Scottish/thai Girl Getting A Scottish Passport?

[mobiryder]

My fiance is half Scottish, half Thai. The problem is her mother wasn't with her father for too long after conception, and was married to a Thai man by the time my fiance was born. To save face they put the Thai husband's name on the birth certificate, etc. She is obviously half farang though and it could be proven with a DNA test I'm sure.

Does anyone know the likelihood that she can get a Scottish/UK passport? Pls note that her father is also deceased.

If not, can you point me in the direction of a firm that can assist?

Thx in advance.

[markuk]

i would have thought it would be quite difficult and drawn out process, why bother she can manage with the Thai passport until eligible for a UK one.

(As far as i am aware there are no Scottish passports - though there should be!)

[mobiryder]

mark, thx for the reply... as you know it's quite a process for Thai girls to get visas to most legit countries, we travel alot and this would be a great help.

[markuk]

mark, thx for the reply... as you know it's quite a process for Thai girls to get visas to most legit countries, we travel alot and this would be a great help.

I agree it can be difficult to travel and a brit passport would be easier, but in general if you are honest and have reasons for visiting these countries it will be ok on Thai passport.

[GU22]

She is not going to get a British passport by virtue of her birth as her birth certificate names the Thai man as her father.

Although the law has recently changed, at the time of her birth British fathers could only pass on their nationality to their children by foreign mothers if they were married to the mother. So, even if she could prove that her father was British, because he never married her mother she still wouldn't qualify for a British passport.

The only way she is going to get a British passport is to be legally resident in the UK for the required period (5 years, or 3 years if the spouse of a British citizen) and then apply.

[mobiryder]

I do believe they were married and then divorced before birth. Not 100% sure on this though.

[GU22]

Even so, her Thai stepfather is named as her real father on the birth certificate.

IMHO, to try and obtain a British passport for her via this route will be a long, complicated and expensive legal process, with no guarantee of success. You call her your fiance, so presumably intend to marry her. Doing so and living together in the UK would mean she is eligible to apply for a British passport 3 years later. Quicker, simpler and cheaper, I think.

[the scouser]

Alternatively, she could apply for a visa on the grounds that she has a UK-born grandparent. This would allow her to stay in the UK for up to five years and then obtain indefinite leave. However, she would still need to demonstrate that her real father was not the man named on her birth certificate.

Scouse.

[vinny]

Scouse, would she need to be a Commonwealth citizen in order to apply under the United Kingdom ancestry (18.14) provision?

Edited November 26, 2006 by vinny

[the scouser]

Yes, Vinny, you're right. Forget the grandparent angle, the OP's best bet is to apply for a settlement visa as the UK passport route is going to be too protracted and even then, she might not qualify.

Scouse.

[mobiryder]

thx for the input... just for clarification, i am American, and we do not intend to live in the UK... we just travel alot and it would be alot easier if she had a UK passport vice a Thai pp.

[gregchambers]

Just to add, the child of a Brit who is illegitimate would have to be under eighteen to apply for Brit citizenship under the newish regualtions - and then it is up to the UK government if it will be granted, based I think on the father being resident in the UK and there being a good reason for the child to go there. The father is supposed to apply on behalf of the child so if he is dead don't know what would happen then. Possibly a DNA test would overcome the fake birth certificate.

[GU22]

just for clarification, i am American, and we do not intend to live in the UK

Then forget about a British passport for her, it aint going to happen without a lot of time and effort and giving of large amounts of money to lawyers. Even then, there is only a very small chance of success.

Where do you intend to live once married? If the states then surely after a certain time she could be naturalised as American and get a US passport?