Is My Baby Eligible For A British Passport?

[modamo]

Hello,

I understand that a child is automatically eligible for British passport if either of the parents had settled status before the child was born.

I have a Dutch passport and moved to the UK as a child on 2004. I went to secondary school, college, university and also did my post-graduate in the UK. I have been working full time since June 2015 when I graduated. My child was born in December 2019. I have been living in the UK since I was a child.

I have applied for the EU settlement scheme in January 2020 and I have been accepted as Settled and I have ILR. As I have been in the UK as a child since 2004 and have grown up here, going to school and university and working here, I presume that I have been settled for more than 5 years when my child was born in December 2020 - but I didn't have any official document to say that I was settled until I applied for the settlement scheme.

My question is: can my child apply for British passport automatically as a British citizen based on the fact that I was settled before the child was born despite me not having a written confirmation of my previous settled status?

Thanks!

[secret.simon]

You may *not* have been automatically settled before the birth of the child.

In order for you to acquire settled status automatically, you need to have met certain specific conditions.

Specifically, when you were studying in the UK, did you have CSI (Comprehensive Sickness Insurance aka private health insurance) in the UK? Alternatively, were you resident in the UK with at least one EEA parent who was working or seeking work while you were studying?

The particular circumstances of your EEA parents may be relevant to your having acquired PR/settled status before the birth of the child.

[modamo]

I did not have any insurance while I was studying. My EEA parent was working for more than 5 year while I was in university. Or would that not count since I was an adult at the time?

[vinny]

How old were you when you first came to the UK with your parents?

You were their family member whilst under age 21 or afterwards, if still dependent on them.

[secret.simon]

I suggest that you apply for a DCPR backdated to before the birth of the child. That will make dealing with the Passport Office a whole lot easier, as the verification of PR acquisition will have been done by people who would have more knowledge of the EEA Regulations.

You need proof that
a) at least one of your Dutch parents was in the UK and working for five continuous years, and
b) that you were living in the UK with your parents for those five years or any period including and after those five years (provided that they did not leave the UK for two years at any time). Your five year period of residence with your parents should ideally be dated to before your 21st birthday.

Once you have got a DCPR that is backdated to before the birth of the child, the child can apply directly for a British passport with that DCPR and their birth certificate.