Immigrationboards.com

Hi

We both, me and my wife are now settled in UK (according to EU treaty in September 2012 after 5 years of living and working in UK).
We do not have british citizenship but would like to apply for one for our son (born in April 2011). He did not get UK citizenship by birth as We were not settled then. The more We read the UKBA guides on that the more confused We are whether He will be able to get the citizenship. The rules contradict themselves.

According to Guide MN1 from June 2014 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_2014.pdf) on page 10 I quote

"Entitlement to registration as a British citizen
Children born in the UK – Section 1 (3) and 1 (3A) application
Section 1 (3)
A child born in the UK whose parents are not British citizens and were not settled in the
UK (see page 6) will have an entitlement to register when their parents become settled
in the UK or become British citizens."

Meaning that none of the parents require to have UK citizenship in order to apply for one for your child.
But in the same guide on page 17 I quote

"Any other child born to British or non-British parents.
It is not possible to cover all circumstances under which the Home Secretary might
exercise discretion in circumstances not already described in this guide. However, in
considering any application not specifically covered above consideration will be given to
[...]
•The parents’ nationality and immigration status – we expect either both parents to
be British citizens or one parent a British citizen and the other parent settled in
the UK"

In my opinion it contradicts itself

On the other hand in guide BN1 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 06/bn1.pdf) on page 11 Chart A I quote
"Has one of the parents* become
either a British citizen or settled in
the United Kingdom since the birth?
YES
Person will be entitled to registration
as a British citizen while under 18
(see paragraph 6(a)). "

and page 3 of the same guide

"6. WILL A CHILD WHO IS BORN IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM ON OR AFTER 1
JANUARY 1983 HAVE A RIGHT TO BECOME A BRI
TISH CITIZEN IF NEITHER PARENT IS
A BRITISH CITIZEN OR SETTLED IN THE UNI
TED KINGDOM WHEN TH
E CHILD IS BORN?
Yes -
(a) If one of the parents becomes a British ci
tizen or becomes settled (see Note 5) in
the United Kingdom and an application for registra
tion is made before the child is 18;"

meaning that just one parent that's settled in UK is enough to register child as UK citizen.

Can anyone please explain which is true?
Does one of the parents have to have UK citizenship (and other parent settled) or just one settled parent without the other parent having UK citizenship, would be sufficient to apply for my sons citizenship?

There are different categories to register a child as British. They don't contradict each other but just have different requirements.

For UK born child only one parent needs to be settled. If you are EEA national and have worked in the UK for continuous 5 years, the UK born child can register as BC.

"For UK born child only one parent needs to be settled. If you are EEA national and have worked in the UK for continuous 5 years, the UK born child can register as BC."

If that's the case how can you please explain what's in Guide MN1 from June 2014 (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... e_2014.pdf) on page 17 ?

"Any other child born to British or non-British parents.
It is not possible to cover all circumstances under which the Home Secretary might
exercise discretion in circumstances not already described in this guide. However, in
considering any application not specifically covered above consideration will be given to
[...]
•The parents’ nationality and immigration status – we expect either both parents to
be British citizens or one parent a British citizen and the other parent settled in
the UK"

Page 17 is under the "Section 3(1)" type of applications which start on page 12. Your son case is a "Section 1(3)" application so it's a different section (category you apply under) and subject to different rules.