Children route to citizenship without ILR

[confusedukdesi]

Hello all,

Please see immigrations status for my family members as below
OP : British Citizen by Naturalization in 2012
Spouse:  Partner Dependent Visa. Extension 2 valid until Oct 25. Qualifying for ILR on 5 year route in Dec 242 Children : Born outside UK, when Father was on ILR. Currently on Child Dependent Visa. Extension 2 valid until Oct 25. Qualifying for ILR on 5 year route in Dec 24

My query is, 
1. Can we apply for ILR, just for my wife in Dec 24 and not for the children? (Please bear in mind, children will still have valid visas until Oct 25)
2. Assuming she gets ILR granted by Mar 25 or so, can we (for the children) then apply directly for citizenship, as both parents will be considerd to have "settled" status?

The main benefit will be savings in ILR fees for the children, and also a possibly quicker route to passport.

Many thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

[CR001]

Children born abroad require ilr first, ie free from immigration time restrictions.

[contorted_svy]

Hello all,

Please see immigrations status for my family members as below
OP : British Citizen by Naturalization in 2012
Spouse:  Partner Dependent Visa. Extension 2 valid until Oct 25. Qualifying for ILR on 5 year route in Dec 242 Children : Born outside UK, when Father was on ILR. Currently on Child Dependent Visa. Extension 2 valid until Oct 25. Qualifying for ILR on 5 year route in Dec 24

My query is, 
1. Can we apply for ILR, just for my wife in Dec 24 and not for the children? (Please bear in mind, children will still have valid visas until Oct 25) You can wait to apply for ILR for your children if you wish
2. Assuming she gets ILR granted by Mar 25 or so, can we (for the children) then apply directly for citizenship, as both parents will be considerd to have "settled" status? No. Children will need to have ILR before applying for registration. Your wife and kids will be able to apply for citizenship as soon as each of them gets their ILR. Children born outside of the UK need ILR to be registered.

The main benefit will be savings in ILR fees for the children, and also a possibly quicker route to passport.

Many thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

[confusedukdesi]

Children born abroad require ilr first, ie free from immigration time restrictions.

Many thanks. Is this the law? Or is there a guidance document or something where this condition i.e. ilr required, is specified.

[alterhase58]

Query is posted almost daily and the answer is always the same, ILR is is required for children born outside the UK.

Refer to "Form MN1 Guidance" https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... gistration
Section: "Registration at the Home Secretary’s discretion – Section 3(1) application"
The law: Section 3(1) British Nationality Act

[secret.simon]

Note that a child born abroad has no entitlement, no automatic right to British citizenship, unlike a child born in the UK.

The law on the topic is short and terse.

If while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British citizen, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen.

What it means in practice is that the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Home Secretary, can impose such conditions and requirements to register a child as as they see fit.

Currently the expectations for a child born abroad to be registered as a British citizen are,

Children applying in line with parents
Children will come within this category if:

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 (“settled” usually means that the parent has indefinite leave to remain 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 we can accept a shorter residence period, taking into account the age of the child)
the child is settled in the UK
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Children with settlement and residence
Children will come within this category if:

the child has completed a period of lawful residence in the UK of more than 5 years
the child has been granted settled status in the UK, and held that status for at least 12 months
the child’s parents have completed a period of 5 years residence and are settled in the UK (“settled” usually means that the parent has indefinite leave to remain in the UK)
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Children who have lived in the UK for more than 10 years
Children will come within this category if:

the child is in the UK lawfully
the parents are in the UK lawfully
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Any other child born to British or non-British parents
It is not possible to cover all circumstances under which the Home Secretary might exercise discretion. However, in considering any application not specifically covered above we will look at all of these:

the child’s connections with the UK – we would expect the child to be free of any restrictions on their stay in the UK
where the child’s future is likely to lie
the parents’ views
the parents’ nationality and immigration status – we expect either both parents to be British citizens or one parent a British citizen and the other parent settled in the UK
whether the child is of good character
the length of time the child has lived in the UK – we expect at least 2 years residence (particularly if the child is over the age of 13) – this would be considered along with the other factors above, such as whether the child is settled in the UK
any compelling circumstances

As you can see, except for when the child has completed 10 years of legal residence in the UK and both the child and the parents have maintained legal residence, it is expected that the child should be settled in the UK, i.e. have ILR.

The power to register the child is at discretion, which means that the child could be registered without ILR, if the parents/applicants present compelling or compassionate reasons for the child to be so registered without ILR.

But saving money (and remember that the ILR fees fund the Home Office. It is your expense, but their income) has not been considered either a compelling or compassionate reason to register a child as a British citizen.

[confusedukdesi]

Note that a child born abroad has no entitlement, no automatic right to British citizenship, unlike a child born in the UK.

The law on the topic is short and terse.

If while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British citizen, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen.

What it means in practice is that the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Home Secretary, can impose such conditions and requirements to register a child as as they see fit.

Currently the expectations for a child born abroad to be registered as a British citizen are,

Children applying in line with parents
Children will come within this category if:

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 (“settled” usually means that the parent has indefinite leave to remain 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 we can accept a shorter residence period, taking into account the age of the child)
the child is settled in the UK
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Children with settlement and residence
Children will come within this category if:

the child has completed a period of lawful residence in the UK of more than 5 years
the child has been granted settled status in the UK, and held that status for at least 12 months
the child’s parents have completed a period of 5 years residence and are settled in the UK (“settled” usually means that the parent has indefinite leave to remain in the UK)
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Children who have lived in the UK for more than 10 years
Children will come within this category if:

the child is in the UK lawfully
the parents are in the UK lawfully
both parents give their consent to registration (unless good reasons are provided)
there is no reason to refuse on character grounds.

Any other child born to British or non-British parents
It is not possible to cover all circumstances under which the Home Secretary might exercise discretion. However, in considering any application not specifically covered above we will look at all of these:

the child’s connections with the UK – we would expect the child to be free of any restrictions on their stay in the UK
where the child’s future is likely to lie
the parents’ views
the parents’ nationality and immigration status – we expect either both parents to be British citizens or one parent a British citizen and the other parent settled in the UK
whether the child is of good character
the length of time the child has lived in the UK – we expect at least 2 years residence (particularly if the child is over the age of 13) – this would be considered along with the other factors above, such as whether the child is settled in the UK
any compelling circumstances

As you can see, except for when the child has completed 10 years of legal residence in the UK and both the child and the parents have maintained legal residence, it is expected that the child should be settled in the UK, i.e. have ILR.

The power to register the child is at discretion, which means that the child could be registered without ILR, if the parents/applicants present compelling or compassionate reasons for the child to be so registered without ILR.

But saving money (and remember that the ILR fees fund the Home Office. It is your expense, but their income) has not been considered either a compelling or compassionate reason to register a child as a British citizen.

Many thanks Simon for the detailed reply. And thanks to others, for their responses as well.

So in my case, which category would the children fall under

Children applying in line with parents - If this one, then does that mean we can apply for citizenship of children, once wife gets ILR? No need to wait for 12 months?

or

Children with settlement and residence - If thus one, does that mean wife and children all have to wait for 12 months after ILR, to apply for citizenship?

[CR001]

If you are British, your wife and children can apply as soon as all of them get ilr, provided your wife meets the requirements based on 3 years residence.

There is no 12 month wait on ILR for children provoded one parent is british or applying and the other parent (and children born abroad) holds ilr. That is a requirement for adults only who do not have a British spouse.

[confusedukdesi]

If you are British, your wife and children can apply as soon as all of them get ilr, provided your wife meets the requirements based on 3 years residence.

There is no 12 month wait on ILR for children provoded one parent is british or applying and the other parent (and children born abroad) holds ilr. That is a requirement for adults only who do not have a British spouse.

Thanks, but not clear on the statement

"provided your wife meets the requirements based on 3 years residence."

Wife is meeting the requirements based on 5yrs residence. 2.5 yes initial entry clearance and 2.5 yrs extension.

[CR001]

As the spouse of a British Citizen, it is a 3 year residence requirements to apply to naturalise as birtish.

This has nothing to do with her visa route to ILR.

[confusedukdesi]

Ahh ok. Many thanks for the prompt reply.

So, in short, post ILR, both wife and children can apply for citizenship straight away after successful ILR.

[AmazonianX]

Ahh ok. Many thanks for the prompt reply.

So, in short, post ILR, both wife and children can apply for citizenship straight away after successful ILR. Correct

[confusedukdesi]

Hi all,

It's me again.. I am struggling to understand how this scenario can play out.

Once ILR is successful for mother (on 5 year Spouse route) and father is already naturalized british citizen, how can child's citizenship application be denied? I mean, when the visa runs out for my children in Oct 25, will they be deported? How would this work when both mother and father are "settled".

[CR001]

Your children born abroad need ILR (free from immigration time restrictions/settled) before they can apply for citizenship. This has already been advised.

If you do not apply for children ILR, when their visas expire, they become overstayers.

[confusedukdesi]

Many thanks for your replies.

It's really frustrating but I guess, it is what it is. We have started collating documentation for the application. We have decided to apply for my wife first and then apply for children afer 3-4 months (since they have visas till Oct 25), to mainly sprad out the cost. Hope this approach is fine?

Also, was checking if we could apply under priority service (£500 extra for a decision in 5 days), but it's confusing if ILR under SET (M) is eligible for priority service?

Appreciate your support with the queries above.

[contorted_svy]

Many thanks for your replies.

It's really frustrating but I guess, it is what it is. We have started collating documentation for the application. We have decided to apply for my wife first and then apply for children afer 3-4 months (since they have visas till Oct 25), to mainly sprad out the cost. Hope this approach is fine?

Yes.

Also, was checking if we could apply under priority service (£500 extra for a decision in 5 days), but it's confusing if ILR under SET (M) is eligible for priority service? This is a query for the ILR forum.

Appreciate your support with the queries above.