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Hello everyone,

I hope you are doing well. I and my wife both received Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after our son was born. Our son was born in the UK and is now six months old. We have applied for registering him as a british citizen through NCS Hillingdon, using Form MN1. We are all currently resident in the UK, but now my wife needs to travel urgently to Pakistan and I would like to ensure that my son is able to return to the UK with her.

I phoned the UK Visa and Immigration center and a lady told me that he was eligible to apply for a right of abode certificate. Then I phoned again the next day to clarify some things and another lady told me that I cannot have two applications with the home office at the same time. Since my son's MN1 application is already under process, I cannot make another application for a "Certificate of Entitlement". I know there are posts on this forum in which people have done exactly this (applied for certificate when their MN1 was under process), so is she right? or is there a risk the home office will find out about the MN1 application and reject the Certificate of Entitlement.

Kindly advise me as to what I should do in this case and please clarify the following items:

1. Is my son eligible to apply for a "Certificate of Entitlement to Right of Abode" on his Pakistani Passport? Can this application be made from Pakistan and what is the average processing time for such an application?

2. Is there a possibility that his "Right of Abode" application may be rejected? and what would your advice be in case we apply and are rejected?

3. If he is not eligible for a Certificate of Entitlement, which visa category should he apply under? A family visit visa? or some other category? An emergency travel document?

4. We have completed the biometric registration for his MN1 application. Is there any other detail that needs to be completed before he leaves the UK? and if something unforeseen should come up, would it be possible to put his MN1 application on hold until he returns?

5. Can someone confirm if it is possible to apply and hold both a "British Passport" and a "Certificate of Entitlement" both at the same time. I am asking because if his MN1 application is successful and I am still waiting for his "Certificate of Entitlement", then I would like to apply for his "British Passport" as backup.
- If I were to apply for his British passport, do I need my son to be in the UK with me? I mean is there any case in which the UK people would want to see him personally? They cant interview him because he is only six months old? Any other case that needs him to be here?

Thank you for taking the time to read all this. I would appreciate your advice and help in this matter. Looking forward to your replies.

Your son is eligible for CoE-RoA after his British registration is granted, not before.

Cannot hold both British passport and CoE-RoA at the same time.

Thank you Vinny,

Then it must be possible to apply under some other visa category. Would a "Family of a settled person" visa be ok?
If the home office found out that we already had an MN1 application under process, would our visa application be rejected. Is it possible to have two applications under consideration at the same time?

I had asked about the CoE because on the visitor visa page (https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa) it says:
"You might not need a Standard Visitor visa if you qualify for British citizenship. Read the guidance on right of abode (ROA) to find out what you should do instead."

Thank you.

1. Is my son eligible to apply for a "Certificate of Entitlement to Right of Abode" on his Pakistani Passport? Can this application be made from Pakistan and what is the average processing time for such an application?

After receiving his Registration Certificate, there are two options

1. Either Apply for CoE-ROA on Pakistani Passport
2. Or Apply for British Passport

You cannot have both. The timescale for applying Coe-ROA in Pakistan is around 10 days provided all the documentation/paperwork is done correctly.

Thank you.
I think I will apply for a visa for my son from Pakistan.
- Is it possible to apply for a visa on his Pakistani passport while his MN1 application is in progress.

- and if its possible, do you think it is possible to apply for a family visit visa. I am trying to avoid a "family of a settled person visa" because it is very expensive.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Not sure if you will be able to succeed in getting family visit visa, when both of you have settled status with ILR.

Thank you for all your help. Very depressing situation.