Registering a british birth pre July 1st 2006

[Jared]

I'm looking into the possibility of registering my niece as a British Citizen so that she can come and live in England with us.

Short story is she was born in Thailand in 2005 to a British father and Thai mother. The father is on the birth certificate but they never married and split shortly after.

According to 'Check if your a British Citizen' page on the GOV.UK website she is not because they did not marry and she was born pre July 2006.

My first child was born in October 2006 so we didn't have any problems registering any of our kids.

The father is on the birth certificate so I'm wondering if it is still possible?

Our Aim is to get her to England to live with us and our kids so she can finish her education off over here.

We moved back to England in 2012 and at the time my nieces mother wouldn't let her come with us or we would have adopted her or looked at other options.

Has anyone got any suggestions?

[Mario2008]

Not sure about British law. It might be possible if a paternity suit is filled, in which a judge determines that her father is indeed the father. But that depends on British law.

[Jared]

Thanks Mario,

So I guess the question is, Has anyone managed to register there child as a British Citizen prior to July 2006 when they were not married to the mother?

[Jared]

Can admin please move this topic to 'Visas and migration to other countries' where I might get more help?

[bobrussell]

The law states that citizenship is discretionary prior to July 2006 but my understanding is that these applications are treated in much the same way as later applications. It would be beneficial to emphasise the ongoing British family links even if the father is no longer involved.

I would be surprised if they rejected any individual based just on the date of birth!

[7by7]

I would be surprised if they rejected any individual based just on the date of birth!

Me to, if it were the British father involved in the application; especially if he and the mother were still together.

But, in my opinion, registering a niece, even though the father was British, simply so she can come to live in the UK is going to be an uphill battle with very little chance of success.

From GUIDE MN1 (page 12)

Registration at the Home Secretary’s discretion – Section 3(1) application

Illegitimate children

We may normally register the illegitimate minor child, born before 1 July 2006, of a British citizen father under section 3 (1) if the criteria at a-c. (and, if appropriate, d.) below are all satisfied:

a. We are satisfied about the paternity of the child; and

b. We have the consent of all those with parental responsibility; and

c. If the child had been born to the father legitimately:

i. the child would have had an automatic claim to British citizenship; or

ii. the child would have had an entitlement to registration under either section 1 (3), section 3 (2) or sections 3 (5); or

iii. we would normally have registered under section 3 (1). And, if appropriate

d. There is no reason to refuse on character grounds

From Any other child born to British or non-British parents (page 17), you will see that discretion is allowed and that each case is treated on it's own merits. However, for an application to succeed in this category normally the child and at least one parent should already be living in the UK.

See also the appropriate parts of Nationality instructions: volume 1.

The main questions are, I believe, going to be "Why does the child need to be British? Why can't she live in Thailand with her mother?"

[harrry]

The sticking point to this is consent of all people with parental responsibilty so you would need the birth father consent (probably as he is the one thee citizenship will be derived from and from the girl's mother. I think there is no way around the girl.s mother's consent.

[onionluke]

I was told by the British consulate in Hong Kong that my son was not British when I made an application for his British passport in 2007 . I am a British passport holder and his mother is a Thai national , when he was born in 2005 we were not married. I am the father on both Thai and HK birth certificates issued before his British passport application. We got married and they issued his British passport the next day . Just like that , "Your son is not British " to " Hello , yes you can collect your son's passport tomorrow " . I believe if he had been born after 2006 the application for his British passport would have been accepted without the marriage certificate .

[7by7]

You believe correctly, onionluke. The law in this regard changed for births on an after 1/7/2006.

But the OP is not looking to register his own child, but his niece.

Were the child's parents to marry, then, like in your case, the procedure would be simple.

But from what the OP says, that is not an option.

[bobrussell]

I was told by the British consulate in Hong Kong that my son was not British when I made an application for his British passport in 2007 . I am a British passport holder and his mother is a Thai national , when he was born in 2005 we were not married. I am the father on both Thai and HK birth certificates issued before his British passport application. We got married and they issued his British passport the next day . Just like that , "Your son is not British " to " Hello , yes you can collect your son's passport tomorrow " . I believe if he had been born after 2006 the application for his British passport would have been accepted without the marriage certificate .

If HK had been accurate they should have said 'Your son is not automatically British'. An application would have been forwarded to a higher authority where it is almost certain that approval would have been given. Even the British government accept that an arbitrary date would be unfair, discriminatory and open to legal challenge.

If the British father applies for the passport and the mother gives consent there should be no problem. Is there a reason he cannot do this? If he is not on the scene for one reason or another it would seem unjust to deny someone citizenship they would otherwise qualify for IMO.

If the OP has taken over some degree of responsibility for the child this could be important to the application.

My eldest nephew was born pre-2006 and there was a heap of paperwork needed to get his British passport compared to the younger one born two years later.

Provide a good application and I would hope things would be accepted but don't include the argument that it is only being done to allow a British education! That might not help the argument at all.

[7by7]

If he (the father) is not on the scene for one reason or another it would seem unjust to deny someone citizenship they would otherwise qualify for IMO.

Many would agree, Bob; but I'm afraid it doesn't work like that.

Registration is at discretion; which basically means there has to be a reason for granting it.

Were the father still around and taking an active interest in the child, even if no longer in a relationship with the mother, that would probably be reason enough.

But from the OP, he isn't and hasn't been since shortly after the child's birth.

Did she even know she had a British father before the question of her moving to the UK came up?

One thing is for sure, though. Even if the father is no longer around and exercising any parental responsibility, the mother's consent will be needed.

The child is now 9; so the big question is why, after 9 years, does she suddenly want to be registered as British when her British parent has not taken any interest in her for nearly all of her life?

The only answer given by the OP is so she can move to the UK for her (free state?) education.

This is a far from straightforward application; and the more I think about this, the more I feel the OP should seek advice from a lawyer in the UK who is experienced in nationalisation matters.

Edited June 28, 2014 by 7by7

[Jared]

Thanks for the replys guys.

Firstly were not trying to bring her here just so she can have a UK education. My wife and I have practically raised her since she was just over 1 until she was 7 when we left for the UK 2 years ago. There's only around a year and a half between her and our oldest son and all 3 of our children consider her their big sister. When we moved to the UK at the time we asked her if she wanted to come with us and back then she didn't because she would miss her mum too much which is understandable. Now she's a bit older she has decided that she's like to come and live with us. When we left she was living in the family home and there were plenty of family member's looking after her. Now they have all left, got married and had their own kids. Its just the grandma and her mother left. Her mum works crazy hours at a franchised restaurant and they send her away for months at a time to other locations where she has to help train up the new staff. This is when my niece is practically left to fend for herself.

The situation now is that I have been in contact with the father and I believe we can move forward and get her registered. I was never going to be the one signing the document and registering it was always going to be the father providing he agreed to do so.

Registration at the Home Secretary’s discretion – Section 3(1) application
Illegitimate children

We may normally register the illegitimate minor child, born before 1 July 2006, of a British citizen father under section 3 (1) if the criteria at a-c. (and, if appropriate, d.) below are all satisfied:
a. We are satisfied about the paternity of the child; and
b. We have the consent of all those with parental responsibility; and
c. If the child had been born to the father legitimately:
i. the child would have had an automatic claim to British citizenship; or
ii. the child would have had an entitlement to registration under either section 1 (3), section 3 (2) or sections 3 (5); or
iii. we would normally have registered under section 3 (1). And, if appropriate
d. There is no reason to refuse on character grounds

The paternity I believe should be satisfied as he is on the Thai birth certificate. The father is willing to do the DNA test if need be but according to the document below they should accept the birth certificate.

Paternity

Where the mother was not married at the time of a child’s birth and no provision is

made through surrogacy arrangements or the female second parent provisions of the

HFE Act 2008 as to the identity of the father, the “father” will be any person who is

shown to be such by either:

a birth certificate, issued within 1 year of the birth, naming the child’s father, Or

b.any other evidence, such as DNA test reports and court orders, the Home

Secretary considers to be relevant to the issue of paternity and to constitute

sufficient proof.

We have consent of both the Mother and Father, check!

I believe everything is covered.

The plan now is to get her mother to translate the documents we need, sign the correct forms, get photos etc and send all of that to us.

I will then fill out the forms and go with the father to a 'checking services' and he will submit the documents.

Once she has been registered the passport should just be a formality and I believe we can also do that from the UK.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[Jared]

Does anyone think there will be a problem doing all this from the UK when the child is actually in Thailand?

I've looked in a few forums and its been mentioned but with slightly different circumstances.

[Jared]

Current plans are to have the mother sign the papers and send us all the documents.

We are filling out the MN1 form and will register her under section 3 (1)

I don't know if they will accept this because the niece is not currently living in the UK, the father is though.

Does anyone think we may have to go the British embassy in Bangkok and get her registered?