British citizenship for self but not for child

Hi,

I am currently on ILR (and so are my wife and 3 year old son). I will be eligible for British citizenship next year. We intend to return to India to settle by end of 2014 due to family reasons however I want to keep my options open to come and settle in UK Just in case.

Also, i do not want to go to settle in India after taking British citizenship as that way our child will be treated in OCI category throughout his education which can pose educational restrictions and exorbitant fees (OCI category fees).

If me and my wife take British citizenship and OCI but do not register our son as British citizen as of now so that he remains Indian citizen (and with an option to become British citizen any time in future), will it work OR can it pose some issues for us in settling in India. In case we want to come back to UK, we can register our son as British citizen and then come to UK and settle here. I just wanted to check if this is a viable option or I am going to land up in some unknown issue with this approach.

Thanks in advance for your views on this.

Assuming the child was born in the UK, he could register anytime before 18 even from abroad.

This is a British citizenship section. For question related to other countries I suggest you use the "other countries" section of the forum.

Thanks for your response. yes, our son is born in UK.

I will post the question related to India in 'Other country' forum. Have another question related to British citizenship.

If we ever want to come to UK (even for a small trip) then do we need to apply for Visa (which one as me and my wife will be British citizen?) for our son OR the only option to bring our son with us in UK will be to register him as British citizen (which will defeat the purpose of not making him British citizen in the first place)

Depends on the purpose of the visit. It this is just a short visit, then a visitor visa should be applied for. If for settlement, then a settlement visa.

Thanks for the prompt response. Is there any official documentation on home office where i can verify the same i.e. non british child of british parents can get visitor/settlement visa? This is just for my satisfaction.

Thanks again.

child visitor visa (having a BC parent would probably ease the application but this is the same application as the one an Indian child to Indian parents would make).

child settlement visa

Thanks..

I am now finally going to apply for BC for me and my wife. Have decided that my son will remain on ILR for the time being...

Just to confirm..After we (me and my wife) take BC and then go to India for small holidays (2-3 weeks) then we should not face any issue while coming back to UK as

1. Me and Wife will be British Citizen AND
2. Our Son is already on ILR (settled)

Please can someone confirm that our Son's ILR status will not be impacted by us taking BC i.e there is no dependency on our Son's ILR on our visa/citizenship.

micky1579 wrote:Thanks..

I am now finally going to apply for BC for me and my wife. Have decided that my son will remain on ILR for the time being...

Just to confirm..After we (me and my wife) take BC and then go to India for small holidays (2-3 weeks) then we should not face any issue while coming back to UK as

1. Me and Wife will be British Citizen AND
2. Our Son is already on ILR (settled)

Please can someone confirm that our Son's ILR status will not be impacted by us taking BC i.e there is no dependency on our Son's ILR on our visa/citizenship.

ILR is an independent status. He is not linked to you.

Thanks. One more question:

If only one person (say me) takes BC and we go back permanently to India. After more than 2 years (when other person's ILR is no more valid) , if other person (say wife) wants to come to UK for few months (because of job need) then on what visa other person would be able to come? Does the person who has taken BC has to always accompany other person?

micky1579 wrote:Thanks. One more question:

If only one person (say me) takes BC and we go back permanently to India. After more than 2 years (when other person's ILR is no more valid) , if other person (say wife) wants to come to UK for few months (because of job need) then on what visa other person would be able to come? Does the person who has taken BC has to always accompany other person?

It would depend on the circumstances. If she need to move to the UK for several months to work, she can for example apply for Tier-2 (employer sponsored) visa. It doesn't need to be dependant on the BC.

Thanks. What i meant to ask was ..Can she come to UK based on the fact that I am having BC (without the need for me to come with her) and in that case which visa will she apply? I want to leverage the fact that I am BC and so she should be able to come to UK anytime without need for applying any other visa.. Hope it makes sense.

She won't be able to move to the UK to work being your dependant without you moving.

Hello...As per Indian constitution and "Indian citizenship act " which is still valid, the moment you loose indian citizenship, all your children will loose indian citizenship. Another point, is Indian citizen act, is still patriarchal, meaning, even if your wife choose to remain Indian citizen, when you loose Indian citizenship, your children will loose indian citizenship.

Snippet:

Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation. When the child reaches the age of eighteen, he has the right to resume Indian citizenship. The provisions for making a declaration of renunciation under Indian citizenship law require that the person making the declaration be "of full age and capacity".

Please be aware of this pitfall, before proceeding.

thanks

micky1579 wrote:Hi,

I am currently on ILR (and so are my wife and 3 year old son). I will be eligible for British citizenship next year. We intend to return to India to settle by end of 2014 due to family reasons however I want to keep my options open to come and settle in UK Just in case.

Also, i do not want to go to settle in India after taking British citizenship as that way our child will be treated in OCI category throughout his education which can pose educational restrictions and exorbitant fees (OCI category fees).

If me and my wife take British citizenship and OCI but do not register our son as British citizen as of now so that he remains Indian citizen (and with an option to become British citizen any time in future), will it work OR can it pose some issues for us in settling in India. In case we want to come back to UK, we can register our son as British citizen and then come to UK and settle here. I just wanted to check if this is a viable option or I am going to land up in some unknown issue with this approach.

Thanks in advance for your views on this.

I think, if one ILR holder stay a long time out of UK 2year or so, he might lose the ILR. I read somewhere, but not too sure..wait until a guru confirm..

micky1579 wrote:Hi,

I am currently on ILR (and so are my wife and 3 year old son). I will be eligible for British citizenship next year. We intend to return to India to settle by end of 2014 due to family reasons however I want to keep my options open to come and settle in UK Just in case.

Also, i do not want to go to settle in India after taking British citizenship as that way our child will be treated in OCI category throughout his education which can pose educational restrictions and exorbitant fees (OCI category fees).

If me and my wife take British citizenship and OCI but do not register our son as British citizen as of now so that he remains Indian citizen (and with an option to become British citizen any time in future), will it work OR can it pose some issues for us in settling in India. In case we want to come back to UK, we can register our son as British citizen and then come to UK and settle here. I just wanted to check if this is a viable option or I am going to land up in some unknown issue with this approach.

Thanks in advance for your views on this.