citizinship for child under 13 years old

[omaromar11]

Hello,
Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to everyone,

I have been a British citizen by naturalization since 2022, and I am planning to bring my daughter, who is 9 years old, on a family visa so she can get naturalization. My situation is as follows:
1—My daughter was born outside the UK, and when she was born, I was not settled or a visa holder, so she was not eligible for naturalization.
3—My daughter lives with my ex-wife abroad. My ex-wife is not a UK citizen or of settled status, and she consents to my daughter travelling to and living with me in the UK.
2- I am planning to bring my daughter on a family visa and register her with GP and school
3 - I was planning to relocate and leave the UK on August 2025
4- according to section 3 of the British Nationality Act, " Child under 13 years old at the date of application: the length of residence in the UK is less important, provided their future lies in the UK."
5—Given all the above, is it reasonable to bring my daughter in on a family visa, and after 6 months, I will apply for ILR and directly for citizenship? Is a 6-8 months period is enough?

[secret.simon]

Children born abroad who are applying for registration as British citizens in line with their parents are expected to have lived in the UK for at least two years before the application.

Children applying in line with their parents

We recognise that a number of children apply for registration under section 3(1) at the same time as their parents apply for naturalisation. Such children have usually been living in the UK with the parents and have completed a period of lawful residence.

You must normally register where:

one parent is a British citizen or about to become one through registration or naturalisation
the other parent (if involved in the child’s life) is a British citizen or settled in the UK
the child has been resident in the UK for the last 2 years - (if the child is under the age of 2 you can accept a shorter residence period, taking into account the age of the child)
the child is settled in the UK
where necessary both parents consent to the registration or any objections by the non-applying parent are ill founded
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds

If the other parent is absent from the child's life (i.e you can prove sole responsibility), when you apply for the child's family visa, they will likely be issued an ILE (the same as ILR, but issued outside the UK). So you'll likely not need to apply for ILR separately for them.

[omaromar11]

Children born abroad who are applying for registration as British citizens in line with their parents are expected to have lived in the UK for at least two years before the application.

Children applying in line with their parents

We recognise that a number of children apply for registration under section 3(1) at the same time as their parents apply for naturalisation. Such children have usually been living in the UK with the parents and have completed a period of lawful residence.

You must normally register where:

one parent is a British citizen or about to become one through registration or naturalisation
the other parent (if involved in the child’s life) is a British citizen or settled in the UK
the child has been resident in the UK for the last 2 years - (if the child is under the age of 2 you can accept a shorter residence period, taking into account the age of the child)
the child is settled in the UK
where necessary both parents consent to the registration or any objections by the non-applying parent are ill founded
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds

If the other parent is absent from the child's life (i.e you can prove sole responsibility), when you apply for the child's family visa, they will likely be issued an ILE (the same as ILR, but issued outside the UK). So you'll likely not need to apply for ILR separately for them.

Thank you very much for your reply. It is really helpful. My question is: the two-year role doesn't apply to children under 13 years old. Is that true? I am grounding this information based on the following quote from the British Nationality Act 1981"The length of residence in the UK is less important when the child is under the age of 13. If you are satisfied that their future lies in the UK and that registration is otherwise appropriate, you do not need to take into account the length of residence".

[secret.simon]

I am grounding this information based on the following quote from the British Nationality Act 1981"The length of residence in the UK is less important when the child is under the age of 13. If you are satisfied that their future lies in the UK and that registration is otherwise appropriate, you do not need to take into account the length of residence".

That s not a quote from the British Nationality Act 1981. Here is a link to Section 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981. The registration for children born outside the UK to parents who naturalised in the UK after the birth of their child would normally come under Section 3(1), which is an application at discretion, allowing the Secretary of State/Home Office to make such rules as they see fit.

I think you are quoting from an older guidance on registration of children. I'm quoting from the current guidance on the Gov.UK website. Obviously any application would be considered under the guidance then in force.

I think the requirement for more than two years residence applies to all but children younger than two years who, by definition, can't have completed two years of residence in the UK.

What's the rush in registration anyway? The child will have ILE when in the UK and if they are under 13, they can register after 2 years anyway.

[omaromar11]

I am grounding this information based on the following quote from the British Nationality Act 1981"The length of residence in the UK is less important when the child is under the age of 13. If you are satisfied that their future lies in the UK and that registration is otherwise appropriate, you do not need to take into account the length of residence".

That s not a quote from the British Nationality Act 1981. Here is a link to Section 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981. The registration for children born outside the UK to parents who naturalised in the UK after the birth of their child would normally come under Section 3(1), which is an application at discretion, allowing the Secretary of State/Home Office to make such rules as they see fit.

I think you are quoting from an older guidance on registration of children. I'm quoting from the current guidance on the Gov.UK website. Obviously any application would be considered under the guidance then in force.

I think the requirement for more than two years residence applies to all but children younger than two years who, by definition, can't have completed two years of residence in the UK.

What's the rush in registration anyway? The child will have ILE when in the UK; if they are under 13, they can register after 2 years anyway.

Thank you very much. I think you are right. My quote is from an older version. The rush is because I plan to relocate and move abroad next July. My question (I promise it is the last) let's assume that I succeeded in getting the ILE to my daughter next month. Does she have to stay for a whole 2-year qualifying period in the UK? How long can she be absent outside the UK in the qualifying period? I appreciate your efforts.

[secret.simon]

Any continuous absence from the UK of more than two years will automatically cancel ILR.

The same document above goes on further down the page.

Child’s future intentions
You must be satisfied that a child’s future is clearly seen to lie in the UK before you register them under this provision.

You should normally accept that a child’s future lies in the UK where this is stated in their application unless there is information to cast doubt on this, such as:

the child, or one or both of their parents, has recently left the UK for a period of more than 6 months
the child is about to leave the UK
one or both parents are resident abroad
Where you have reason to doubt a child’s future lies in the UK you must seek further clarification. If you are still not satisfied that the child’s future is in the UK, you should refuse the application.

In this case, I think we can disregard your ex-wife being resident abroad because I presume you will be proving sole responsibility to bring your child to the UK.

But you can see that long absences of either the parent or child from the UK will certainly be looked at when processing the application.

[omaromar11]

Any continuous absence from the UK of more than two years will automatically cancel ILR.

The same document above goes on further down the page.

Child’s future intentions
You must be satisfied that a child’s future is clearly seen to lie in the UK before you register them under this provision.

You should normally accept that a child’s future lies in the UK where this is stated in their application unless there is information to cast doubt on this, such as:

the child, or one or both of their parents, has recently left the UK for a period of more than 6 months
the child is about to leave the UK
one or both parents are resident abroad
Where you have reason to doubt a child’s future lies in the UK you must seek further clarification. If you are still not satisfied that the child’s future is in the UK, you should refuse the application.

In this case, I think we can disregard your ex-wife being resident abroad because I presume you will be proving sole responsibility to bring your child to the UK.

But you can see that long absences of either the parent or child from the UK will certainly be looked at when processing the application.

Thank you very much. your replies are really helpful and helped to form an idea of my available options.

[razergd1]

I think your main hurdle will be the sole responsibility.
When child both parents are alive it's an exceptional situation where one parent has sole responsibility and the burden of proof is very high.

Sole responsibility is not the same as sole custody.

If you manage to prove sole responsibility then two years residence is mandatory. If you take the child overseas for long period of time the application is likely to be refused.