Right to Abode- Step daughter- quick question

[triptix]

Dear all,

Hope fully this is in the right forum. I am a British citizen, married 3 years to a Chinese citizen. My step daughter is now 15 and we intend to stay and live in China permanently. However, I want to apply for a Right to Abode for my step daughter to add to her Chinese passport. Later on she may want to study or live in the UK for a bit. There is no intention for her to apply for British citizenship at this time and remains unlikely to happen.

My question is - do I need to formally adopt her or will my marriage certificate be enough proof? My wife was awarded sole custody when my step-daughter was 3 (not sure if this is relevant but may be helpful).

My wife will remain a Chinese citizen but when we retire we may also buy a house in the UK and spend 6 months here and 6 months in China- not sure what the best visa for her would be when this happens (still over 10 years away) but any advice or suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

Apologies if this is in the wrong section and thank you for any help

[CR001]

She doesn't qualify for right of abode as she is not your biological child.

Where is the child's father and what role does he play in her life?

There are also procedures to adopt a foreign child and not all adoptions make them British either.

[triptix]

He plays no role in her life. So if I adopt her she still would not qualify for right to abode?

[CR001]

It depends. It would definitely need to be an adoption in terms of the Hague convention. You might well need the biological father's consent.

https://www.gov.uk/child-adoption/adopt ... m-overseas

[secret.simon]

I want to apply for a Right to Abode for my step daughter to add to her Chinese passport. Later on she may want to study or live in the UK for a bit. There is no intention for her to apply for British citizenship at this time and remains unlikely to happen.

Also, just to clarify, since 1983, only British citizens have the Right of Abode in the UK.

Therefore, the only way your step-daughter can get the Right of Abode is by becoming a British citizen, either by the appropriate adoption or by registration (which is unlikely if she continues to reside abroad).

[triptix]

Thank you for the link. I would be able to register the overseas adoption as China is one of the countries named in The Adoption (Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013 effected under the law of that country on or after 3 January 2014.

If she then intends to become a British citizen it will make that process easier. My natural daughter is nearly 2 and we had to get a right to Abode certificate for her as although she is a Chinese citizen the UK would not allow her to have any other type of visa so I thought it would be the same for my step daughter if I adopted her.

Thank you for your help