Does the child require ILR to apply for British citizenship(registration)

Hi all, Request your valuable input here, looking for an option to save some money if possible.

I came to this country (Tier 1 General) on August 2009 and got ILR on August 2015 . Though my dependants came to this country with me on 2009 , they had a break in between and hence re-joined me in 2014 July in a new Tier 1 dependant visa (5 year route) . Due to a short of few months to achieve 5 years they had to extend their Tier 1 dependant visa in 2019 (visa expired in 2019 Feb, but ILR eligibility achieved only in 2019 July) . Their current visa runs until Feb 2022.

My question is , If I take British citizenship now, can I apply for my son's (Born outside UK) registration straightaway (after receiving my naturalisation certificate) , he has more than 5 years continuance residency here now , however not taken ILR yet. (this will save me 2.5k from the ILR fee for him)

Or do I need to first apply for his ILR regardless of my status. Which means I need to pay 2.5k + charges for his ILR and then apply for registration after an year ...

I hope I've provided all needed details for you to advise what my options are (if any) .

Many thanks
Bipin

There is one possible way I think - If both mother & father hold ILR and one of them become a british citizen, then you can apply for the child citizenship application without having ILR for the child. (Just my opinion, but seek more advice on this)

But it's always recommended that child born outside UK to have ILR to be on safer side.

Or do I need to first apply for his ILR regardless of my status. Which means I need to pay 2.5k + charges for his ILR and then apply for registration after an year ...

Your child born abroad needs ilr first. There is no shortcut route for children born abroad to non ILR/British parents.

Children born abroad are expected to have ILR before registration, unless there are "strong compelling compassionate circumstances" to register without ILR.

Registration of children as British citizens caseworker guidance wrote: (Pages 30-31)
As a general principle, the expectation is that there should be a staged approach to permanent residence and citizenship. This means that the child will first achieve one of the following before being considered for British citizenship:
• indefinite leave (IL)
• permanent residence under the European Economic Area (EEA) regulations

Given this you should normally only register a child under section 3(1) who has not been granted IL or permanent residence where there are strong compelling compassionate circumstances to do so. British citizenship does not give a minor any additional benefits that cannot be obtained through IL and therefore representations on the basis of issues such as access to education are unlikely to be sufficient to justify the exercise of discretion.

As an aside, what is the UK immigration status of the other parent? Children born abroad can register as a british citizen when at least one parent is, or is applying to become, a British citizen and the child and the other parent both have ILR.

We have recently had a case on these forums where the parents applied for the child's registration without ILR. One parent was a British citizen and the other parent was on ILR, but the child themselves did not have ILR. The application was refused (and the fees lost). Thus the family had to fork out for two registration applications and an ILR application for the child.

Thanks all, based on your input , I see no option here but pay for ILR.

Didn't know my British citizenship won't entitle my son to apply for citizenship if he is born abroad.

bips wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:12 pm

Didn't know my British citizenship won't entitle my son to apply for citizenship if he is born abroad.

There is no entitlement to British citizenship for people born outside the UK except in certain very limited cases, when at least one parent is a British citizen at the time of the person's birth.

If you had a child born abroad after your naturalisation, those children born abroad would be British citizens by descent automatically. But they would not be able to automatically pass on their British citizenship to their own children (your grandchildren) if those children (your grandchildren) are born abroad.