US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Nov 30th 2017, 2:57 pm
#31
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Maryland (via Belfast, Manchester, Toronto and London)
Posts: 4,802
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
If you exit the UK with your UK passport, I'm surprised you're not asked why you don't have an ESTA or visa for the US. It would make sense to check in with your US passport when leaving the UK.
Nov 30th 2017, 3:50 pm
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Athens GA
Posts: 2,134
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Dec 3rd 2017, 9:52 am
#33
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Not in Paris
Posts: 18,193
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Consider a scenario. A UKC buys a round trip flight to the UK from the US and enters the UK on a US passport. Something happens (maybe s/he meets someone and eventually gets married) and the UKC decides to stay, gets a UK passport, a job, opens a bank account, gets a doctor, etc.
The entry record (and the subsequent lack of an exit record within the expected timeframe) does not mean that the UKC is in the country illegally. The system may think that this person has likely overstayed and is in the country illegally - but it doesn't have all the information. It's just a possibility.
The fact is that the UKC, by definition, cannot be in the country illegally. This is exactly the point I was making - immigration status is completely independent of whatever entry record is in the system. The system may indeed identify an illegal immigrant - but it might be wrong. There might well be questions asked the next time the person leaves and/or enters the UK but it doesn't change the fact that immigration status is not dependent on whatever records they have in their entry/exit system.
The entry record (and the subsequent lack of an exit record within the expected timeframe) does not mean that the UKC is in the country illegally. The system may think that this person has likely overstayed and is in the country illegally - but it doesn't have all the information. It's just a possibility.
The fact is that the UKC, by definition, cannot be in the country illegally. This is exactly the point I was making - immigration status is completely independent of whatever entry record is in the system. The system may indeed identify an illegal immigrant - but it might be wrong. There might well be questions asked the next time the person leaves and/or enters the UK but it doesn't change the fact that immigration status is not dependent on whatever records they have in their entry/exit system.
Dec 3rd 2017, 10:06 am
#34
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,114
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Hi everyone,
My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, to be born in the US. My wife has Taiwanese citizenship, I have UK citizenship [1], and we are both US green card holders living in the US. My understanding is that our child will be a US citizen because they will be born in the US, but will also automatically acquire UK citizenship through being "British by descent", since they are the child of a UK citizen who is a "British citizen otherwise than by descent", i.e., me. [2]
My 2 questions are about when our child travels to the UK:
- Should we get them a US passport and use that, or should we get them a UK one?
- If a UK one is better, do we have to go to the gov dot uk site under register-a-birth and do that first? And then is it the same as applying for a passport for any other citizen? [3]
Thanks for any help,
Nick
[1] Was born there to UK citizen parents and lived there until age 24
[2] Wikipedia article on British nationality law, section British citizenship by descent, etc.
[3] We would most likely only be travelling to the UK for a couple of weeks a year
My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, to be born in the US. My wife has Taiwanese citizenship, I have UK citizenship [1], and we are both US green card holders living in the US. My understanding is that our child will be a US citizen because they will be born in the US, but will also automatically acquire UK citizenship through being "British by descent", since they are the child of a UK citizen who is a "British citizen otherwise than by descent", i.e., me. [2]
My 2 questions are about when our child travels to the UK:
- Should we get them a US passport and use that, or should we get them a UK one?
- If a UK one is better, do we have to go to the gov dot uk site under register-a-birth and do that first? And then is it the same as applying for a passport for any other citizen? [3]
Thanks for any help,
Nick
[1] Was born there to UK citizen parents and lived there until age 24
[2] Wikipedia article on British nationality law, section British citizenship by descent, etc.
[3] We would most likely only be travelling to the UK for a couple of weeks a year
You may also want to get your child Taiwanese nationality and include the child in your wife's household register in Taiwan if the child is a girl (Taiwan still has conscription for males citizens). By doing the above, your child will get a Taiwanese passport with a personal ID number / household registration.
Dec 19th 2017, 5:17 am
#35
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 5
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Thanks everyone for the replies. Appreciated.
Dec 19th 2017, 5:35 am
#36
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2014
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 72
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
Hi everyone,
My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, to be born in the US. My wife has Taiwanese citizenship, I have UK citizenship [1], and we are both US green card holders living in the US. My understanding is that our child will be a US citizen because they will be born in the US, but will also automatically acquire UK citizenship through being "British by descent", since they are the child of a UK citizen who is a "British citizen otherwise than by descent", i.e., me. [2]
My 2 questions are about when our child travels to the UK:
- Should we get them a US passport and use that, or should we get them a UK one?
- If a UK one is better, do we have to go to the gov dot uk site under register-a-birth and do that first? And then is it the same as applying for a passport for any other citizen? [3]
Thanks for any help,
Nick
[1] Was born there to UK citizen parents and lived there until age 24
[2] Wikipedia article on British nationality law, section British citizenship by descent, etc.
[3] We would most likely only be travelling to the UK for a couple of weeks a year
My wife and I are expecting our first child in January, to be born in the US. My wife has Taiwanese citizenship, I have UK citizenship [1], and we are both US green card holders living in the US. My understanding is that our child will be a US citizen because they will be born in the US, but will also automatically acquire UK citizenship through being "British by descent", since they are the child of a UK citizen who is a "British citizen otherwise than by descent", i.e., me. [2]
My 2 questions are about when our child travels to the UK:
- Should we get them a US passport and use that, or should we get them a UK one?
- If a UK one is better, do we have to go to the gov dot uk site under register-a-birth and do that first? And then is it the same as applying for a passport for any other citizen? [3]
Thanks for any help,
Nick
[1] Was born there to UK citizen parents and lived there until age 24
[2] Wikipedia article on British nationality law, section British citizenship by descent, etc.
[3] We would most likely only be travelling to the UK for a couple of weeks a year
FYI- you can also get your child’s UK passport whilst in the US too AND someone mentioned here about NHS - as long as you can provide your child’s British psssport within 6 months - nothing is payable.
Dec 19th 2017, 6:54 pm
#37
Living the NYC dream
Joined: May 2016
Location: New York
Posts: 151
Re: US Child of UK Parent Traveling to UK: Passport(s)
My daughter was born in the USA to a British mother (me). She got an American passport soon after she was born and then I applied for a British one 7 years later. That was a pretty fast and painless process which I was able to complete mostly online and then mail my UK passport and birth certificate along with copies of her US documents to the UK. I didn't bother registering her birth with the consulate and there was no advantage to us for doing so.
We travel to the UK a couple of times a year and really the only advantage for her having a UK passport is my sense of accomplishment of having it done and dusted.
We travel to the UK a couple of times a year and really the only advantage for her having a UK passport is my sense of accomplishment of having it done and dusted.
