Of course if the OP and his girlfriend have been living together for 2 years with documentary evidence to prove it, the girlfriend could apply for an unmarried partner visa, provided they meet all the requirements.

JDRows wrote:she informs me that as her father holds a UK passport and she has resided in the UK for 3 years she is now entitled to a British Passport.

What makes her think that? Only British citizens can apply for a British citizen passport. My mother was a British citizen from birth and I lived in the UK with her for 25 years and was never "entitled" to a British passport until I naturalised

Section 3(5) registration is only available to those under 18 unfortunately. I would have jumped at the chance otherwise but I'm a bit late!