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I am on Tier 2-visa and my wife is a dependent. I have a Canadian passport and she has an Indian passport. We have been in the UK : 2002-03 (student visa), 2006-2010 (student visa), 2011 (post-study) and 2012 - (tier 2). My wife has been a tax payer since 2007 (approx) and I since 2008.

Our baby was born 3-weeks ago. I want to know if I can apply now for his British citizenship. I know the FAQ states that you need ILR, but on the UKBA website I came across:

Section 3(1) applications - children born in the United Kingdom to parents who are not settled in the United Kingdom and are not British citizens
Registration in this category will be at our discretion, if we believe it is reasonable under the circumstances and will be under section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981. There are no formal requirements the child needs to meet providing they are under 18 at the time of application and are of good character if they are over 10 years of age. The application should be accompanied by as much evidence as possible to show us why the child should be registered as a British citizen.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... /borninuk/

Does anyone know in practice what this means? Could I argue on the basis of five-years living here, paying taxes and a permanent, open-ended contract that the baby is entitled to citizenship? Or would that be a waste of time and money?

Best wishes,

Sumeet

It means that:

Based on the reasons you state / think / believe as to why a UK born child of non-settled parents should be granted British citizenship UKBA will make a decision under section 3(1) - discretion - whether or not to grant British citizenship to the child.

No one is not "entitled" to British citizenship when applying for citizenship "under discretion", in this case section 3(1).

If you intend to apply using the reasons stated, forget about it. Every UK born child of a lawfully working parent will need to be given British citizenship for such reasons!!

Thanks. This is helpful.

Sumeet