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Hi,

I m wondering if someone can help me with the query in relation to child born in UK but residing out of country, I want to register my 7 year old kid to be a British. He was born in UK but left the country after 1.5 years and staying in India till date. I got my British citizenship and passport recently i.e. 3 months back and i m in UK. So is it possible to apply the MN1 registration form out of UK i.e. from India? If so how can the biometrics be submitted in India, does the child needs to be accompanied by parents for biometrics? Since I m in process of getting my visa , can i give power of authority to extended family members to accompany the child to provide biometrics or is it gonna be a blocker? how can this be done ? how long the whole process takes to get the decision. Please advise.

Child should be eligible for registration under section 1(3) (but other members may weigh in on this). You can apply from abroad (I don't know how it will work with biometrics) but the process is notoriously lengthy from abroad, up to 1 year, and then you will need to get him a passport, which also takes longer from abroad.

A child born in the UK has an entitlement to register as a British citizen if one of the parents is granted ILR, even if the child themselves is abroad.

But you will face practical difficulties. The MN1 form will require referees, who are not related to the child and who have known them for at least three years. If the two referees are not British citizens, the processing of the application will likely be longer. If the child is in India, presumably the two referees will be Indian citizens and that may delay the application.

Following the application being successful, first British passports for children abroad can take six months to a year.

I would say that between the two processes, you are looking at a year to a year-and-a-half.

Thanks for the response, Appreciate if someone can help me understand the biometrics process outside the country and what happens we move out of UK all for good while the child MN1 application is in process.