British Son and non british mother

[bravopapa]

All,

My son is british and I just got my certificate of naturalisation this week (passport application in progress).

My wife and I decided to look for job opportunities in HK next year.

I am aware that my wife is not entitled to ILR or BC once we leave the country. However, as the mother of a BC citizenship what rights does my wife have? Will she still have to apply for visa every time she visits the UK? Is there any other category (other than spouse/dependent visa) which may give my wife the opportunity to visit the UK without going through the tedious visa application process? Does she get any rights at all by being the mother of a BC citizen?

Many Thanks

[CR001]

However, as the mother of a BC citizenship what rights does my wife have?

None really as she is already on a visa path.

Will she still have to apply for visa every time she visits the UK?

If she would normally require a pre applied for visitor visa, then this won't change and she will still need a visa to enter the UK.

Is there any other category (other than spouse/dependent visa) which may give my wife the opportunity to visit the UK without going through the tedious visa application process? Does she get any rights at all by being the mother of a BC citizen?

Not rights in the way you are thinking. She will need a visitor visa to enter the UK with her son if they want to visit.

[bravopapa]

Thanks a lot for a quick answer.

Don't laugh at me by asking this question, but if we move into a country and there is a sudden war, she must have some sort of rights as the mother of BC to seek shelter/protection at the british embassy- as long as she walks in with her son and shows uk birth certificate in addition to son's BC passport. no?

[CR001]

As a non British citizen, not really. She would still need a visa to come back to the UK.

Are you and your son dual citizens (BC and other)?

[bravopapa]

yes I am dual national with my son. My other nationality is weak and the embassy can barely do simple admin tasks such re-newing passports etc. I don't count on them, most of the time i need to fly home to do major admin stuff, it is sad but thats the reality. Strong embassies make a big difference abroad

[CR001]

If you live in a country where you hold the nationality, ie say you are a HK citizen living in HK, then you usually cannot avail of embassy assistance as you are a citizen of the country you are resident in.

This is the main reason I voluntarily gave up my birth nationality so that if anything happens to me when I go home on holiday, I can get British embassy help.

[bravopapa]

Totally make sense but if you are say indian/british national living in HK and there is an issue in the HK then i am assuming that as a dual citizen i am allowed to knock British embassy's door with my son and I don't really see them stopping my wife since she is the mother of a BC citizen....

[CR001]

Well you cannot hold dual Indian/British citizenship if naturalised and registered so the wrong ones to use if this is an example.

Should there be an issue in HK, your wife will have to avail of services of her embassy.

[bravopapa]

i see. thank you for the info

[secret.simon]

If your question is whether the British Embassy can provide consular assistance to your wife as the mother of a British citizen, then the answer is No. She may have some contact with the British diplomatic service in that country in order to renew your child's passport, etc, but that is as the guardian/agent of your child and that ceases when your child attains majority.

If your wife had issues with the authorities of the country she were staying in, such as if she were accused of a crime, the British authorities would not be able to intervene as she is not a British national (a person with a British passport) herself. She would need to contact the embassy of the country whose travel document (generally passport) she carries.

It is worth remembering, as CR001 has mentioned, that if you hold the citizenship of another country and you are in that country, you cannot be provided consular assistance by the UK (or any other country, for that matter).

In case of potential physical violence, such as riots, etc erupting, it will be upto the British embassy staff on the ground to take a call at that point in time. But they would be unlikely to separate mother and child in imminient danger of physical violence which would affect both of them.