Dilema - Where should i have my baby

[mooncalf]

I am New Zealand citizen married to a british citizen and have been living in the UK for the past 3 years. I will soon be applying for my british citizenship,

me and my husband want to move to new zealand but we want to start our family to and can not decide if we should have our baby in the UK on wait till we go to NZ, it will take atleast a year before we move.

I know if my baby was to born in UK he/she would get NZ citizenship automatically, but would it be the same if my baby was to born in NZ will they automatically get UK citizenship?

All your help and advice will be much appreciated.

[Administrator]

.

I do not know for certain, but I suspect strongly that it will be "easier" for a native-born UK citizen. They will be a native-born EU citizen, which will give them quite powerful rights to travel to & study/work in the European Union.

Once in New Zealand, you can apply for and obtain dual citizenship for your child.

I'm not intimately familiar with all details, so check into it carefully.

Basically, if there is some restriction on holding a dual citizenship, the minor will be allowed to decide sometime around the age of 16 or 18(-ish) which one they want.

Not to talk down about New Zealand, because I personally think that NZ has a lot to offer, but ...

My feeling is that access to the EU economy as a native-born EU citizen will offer many more opportunities in the big picture.

Very especially consider the possibilities to attend UK/European universities later on.

the Admin

[Marco 72]

Neither the UK nor NZ have restrictions on dual citizenship. However, if your children are born in NZ they will be British citizens "by descent", which means they won't be able to pass on their citizenship to your grandchildren unless they are born in the UK. NZ has similar rules , so if your children are born in the UK they won't be able to pass on their NZ citizenship to their children unless they are themselves born in NZ.

However, in NZ the rules seem to be slightly more flexible and I understand it's possible for citizens "by descent" to have their citizenship upgraded to "otherwise than by descent" after meeting a residence requirement. In the UK on the other hand there is no similar provision.

See here and here, and the sources quoted there.

[mooncalf]

Thank you very much for replying to my post, i have checked in new zealand you can get new zealand citizeship by decent much easier than british citizeship, your parent dont have to be born in new zealand for you to claim citizenship all they need to be is a new zealand citizen and both your parents should be married at the time of your child birth.

Claim Parents Proof of Citizenship
You will not need to send documents if the claim parent:
Was born in New Zealand; or
Has New Zealand citizenship by grant; or
Has confirmation of New Zealand citizenship by other means.
.

Proof of Marriage or Civil Union for Parent and/or Applicant
You will not need to send documents if the claim parent or applicant:
Was married in New Zealand; or
Entered into a civil union in New Zealand.

You will need to send documents if the claim parent or applicant:
Was married outside New Zealand; or
Entered into a civil union outside New Zealand (recognised in New Zealand).

So will definately be sensible to have a baby here!

Thank you both for your help