British Dad, Estonia Mum

[leejl]

Hi,

I'm sure this question has been asked many times, but the answers are never the same.

• I am the father, British by birth. British parents, lived here my whole life apart from military service. Born in the 1974.
  Mother is Estonian. Born in Estonia to Estonian parents in 1977. Spent time in Singapore and has lived in UK for 4 years.
  We are married.
  We have had a son after getting married, born in 2016.
  He was born in Estonia but at the age of 6 weeks we moved him back to our place in london. We all live in london.

What do I need to do to get him British citizenship and a British passport?

From what I understand, he will be British by descent and I just need to apply for a passport. Is that correct?

Do I need to register his birth with the British consular? Do I need to fill in form MN1 and apply for British citizenship under section 3(5)? How do I prove his citizenship?

thanks for any help, the British government (God love 'em) don't make it easy!!!

Lee

[CR001]

From what I understand, he will be British by descent and I just need to apply for a passport. Is that correct?

Correct yes, passport directly.

Do I need to register his birth with the British consular? Do I need to fill in form MN1 and apply for British citizenship under section 3(5)? How do I prove his citizenship?

No to all. Prove with his birth cert and your birth cert etc.

[JAJ]

From what I understand, he will be British by descent and I just need to apply for a passport. Is that correct?

Do I need to register his birth with the British consular?

Assuming you were born in the U.K. the child is British.

It is not mandatory to obtain a consular birth certificate- nevertheless, it is strongly recommended to obtain one. It's a stand-alone proof of British citizenship that (unlike a passport) does not expire.
https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth

Later in life, you should ensure your son is aware of the consequences of being British "by descent" if he in turn has children (ie, your grandchildren) born outside the United Kingdom or British territories.

Is there an intention for your son to maintain Estonian citizenship alongside British citizenship?

[leejl]

thank you for the replies, very useful.

Agreed, if my child, who will be British by descent, has a child born outside of the UK, then that (grand)child of mine will not be British as 'by descent' only descends to one generation.

I think he will maintain his Estonian citizenship until he is 18 where Estonian law says you should decide. I'm not too keen on him doing military national service in Estonia (even though I was on the British Army) but his mum seems comfortable with it, but that will be his decision to make I suppose.

Good point on the consular registration as stand alone proof.

thanks again
Lee