Will My Half Thai Child's Children Be British?

[duncUK]

Hi, I have a question regarding the future children of my Thai born half British half Thai baby.

Will his children automatically acquire British citizenship if they are born in Thailand, as although my child has a UK passport he does not have a long British birth certificate. Also, would registering the birth at the British embassy cound as an alternative to a long birth cert. and make a difference to the future nationalities of his children?

Thank you

[Eff1n2ret]

Where was your son born? If in Thailand, he is "British by descent" which means that he could not transmit his nationality to any offspring born outside the UK.

[7by7]

Indeed, whether or not he can pass his British citizenship onto his children born outside the UK depends on what type of citizenship he has.

If born in Thailand then he is British by descent and so his children will only be British if they are born in the UK or a qualifying territory.

Unless their mother is British otherwise than by descent, in which case they will inherit British citizenship from her no matter where they are born.

Registering his birth at the British embassy makes no difference to this.

See the first part of British Citizenship Basics for more on this.

Edited January 4, 2013 by 7by7

[Richard W]

Registering his birth at the British embassy makes no difference to this.

See the first part of British Citizenship Basics for more on this.

There is a registration process based on 3 years residence in the UK by the first generation British by descent - it's not easy to summarise snappily. See http://www.ukba.home...ns/nichapter10/ for details. As this link will disappear in accordance with the government policy of promoting link rot, I will record now that the legal basis is Sections 3(2) and 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

[7by7]

Quite easy to summarise, really.

In order to register a child born outside the UK or a qualifying territory as British where one parent is British by descent and the other is either not British or also British by descent then

• the child and both parents (just one if the parents are legally separated, divorced or one is dead) need to have been living in the UK for at least three years prior to applying and be in the UK when applying,
  
• during that 3 years they must have spent no more than 270 days in total out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year,
  
• the child must be under 18 at the time of applying.
  
• If the child is over 10 they need to satisfy a 'good character' requirement.
  
• The consent of both parents is required; unless they are legally separated, divorced or one is dead.
  

Full details of the requirements can be found in the link above.

Whether or not one has registered the birth at a British embassy will not effect the above process in any way.

Edit:

Of course, everything posted refers to the law and regulations now. Who knows what these will be when the OP's baby has grown up and fathered children of his own!

Edited January 5, 2013 by 7by7

[Richard W]

Not so easy - the above summary omits Section 3(2), which would only be relevant if the OP was born on or before 1st January 1983. If the OP's child (at any age) lives in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of three years, then any of his children born subsequently can be registered as British by descent while still under 18. This would be relevant if the OP's child were educated in the UK - though one would have to watch the 270 day limit.

[7by7]

What is it about "summarise" and "full details can be found...." is it that you don't understand?

I think the big difference between you, RichardW, and most posters here, including myself, is that we post in order to give relevant and useful advice to those asking questions; advice which is simple and, hopefully, easy to understand. I am not saying that we always get it right; I certainly don't.

Whereas you seem to post in attempts to show how clever you are.

[I Like Thai]

Does the British system have a two tiered Citizenship status then in that case ?

The system in Ireland is completely different and unlikely to change as it is protected in the constitution

"All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law."

If you are the child of an Irish citizen, you are automatically an Irish citizen even if your parent has never been to Ireland. You just need to ensure that you are registered as an Irish citizen and that your children are also registered as such

http://www.citizensi...or_descent.html

Born in the island of Ireland on or before 31 December 2004: Entitled to Irish citizenship or you are an Irish citizen

Born on the island of Ireland on or after 1 January 2005: Entitled to Irish citizenship if your parents are Irish. Entitled to Irish citizenship, if your parents are foreign nationals legally resident in the island of Ireland for 3 out of 4 years immediately prior to your birth

Child of A, born outside the island of Ireland : An Irish citizen

Child of C and a grandchild of A, born outside the island of Ireland : Entitled to Irish citizenship, but you must first register in the Foreign Births Register

A child of D and a great-grandchild of A, born outside the island of Ireland : Entitled to Irish citizenship, by having your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register, but only if your parent D had registered by the time of your birth.

Edited January 5, 2013 by I Like Thai

[Richard W]

What is it about "summarise" and "full details can be found...." is it that you don't understand?

The extent to which untrue statements are allowed in a summary. For registration under Section 3(2), the person being registered need never have set foot on British territory.

Does the British system have a two tiered Citizenship status then in that case ?

The system in Ireland is completely different and unlikely to change as it is protected in the constitution

The British and Irish systems are alike in having two categories. However, whereas the Irish system simply distinguishes those born on the island and those not, the British 'otherwise than by descent' includes more than just those born in the United Kingdom. For instance, it includes those naturalised as British. The systems differ in the extent to which they allow emigrants to retain British nationality over the generations.

All the Irish constitution 'protects' was the entitlement of those born on the island of Ireland to be Irish, subject to its curtailment by the 27th amendment in 2004. In 1986, the effect of registration ceased to be backdated to birth - that makes a big difference. Thus, the system has changed since Irish nationality was firmly imposed on most residents of Northern Ireland in 1956, just as members of families long and continuously resident there were beginning to be born free of Irish nationality.