Advice required re child with Canadian citizenship

[okeydokey]

Hi! I work with vulnerable families and, unfortunately, it's proving nigh on impossible to get advice or even get through to places like the CAB. Thought I should give this a shot.

Basically, and without disclosing details that could identify the family I am working with, mum was born in Pakistan when her Pakistani born/ British citizern parents were temporarily back in their original country. She was then rasised here and is a British citizen. She married, and had a daughter whilst visiting Canada. Daughter has Canadian citizenship as dad is Canadian. She spent first 5 years in Canada but has subsequently been raised in the UK.

What would she have to do to get a British passport? Also, are there any organisations who provide funding for passport applications?

Thanks in advance.

[alterhase58]

On the face of it the child is a British citizen and could apply directly to HMPO for a British passport.
Thought experts here may ask more questions as British nationality laws are not straightforward.
Are you suggesting the child is not British? What is child's UK immigration status?
Passport fees itself are under £100 so why is support needed? Not aware of organisations providing financial support for these cases.

[CR001]

On the face of it the child is a British citizen and could apply directly to HMPO for a British passport.
Thought experts here may ask more questions as British nationality laws are not straightforward.
Are you suggesting the child is not British? What is child's UK immigration status?
Passport fees itself are under £100 so why is support needed? Not aware of organisations providing financial support for these cases.

The mother was born abroad to British parents, so would British by descent and therefore cannot pass citizenship on to a child born abroad,so the child would not be British at all.

There are no exemptions for registration or passport fees.

[secret.simon]

mum was born in Pakistan

Was either of the mother's parents already naturalised or registered as a British citizen at the time of the mother's birth?

If yes, then the mother is a British citizen by descent and so cannot pass British citizenship to her Canadian born daughter automatically.

As the mother has lived for more than three consecutive years in the UK, the daughter can be registered as a British citizen on Form MN1, under Section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

The documents needed will be
(a) the mother's birth certificate,
(b) her (the mother's) parents' marriage certificate,
(c) the registration or naturalisation certificate of either parent of the mother (preceding the date of birth of the mother),
(d) proof of the mother having resided in the UK for three continuous years before the birth of the daughter (that can vary. Salary slips/P60s, self-employment accounts, any correspondence with government departments - benefit statements, etc)
(e) the daughter's birth certificate.

On the face of it the child is a British citizen

How on earth did you reach that conclusion? It is always worth remembering that not all British citizens can pass on their British citizenship to children born abroad.

EDIT: Overtaken by CR001's much more concise response.

[okeydokey]

mum was born in Pakistan

Was either of the mother's parents already naturalised or registered as a British citizen at the time of the mother's birth?

If yes, then the mother is a British citizen by descent and so cannot pass British citizenship to her Canadian born daughter automatically.

As the mother has lived for more than three consecutive years in the UK, the daughter can be registered as a British citizen on Form MN1, under Section 3(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

The documents needed will be
(a) the mother's birth certificate,
(b) her (the mother's) parents' marriage certificate,
(c) the registration or naturalisation certificate of either parent of the mother (preceding the date of birth of the mother),
(d) proof of the mother having resided in the UK for three continuous years before the birth of the daughter (that can vary. Salary slips/P60s, self-employment accounts, any correspondence with government departments - benefit statements, etc)
(e) the daughter's birth certificate.

On the face of it the child is a British citizen

How on earth did you reach that conclusion? It is always worth remembering that not all British citizens can pass on their British citizenship to children born abroad.

EDIT: Overtaken by CR001's much more concise response.

Thank you (and the other people who have responded) so much. That is really useful, albeit disappointing news. Am I correct in thinking that the family will need to pay the £1012 to have the daughter registered as a British citizen? Mum is having to use food banks and struggling to put money in the gas metre, and even the <£100 for the passport was proving to be extremely difficult to find.
This has all come about as the daughter has a school trip to Europe in the summer and is desperate to go. She doesn't have a passport - would she be best applying for a Canadian passport if we are solely trying to enable this trip?

Thanks again.

[CR001]

Am I correct in thinking that the family will need to pay the £1012 to have the daughter registered as a British citizen?

Yes.

What is the child's immigration status in the UK?

[secret.simon]

the daughter has a school trip to Europe in the summer and is desperate to go.

I hadn't realised that the daughter was that old.

I would strongly advise against the daughter leaving the UK at all.

It sounds like the daughter may have no legal right to reside in the UK (though that also depends on the status of the other parent of child. Were they a British citizen by birth in the UK?).

That means that while she may leave the UK, she may have no legal right to return back to the UK and ma be turned away at the border. While Canadian citizens can enter the UK, they would be issued a visit visa valid for at most six months. And there are strict conditions on what they can and can't do in the UK. Their studies may also be impacted.

Having a British citizen parent or partner does not give either their non-British children or spouse a legal right to reside in the UK.

And it can get much messier than that. If she is not a British citizen and does not have a regularised right to reside in the UK, she can be charged 150% times cost for any NHS access or treatments. And those can be billed to her years after the fact (of the treatment).

There may also be complications with any benefits that the parent may be receiving for a child who has no legal right to reside in the UK.

I would highly recommend prioritising regularising the child's stay in the UK at the earliest.

PS: If she was born in Canada in the 2000s, did she not already have a Canadian passport? If so, what was stamped into her passport? It may just be possible that at the time, she may have been stamped in with an ILE (Indefinite Leave to Enter) stamp. In that case, it would be straightforward to apply for a Canadian passport and an ILE BRP (Biometric Residence Permit).

[okeydokey]

Oh dear! I though the most difficult part would be finding funding for the passport...

Just chasing up further details from mum. I know that father passed away a while ago, just under 10 years ago, and that is when the family came to the UK (mum came back here, daughter came for first time, aged 5).

Mum just got back to me, daughter has a Canadian passport but that has now expired. She has no other papers, immigration-wise, just a passport stamp showing entry in to the UK.

I'm starting to get a little worried for her now. Mum is really struggling financially and there is no way on earth that she could afford to pay for the MN1.

Thanks again for the advice. I hope it's ok to post on here asking about work-related issues. It really is so appreciated.

[secret.simon]

daughter has a Canadian passport but that has now expired. She has no other papers, immigration-wise, just a passport stamp showing entry in to the UK.

Can you post an image of the passport stamp showing entry to the UK here, redacting all personally identifiable information? That may allow us to advise you further.

What was the UK immigration status or citizenship(s) of the father before his demise?

[okeydokey]

I will try and get this from mum when I see her later in the week. AFAIK, dad was a Canadian citizen and didn't have any links (immigration-wise) to the UK. Mum had daughter over there with him and came to the UK after he had passed away. Will check though.

[alterhase58]

Note that registering a child as British (or naturalising for adults) and obtaining a British passport are two distinct processes. You have to be British first to obtain a passport. Perhaps my first sentence was hasty, the questions should have come first. And thanks to all contributors trying to unravel the situation. Unfortunately the laws and processes regarding British nationality are somewhat complex.

[JB007]

And it can get much messier than that. If she is not a British citizen and does not have a regularised right to reside in the UK, she can be charged 150% times cost for any NHS access or treatments. And those can be billed to her years after the fact (of the treatment).

They can also refuse treatment, unless the estimated cost is paid up front. I can't find Canada on the list as having a reciprocal health agreement with the UK for their citizens.

There may also be complications with any benefits that the parent may be receiving for a child who has no legal right to reside in the UK.

And if she is on the old benefits, they are ending. Letters are sent inviting these claimants to apply for the new welfare benefit, Universal Credit. They have a set time to do that as their (old) benefits will end. They have already started doing this and aim to have everyone moved by the end of 2024.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... sal-credit

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/you ... sibilities