Citizenship for soon to be 18 year old

Hello!

On similar topic - I am a mother of soon-to-be-18yold son (both EU citizens). We both have settled status, so far he has been my dependant all these years, but after he turns 18, next Sep he starts Uni and will apply for citizenship at some point.

Are there any disadvantages/challenges when applying for citizenship as an adult if you just turned 18?
According to regulations once he enters Uni if he moves out he will need his own CSI (if he lives with me, he is covered by my employer's private insurance). Are there any pitfalls to be aware of? Or is he likely to face no pushback/rejection?

Thanks!

lana_london wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:34 pm

Hello!

On similar topic - I am a mother of soon-to-be-18yold son (both EU citizens). We both have settled status, so far he has been my dependant all these years, but after he turns 18, next Sep he starts Uni and will apply for citizenship at some point.

Are there any disadvantages/challenges when applying for citizenship as an adult if you just turned 18?
According to regulations once he enters Uni if he moves out he will need his own CSI (if he lives with me, he is covered by my employer's private insurance). Are there any pitfalls to be aware of? Or is he likely to face no pushback/rejection?

Thanks!

Which regulations are you referring to?
CSI is not required for obtaining or holding Settled Status.

If he applies with you, and he is less then 18 on the day of application, then
- it is cheaper
- he will not need to pass english test and life in UK test

But once he has settled status there is no future CSI requirement for him or you (or any other requirement on working, being dependant, having health insurance etc. - except usual residency requirements.)
However, since he obtained settled status as your dependant, once he applies for citizenship he will need to prove that you were in UK legally for 5 years before getting settled status - i.e. that you had CSI (he was never required to have it!)

Understood, thank you!

I understand that it is cheaper to apply together, my issue is that I will lose my original citizenship (EU one!) automatically if I get a UK one, so I am not too eager to apply myself. With my son the situation is different, so he can go for it.

I have no problems proving 5yrs of CSI before being settled as I was employed with insurance as part of the benefits package the whole time. I presume "he will need to prove that I was legally here" means that he will need to supply documents with my name on it as part of his application, right?

Thank you for clarifications!

Yes, if he applies based on settled status as a dependent member of EU citizen, he will have to prove that that citizen (you) was in UK "lawfully" for 5 years before getting settled status.
If you were worker for those 5 years then you do not need any insurance (this only applies to students and self-sufficient people) - just your P60 for 5 years are enough.

Potentially one can apply for child registration without either parent being (or applying to be) UK citizen - but I am not sure what are odds of success.
My understanding is that registration application for a child is always an application "by discretion"..

See here (from page 27):

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 6.0ext.pdf

It will rarely be right to register a child neither of whose parents is or is about to become a British citizen. However, each case must be considered on its individual merits and there may be exceptional circumstances to justify registration in a particular case such as:
• older children (16 and above) who have spent most of their life in the UK or children who require citizenship to follow a particular career such as in the Armed Forces
• the child’s future clearly lies in the UK
• the person making the application has day-to-day responsibility for the child’s
upbringing and is, or is about to become, a British citizen
Any section 3(1) application where we are proposing to refuse an older teenager who has spent most of their life in the UK (at least 10 years) must be signed off by DCCW. This applies in all cases, including where neither of the child’s parents is a British citizen or settled in the UK. An older teenager should be considered to be at least 16 years old at the date of consideration.

obormot wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 12, 2021 1:55 pm

My understanding is that registration application for a child is always an application "by discretion"..

That is true for children born abroad to parents neither of whom were British citizens at the time of the birth of the child.

Children born in the UK or born abroad to at least one British citizen by descent parent have an entitlement to register as British citizens if specific conditions are met.

obormot wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:03 pm

an older teenager who has spent most of their life in the UK (at least 10 years)

The OP has not given any indication that the child has spent at least 10 years in the UK.

I just said that there MIGHT be an option to apply for minor's registration even when neither parent is UK citizen or applying for naturalisation. But whether OP circumstances warrant such application is for them to figure out. In particular, it seems they might rely on the line
"the child’s future clearly lies in the UK"

And here it seems we do have a case of a child born abroad to non-UK citizens parents, so I was writing about that case only.

Thank you for detailed answers! And apologies for delay.

My son has NOT yet spent 10 years in the UK and he was not born here either, neither of the parents are British citizens and second parent is not living in this country at all.

> My understanding is that registration application for a child is always an application "by discretion"..
Yes, actually my understanding of the law is also that even if we apply together there is a slight chance that I am given it and he is not, in which case it's the worst case since I do not actually need it and will lose my original one.

> if he applies based on settled status as a dependent member of EU citizen, he will have to prove that that citizen (you) was in UK "lawfully" for 5 years before getting settled status.

Here do you mean the case when he applies after becoming 18, as an *adult* dependant (dependant because he is still living with me and in full time education?)?

Thank you once again for detailed answers!

He will not apply as "dependant", but as an independent adult on his own right.

But he needs to show that he was in UK lawfully for 5 years.
Since during those 5 years his lawful status wad derived from you (he was your dependant), it will mean he has to prove that you were in UK lawfully for 5 years.
Since you worked, your five annual P60 would be enough for that (as worker you, or indeed him, do not need any proof of health insurance) + I guess proof of relationship (birth certificate)

In addition, he will have to proof physical residence in UK during those 5 years (5 years counting back from just before applying)
A letter from his secondary school stating that he was enrolled there for those yours might be enough