NaijaBrit

Hello All,

i need some advice from you. i am nigerian with a 4 months old boy. i have also got a spouse visa and my husband is british. i had my baby in nigeria so that i could get the support of family because this is my first baby.

i am thinking of applying for Right of Abode for my baby rather than British passport. 7-9 months wait for British passport is scary...does anyone have experience of ROA, what is the timeline when applying from outside UK (Nigeria - high risk country) and how easy is it to switch to british passport once in the uk?

finally, is ETD available to 1st time british passport applicants and spouse visa holders?

i have been trying to contact the Nigeria British High Commission to no avail....

please help...

NaijaBrit

Hello,

i just want to give back to the forum based on my experience with UK Immigration.

I decided against applying for 1st time overseas passport for my son, I applied for Right of Abode.

Below is my timeline applying for Right of Abode from Nigeria

1. Applied 12th Feb
2. Application received by UK Visas 13th Feb
3. Received an 'unable to process application within the specified timeline' email from UK Visas on 2nd March
4. Received a 'decision made' email on 12th March
5. Collected passport 17th March

I hope it helps someone out there

BritInParis

That's very interesting and somewhat surprising to know, thank you. I'd be interested to see how long his passport takes to be issued from within the UK once you return.

NaijaBrit

I will put up my timeline when i apply for his passport in the UK

BritInParis

Much obliged.

NaijaBrit

final updates

so when i got to uk, i applied for my son's passport. it took them 3 weeks to process. i did the post office check and send service. i applied with the least amount of supporting documents. cheers

scot47

I have used the Post Office check system. Seems the best approach if it is open to you.

Lagos2014

[QUOTE=NaijaBrit;11547625]Hello All,

i need some advice from you. i am nigerian with a 4 months old boy. i have also got a spouse visa and my husband is british. i had my baby in nigeria so that i could get the support of family because this is my first baby.

i am thinking of applying for Right of Abode for my baby rather than British passport. 7-9 months wait for British passport is scary...does anyone have experience of ROA, what is the timeline when applying from outside UK (Nigeria - high risk country) and how easy is it to switch to british passport once in the uk?

finally, is ETD available to 1st time british passport applicants and spouse visa holders?

i have been trying to contact the Nigeria British High Commission to no avail....

please help...[/QUOTE

We are in the same situation so this thread is very useful. Was the right to abide sufficient for your baby to travel or did you accompany it with Nigerian passport? Thank you

Lagos2014

[QUOTE=Lagos2014;11736482] Also did you apply online? What supporting documents did you have to provide?

NaijaBrit

yes i applied online via the below link

https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome

i have also attached some documents to help with the application

Lagos2014

Thanks so much for replying and the attached documents. We were on the verge of despair before we found your thread.

Did you have to visit a visa office in Nigeria to complete your application/ submit your supporting documents?

Lagos2014

Hi all,

Three weeks ago we applied online for the certificate of right to abode and were successful. The process was as follows:

1. Applied for daughters Nigerian passport at Ikoyi passport office

2. Applied online for her certificate of right to abode: https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome
It was over $400!

3. Attended Visa Office in Victoria Island with print out of the application form and supporting documentation. They dont tell you which documents to bring so we took everything e.g. entire families birth certificates, UK passports, marriage certificate, parental letter of consent etc They made copies of all our documents and returned most of the originals on the same day EXCEPT for the birth certificates.

4. We tracked our application online and after 3 weeks were told to collect her passport

5. Collected her passport at the Victoria Island Visa Office and our original documents were returned to us with her passport which contained the visa stamp. Voila!

We will apply for her British Passport when we arrive in the UK. Hope this info helps someone. Much quicker than applying for a UK passport from Nigeria as this would involve us sending original passports and other documents to the UK and a timescale of up to 9 months.