Options for my son in China obtaining a UK Passport

[sneakygloworm]

Hi all,

My chinese wife has recently given birth to our son. She has already pre-arranged a long term visa to the UK but is unsure what to do for our son. I want him to settle in the UK but I know this will take time. My son has no passport at this time and we are trying to find a way to obtain one for him with very little fuss.

I have tried to get answers from Uk immigration and the Foreign and Commonwealth office but they have no idea. I have tried to telephone the UK Naturalisation people but I can never get hold of them. It is very frustrating.

My question is this - If my son obtains a Chinese Passport, can I bring him here on a visitors visa and then legally apply for a UK passport once he is actually in the UK?

The alternative is for her to travel overnight to Beijing with masses of paperwork and our baby and try to apply for a UK passport instead of a Chinese one, I know she would do this but having been on the overnight train myself, I don't think it is a very fair option for her and if I can avoid her doing this, I will.

I have read of people having 2 passports for Chinese/English children but no indication of how they actually achieved it.

Any help, suggestions or other options would be very helpful.

Many thanx

[Amber]

I assume you are British otherwise than by descent. Your child is British by descent. Chinese law allows dual nationality in certain circumstances, and yours appears to be one.

You may apply for a CoE to go in the child Chinese passport, you may also apply for a British Passport, perhaps more easily when the child returns to the UK.

[sneakygloworm]

Aha! Yes I'm British. So I can apply for a UK passport when he comes to the UK? Also what is CoE and does my wife have to get it put into the chinese passport while in China? Thanks for your reply. Sorry, but I find it all very confusing. I have to relate all of this info to her and I need to make it as simple and clear as possible.


Also, if he gets a visitor visa and I manage to get a UK passport once he is here, will it extend his stay automatically? Or will I need to re-apply for a new visa? Or will he automatically be allowed to stay indefinitely?

[Amber]

He can't get a visit visa.

See, https://www.gov.uk/right-of-abode/apply ... ntitlement

[sneakygloworm]

Thanks for that, it's a good first step. Not sure if it makes any difference but he was born in China. So he is technically a Chinese citizen. I maybe should have made that clearer.

Surely, he will be able to get some type of Visa to enter the UK. So if it is, say, a Short stay Visa, I take it he can come over on a Chinese passport then I can apply for right of abode when he is here?

All I am trying to ascertain is that I can save my wife a long haul to Beijing in favor of seeing my son for the first time, having him with me and sorting his Passport all at the same time from the UK.

[vinny]

See also Wife has ILR, newborn baby in China, returning to UK

[sneakygloworm]

I have been going around in circles for hours now.

The right of abode looks good but for this statement -

"your valid passport or travel document - if it wasn’t issued in the UK it must have immigration stamps to show you’re living here"

This suggests that the person has to have lived in the UK before applying to live in the UK!!?!!

It just doesn't make sense. All options seem to suggest that unless he is living here already, he cannot claim Citizenship/right of abode/entitlement. Catch 22

I just cannot find out anywhere if I can apply for his stay while he is actually here. The naturalization people phoned me today but I was working. i cannot return their call because it is a private number. The Citizenship and nationality person said that the Naturalization team phone within 24 hours. I cannot sit by my phone for 24 hours, my work prohibits it.

Even more help would be appreciated and stop me from blowing a fuse....

On top of all this, my wife is now asking why I haven't come up with a simple answer to a simple question - "can it be sorted from the UK?".

[Amber]

Get a CoE!