Establishing Illegitimate Child's Paternity

[Richard W]

Since 2006, many British men have been confident that their children will be British because they thought they could ensure that they would be named as the father of the child in a birth certificate issued within one year of the date of the child’s birth (The British Nationality (Proof of Paternity) Regulations 2006). (DNA testing is an alternative.) However, certificates issued after 10 September 2015 are no longer so dependable. Instead of such a birth certificate automatically being valid evidence, the requirement is now that 'the person must satisfy the Secretary of State that he is the natural father of the child' (British Nationality (Proof of Paternity) (Amendment) Regulations 2015).

What does this mean in practice? On the face of it, it seems that the Secretary of State can review the evidence of paternity whenever there is a question as to nationality! I hope the courts would object to such potential variability of outcome. More seriously, how do dead fathers satisfy the Secretary of State of anything? What must they do before they die? Do they apply for a nationality status certificate? Do they need to obtain the child a British passport PDQ (see for example BrewsterBudgen's hassles)? Is consular birth registration the answer? None of my suggested answers are appropriate when British nationality has to be bought for the child, i.e. technically the child is entitled to be registered (as a minor!) as British.

Now, these problems aren't mine, but they may be other readers'. They might even be relevant for a child born in Britain to a British father and a Polish mother, though I would hope that a British birth certificate would speak for itself.