Spouse ILR & Children's MN1 Citizenship

I would like to request a guidance regarding my family's immigration situation. Here is a brief summary:

My background: I am a British citizen by naturalisation, having come to the UK on a work visa and completed ILR and naturalisation after 10 years.

My wife: Currently on FLR(M), valid to June 2027. She completes 10 years on 12 September 2026 and will apply for ILR via SET(M) from 15 August 2026.

My two sons: Both born outside the UK, born before my naturalisation. Currently on FLR(M) dependant visas as well they complete 10yrs lawful stay by September 2026. Child 1 is 16 years old, Child 2 is 10 years old.

Key questions I need your opinion on:

Can my sons apply directly for British citizenship via MN1 (Section 3(1), British Nationality Act 1981) without needing ILR first, given that I am already a British citizen by naturalisation and their mother will have ILR?

Topic moved to British Citizenship form - citizenship is not an immigration application!

Your question sounds familiar ...

Pls refer to this thread, which answers: viewtopic.php?t=360077#p2209113

Thank you — my sons will complete 10 years residence by September 2026. Additionally, their father is already a British citizen by naturalisation and their mother will have ILR by late 2026. Does this mean they qualify MN1 registration under both the 10-year residence route AND the 'children applying in line with parents' route under Section 3(1)?

Prabhagar wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 29, 2026 9:40 pm

Does this mean they qualify MN1 registration under both the 10-year residence route AND the 'children applying in line with parents' route under Section 3(1)?

That is not how I would read it. The 'children applying in line with parents' route expects both the children and the second parent to also have ILR.

The 10 years of legal residence for both the children and the the parents option does not expect the children to have ILR, but does expect 10 years of legal residence for the children and both parents.

And both these options are under Section 3(1), which gives the SSHD (the Secretary of State for the Home Department/the Home Secretary) the power/discretion to set the requirements/expectations for registrations of minors as they (the SSHD) see fit.