Stateless child

[akkashin]

Hello Admins,I have got a query and would like your expertise pls. firstly my apologies if am starting a new thread as I could not find appropriate thread to post my query

Let me explain the preamble of the current situation first

Me and my wife were residing in the UK as Indian Passport holders. In 2012 my wife went to India during her pregnancy and my daughter was born in India in August 2012. When my daughter was 10 months old, they both moved to the UK.

After 14 months of that, my daughter went back to India and lived with my parents (While me and my wife continued residing in the UK). My daughter got Indian passport as we both were Indian citizens at the time of her birth. Later on, me and my wife gained ILR in April 2016 and eventually got British citizenship.
Current situation: My daughter's Indian passport expired in 2022 and when we went for renewal it has been rejected quoting both the parents are British citizens. She held ILR from 2019 to 2022, but visited UK for 2 months only. We are all in India now and my daughter is stateless (doesn't have a passport at all).

For Info : We have another child who was born in 2016 and holds British Citizenship.

Could you kindly please let us know if my daughter is eligible for British citizenship? If yes, what application form should be used?

[secret.simon]

both the parents are British citizens

If your child is in the UK, she will be eligible to apply to register as a British citizen, not because she is stateless, but because both her parents are British citizens.

When you apply to bring her back to the UK, she will most likely be given ILE and can then apply to register as a British citizen, after moving to the UK with their parents.

If she is not in the UK, there is no provision to register her as a British citizen just because the Indian government refuses to issue her an Indian passport. You will have to battle that out with the Indian government.

Can you get a letter from the relevant Indian government office stating that the child is stateless?

The irony is that if the child were born in the UK, they could have been registered as a British citizen even if they were living abroad. But there is no such provision for a child born and living abroad.

[akkashin]

both the parents are British citizens

If your child is in the UK, she will be eligible to apply to register as a British citizen, not because she is stateless, but because both her parents are British citizens.

When you apply to bring her back to the UK, she will most likely be given ILE and can then apply to register as a British citizen, after moving to the UK with their parents.

If she is not in the UK, there is no provision to register her as a British citizen just because the Indian government refuses to issue her an Indian passport. You will have to battle that out with the Indian government.

Can you get a letter from the relevant Indian government office stating that the child is stateless?

The irony is that if the child were born in the UK, they could have been registered as a British citizen even if they were living abroad. But there is no such provision for a child born and living abroad.

Thanks for your response and suggestions.

For your question Can you get a letter from the relevant Indian government office stating that the child is stateless?

I have got a physical copy of response from Indian Ministry of External affairs stating that “ Your file has been closed as per extant rules since both parents have renounced Indian Citizenship and acquired Foreign citizenship, the minor child ceases to be an Indian citizen and hence not eligible for Indian Passport"

Do you think that is sufficient and take a chance to Register as BC from India? I know its not straight forward case such as yes/no, but on any humanatarian grounds if my daughter is lucky then it can be a big relief for us .

[secret.simon]

You can try and apply on Form MN1 under Section 3(1) (on the online form, that will be "Other" as the basis for the application).

Note that the fact that you are applying without meeting any of the rules (for a start, the child is not in the UK, wasn't born here and hasn't lived here for any significant period of time will count against them) will mean that it will likely need to be escalated to a senior caseworker or higher, which will make the application process slower.

Note that if it is denied (again, remember that the child has very few links to the UK), you stand to lose the entire fee of £1300+.

If registration is granted, be aware that after the registration is granted, a first British passport for children born outside the UK can take six months to a year.

So you are looking at more than a year in India, between the registration and passport.

Alternatively, you could look at applying for an Indian Identity Certificate, which is what India issues to stateless citizens, so that they can travel out of India and then apply for a family visa to the UK in the usual way.

Then once in the UK, you can register your child in the usual way.

[Sivaquery]

For your question Can you get a letter from the relevant Indian government office stating that the child is stateless?

I have got a physical copy of response from Indian Ministry of External affairs stating that “ Your file has been closed as per extant rules since both parents have renounced Indian Citizenship and acquired Foreign citizenship, the minor child ceases to be an Indian citizen and hence not eligible for Indian Passport"

Hi akkashin,

Firstly, my sincere apologies for tagging into your post.

I have been trying to get a letter from the Indian Government / Indian Ministry of External affairs, similar to the one you have mentioned above since April.

Can you please share the Address / webpage or the contact details of person or department we can get in touch with to get this letter.

It will greatly help in the visa extension of my children as their Passport is expiring in few months and Indian govt is not renewing it.

Pls help me.
Thanks
Siva

[secret.simon]

We are all in India now

@Sivaquery, note that user @akkashin is currently in India. The people that he can contact may be very different from the ones you can.