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My child was born in the UK, and while she qualifies for a transfer of my US citizenship, she has not received it yet, as we need to formally apply. So technically the child does not have any citizenship.

I have received my ILR, and now applying for BC registration for the child, filling out MN1 online. However, there is a question on Country of nationality, which I don'r seem to be able to leave blank. Any idea how I should deal with it?

Thanks!

Child automatically takes parent(s) nationality at birth.

Thanks for the reply. Is it for the purposes of MN1 application? As it is not really the case with citizenship. You need to apply for US citizenship for children born abroad, and there are certain requirements - e.g. the parent must have lived in the US for at least 5 years (this is not a problem in our case, but it could be). So the US does not yet see the child as US citizen, so wondering if I can actually claim US citizenship in MN1?...

The child can not be born stateless. What are your other nationalities OR are you only a US citizen?

My daughter was born in UK. I am from Pakistan. My daughter did not have any Pakistani Citizenship number or Pakistani Passport then. We have to apply for that in Pakistan via the Nadra department which was done on a later stage. While filling her MN1, I input her nationality as Pakistani as she took mine by default. Her MN1 was approved in 25 days no issues.

Thanks! Mine is just US. So I guess I have no other option but to indicate US for the child, and then explain...

ghostbuster2000 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 15, 2020 2:58 pm

Thanks! Mine is just US. So I guess I have no other option but to indicate US for the child, and then explain...

There is no requirement to 'explain'. Simply state US, that's it. A UK born child does not need to have a foreign passport to apply for citizenship.

CULLINAN wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 15, 2020 2:20 pm

Child automatically takes parent(s) nationality at birth.

Not necessarily.

CULLINAN wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 15, 2020 2:34 pm

The child can not be born stateless.

Not at all correct. A child can be born stateless if the citizenship laws of the countries of their parents citizenship does not allow for automatic acquisition of citizenship at birth.

For instance, a child born to Indian parents (with neither parent holding ILR) in the UK would be stateless if the birth is not registered with the Indian diplomatic authorities. The Indian citizenship would not be automatically inherited, but only be acquired on registration. Same with Australian parents.

The same would be the case for a child born to two British citizens by descent in a country that does not grant citizenship by jus soli (such as the UAE, for instance). In such a case, the child would not be a British citizen automatically, nor would they have the citizenship of the country they were born in and would be stateless.

In this case, it would depend on US law if the child was born a US citizen or stateless. The Wikipedia page on US citizenship by birth to a US citizen abroad suggests that the requirements are quite complex.

So the questions for the OP to answer are;
a) Is only one parent a US citizen or are both US citizens?
b) Are the parents married?
c) Do either parent hold any other nationality?
d) Have either US parent resided in the US at any point in their lifetime?

But in any case, as the child was born in the UK (do not have quite the same ring as "Born in the USA", does it?), it has an entitlement (i.e. can't be refused) to be registered as a British citizen whether or not the child has any other citizenship. So you could state the US and clarify the position in the "Any other information" fields later on in the application.

As an aside, a Youtuber has suggested that it is a PITA to be an American abroad when it comes to taxation. So it may be worth considering whether the child can acquire US citizenship at a later stage in their life, so that they can make a more informed decision.

@secret.simon

Thank you for the clarification.

For instance, a child born to Indian parents (with neither parent holding ILR) in the UK would be stateless if the birth is not registered with the Indian diplomatic authorities.

Many Indian parent(s) have successfully registered their child for BC answering “Indian” as the child’s Nationality even in the above scenario.

I think, this is not a trick question and will have no impact on the result anyways.

The child can not be born stateless.

Just to clarify, I meant in OP’s case only.