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Hello all,

We are trying to establish whether and when we will be able to register our children aged 7 and 4 as British citizens. I'll get straight to our circumstances:

• I, the father, am a British citizen by descent.
  My wife is a EEA national (Cyprus), with no ILR.
  We are currently living in the UK for over 3 years.
  Both children were born abroad (Cyprus)

My understanding is that our children may have eligibility to be registered as British citizens under section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act . Here is the relevant link directly from the legislation .gov website:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/61/section/3

We satisfy the 3 years residency requirement, have had no long absences and I was a British citizen at the time of my children's' birth.

I contacted a nationality expert recently, explained my circumstances but he said that the children "can be registered as British citizens at the time that the mother obtains her permanent residency status (as an EU national, this takes the form of a Permanent Residence Card)".
I can't find in any part of the legislation anything about this. My understanding is that as long as one parent, in this case myself is British citizen by descent and the criteria in 3(5) are satisfied, then the other parent's settlement status is irrelevant.

Your help and guidance is very much appreciated.

If the children have lived with you in the UK for the three years immediately preceding their application, then they are entitled to registration under Section 3(5). The status of the other parent is irrelevant.

The person you consulted seems to have confused registration under Section 3(5) with the expected requirements for registration under Section 3(1), which does expect both parents and the child to have settled status in the UK before registration.

Also see Page 11 of Guide MN1.

Hi all

I'm filling out an application form to register my kids as British citizens under section 3(5) of the British nationality act. The requirements for this are:

One parent (myself) British by descent at time of child's birth
3 years continuously in the UK
no absence of more than 270 days during the 3 year period

The form MN1 ask whether the child has ILR. Is ILR required for a child that is going to be registered as a Biritsh citizen this way, given that a parent is British? If yes,do I need to first apply for the kids ILR, before applying for british citizenship?

Hope this makes sense.

thanks!

ILR is not required. The form is for various routes of applications.

CR001 wrote:ILR is not required. The form is for various routes of applications.

Thank you!

I agree. See also Section 3(5).

Hi all

I'm filling application form MN1 for my children's registration as British citizens, and section 2.3 asks for all abesnces from the UK during the last 3 years.
How can someone find out all holiday dates etc? I never keep records of these things going that far back..

Assuming that they are non-EEA citizens, their passport stamps?

Posts merged.

They are EU citizens so there are no stamps in their passports whatsoever. Only been away on holiday once or twice a year but no records of the exact dates have been kept. If I don't fill these out, or fill it only partially, will it be grounds to reject the application? I mean, do they actually cross check all dates given?

Hi all
Still waiting for advice on how to fill out section 2.3 of the MN1 form, regarding absences from the UK within the last 3 years. The children are EU citizens so there are no stamps in their passports, nor have I kept dates of when we've been on holiday the last 3 years. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Also, I read on the MN1 guide that you need to provide "Evidence of Residence in the UK". What can submitted towards this?

thanks

If using the NCS to apply for child's citizenship (form MN1) AND passport at the same time, which passport form is needed?

amark16 wrote:If using the NCS to apply for child's citizenship (form MN1) AND passport at the same time, which passport form is needed?

The one you collect at the Post Office.

What can be used as evidence of residence in the UK during the qualifying residence period? I've got letters from the schools confirming the kids' time there but it doesn't cover the whole 3 year period? Are tenancy agreements or utility bills acceptable?

Hi all

I'm applying for british nationality for my kids aged 4 and 7 under section 3(5) of the relevant act, using form MN1.
The MN1 guide asks that the following is provided:

"Section 3(5) – evidence that the child and both parents have lived in
the UK for 3 years immediately before the date of application."

My question is what counts as evidence of residence? I have letters from schools but they do not cover the whole 3 year period. I have utility bills, council tax bills, tenancy agreements, NHS numbers etc. Are any of these any good?

thanks

vinny wrote:Posts merged.

Kindly keep all your questions in this topic.

Sorry CR001, will keep everything here from now on.
Any help on the evidence of residence will be much appreciated.

rgds

Sorry to insist guys, I'm still desperately looking for advice on what constitutes "Evidence of lawful residence" during the applicable residence period in the UK. I got letters from schools, utility bills and bank statements. Are these enough? My appointment with the NCS is in 10 days so need to get this in order asap.

Letter from GP stating length they have been registered at practice, hospital letters if applicable, childrens red book if applicable....

CR001 wrote:Letter from GP stating length they have been registered at practice, hospital letters if applicable, childrens red book if applicable....

I have the original Registration Confirmation Letters from our GP practice when we first joined the NHS. Are these enough or do I need a fresh letter from the GP?

That letter plus one from the practice stating child are still registered there from x date to y date.

CR001 wrote:That letter plus one from the practice stating child are still registered there from x date to y date.

Thanks CR001

I've just been to my appointment with the Trafford NCS. They didn't accept the application as is and I lost my £70 I paid them But I'm sort of glad because it could have been a much more expensive mistake.
Basically as the application for the kids is done based on section 3(5), the Home office require more information on "Evidence of residence" for the parents. This is not entirely clear in the guidance, unless I missed it.
I provided letters from schools as well as a letter from my GP stating that we've been registered with them for the last 4 years but they wont accept it. They want P60s or payslips from the parents. I can get it for my self but my wife has only been working the last 2 years so she hasn't got enough to cover the 3 years residency requirement. She has no other communication between herself and HMRC, benefits claims or anything like that. The lady at the NCS said they might accept a more detailed letter from the GP saying that we've been regularly seen and even state specific appointments.

Anybody have any ideas of what other things they might accept as evidence of residence, apart from P60 payslips etc?