susie64

Hello: I am a British Citizen and my husband American, we have two adopted children from China and Ethiopia, both are now US citizens with US birth certificates, we are wanting to move back to the UK but I cannot find any info as to getting a British passport for our children, any clues please?

dollface

Won't it just be the same protocol as for biological children born in USA? you'd apply for a UK passport as their Mother, A British Citizen?

Were you born in the UK? that may make the difference.

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to assist you.

susie64

Yes, I was born in the UK, one of my children China, the other Ethiopia, but we readopted them in the USA to get new USA birth certificates with us named as the parents, but it still states the countries they were born in. The only info I could find on getting an adopted child a UK passport was if they had been adopted in the UK by a UK citizen?

JAJ

Children adopted outside the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man do not normally acquire British citizenship automatically.

HOWEVER, you can normally register them as British citizens before the age of 18.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/br...adoptedabroad/

Technically it's "discretionary" but will normally be granted if the noted requirements are met.


Also - they absolutely need U.S. citizenship certificates from the Citizenship & Immigration Service. You suggest they have a U.S. "birth certificate" which is not the same thing. It is a really bad idea to rely solely on U.S. passports as sole evidence of citizenship. You can get them citizenship certificates by filing an N-600 application, details from http://www.uscis.gov


Since you have U.S. children, you should seriously consider U.S. citizenship for yourself, if you don't have it.

susie64

They both have ss numbers etc but I will look into the N-600 application. I have applied for my US citizenship and I am waiting on the interview.

JAJ

Neither an SS number nor their birth certificate proves that they are U.S. citizens. If they don't get citizenship certificates now then there is nothing to stop the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service challenging them to prove their U.S. citizenship in future. And there have been cases where U.S. passports were shown to have been issued by mistake and renewal was denied.

The N-600 certificate is expensive but it's the only option for them to have a secure proof of citizenship. If, during the process, some problem is discovered with their citizenship they are still young enough for it to be easily resolved.

Mummy in the foothills

We registered our adopted Dd as a UK citizen using form MN1
They need a lot of proof of the child being a US citizen so the N600 is the way to go.
Our Dd had a US birth so we needed court papers as well as other information for her.
Once we got the registration as a UK citizen paper back in the mail we applied for her UK passport.

dollface

I thought it had something to do with the adoption itself being carried out under the Hague Convention?, I have no idea if Ethiopia or China are part of that group?

I have a friend in Ottawa who adopted a son from Russia and a daughter in Ottawa - the son from Russia (which was not part of the Hague Convention at the time of his adoption , late 1990's) had to obtain, at a cost, a British Citizenship Certificate before he could apply for a UK passport. The daughter on the other hand, who was born in Canada did not. She automatically received a UK passport, which states she is a UK Citizen, when her UK born Father applied for it, as Canada is part of the Hague Convention.

It may well be different in the USA.

Also, if you remain in the USA and your children are granted a UK Passort, then their children, do not qualify to become UK Citizens.

JAJ

The adoptions may have been carried out under U.S. law.


If they were not living in the United Kingdom, I would wonder if the daughter's British passport was issued by mistake. If that's the case, she's not a British citizen and her passport is invalid.

From the Home Office document ADOPTION:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si.../nisec2gensec/

---------

6. Adoption under the terms of the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (“the Hague Convention”)

6.1 Where a foreign child has been adopted in any country or territory outside the United Kingdom under the terms of the Hague Convention, and
• the adopter (or, in the case of a joint adoption, one of the adopters) is a British citizen, and
• the adopters is (or, in the case of a joint adoption, both of the adopters are) habitually resident in the United Kingdom or in a territory which has been designated for this purpose under s.50(14) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (no territories have yet been designated)

the child will be a British citizen from the date on which the Hague Convention adoption is effected (s.1(5) British Nationality Act 1981 as amended, from 1 June 2003, by s.7 of the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 and, from 30 December 2005, by s.137 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002).

-----------


Registration under section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981, if neither "parent" of the child (as defined in the Act) is a British citizen at the time the child is born, gives British citizenship otherwise than by descent. From the Home Office Nationality Instructions, Chapter 20:

20.2.2 The reference in 20.2.1 to father or mother does not include an adoptive father or mother. This means that adopted children registered under s.3(1)
are British citizens otherwise than by descent unless one of their natural parents was a British citizen at the time of the birth. For the definition of 'father' and 'mother', see Annex F to Chapter 6).

dollface

Wow, I must mention this to her - she did it all via the British High Commission in Canada, who then, in turn, passed the paperwork onto UK Border Office to have passports issued, assumably under this :


http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/br...adoptedabroad/

To be on the safe side the original poster should telephohne the UK Border Agency in Liverpool and talk to (somone and get their name) for clarification.

If indeed, as you suggest that my friends daughter was issued a UK passport in error, it worries me no end that the UK are issuing passports to god knows who without checking out who they really are - bit of egg on the face of their Border Agency to say the least. However, i'm sure it is all legal and above board!

susie64

Confused over here, China is a hague country, Ethiopia is not, my husband is a US citizen by birth so I can't see their US citizenship being challenged as they have a US birth certificate, passport and ss number but I agree you never know what can happen in the future. I have no intention of returning to the US but would not want to prevent my kids down the road.

So reading the hague info it would make my daughter a British citizen but not my son?

JAJ

As far as I can tell, the Canadian born child should also have a Home Office Certificate of Registration as a British citizen. If she does not have this then it's not clear how she could have become a British citizen automatically, even if the Canadian adoption was Hague Convention compliant, if the adoptive parents were living in Canada at the time.

If there is any reason to suspect her British passport was issued by mistake, and is invalid as a result, now is the time to act. There is a good chance she will have to "re-prove" British citizenship for an adult passport application, or if passport is ever lost.

I would refer you to the Home Office Nationality Instructions.

-----

6.3.9 Cases sometimes come to light where, due to official error, people have been consularly registered while ineligible for such registration or wrongly issued with British passports or certificates of entitlement to the right of abode. As a result they might have lost age- or time-limited entitlements to citizenship. So that they are not disadvantaged by the official error we should be ready in such cases to construe the application as an undetermined application for citizenship and process it accordingly.


6.3.10 This policy will not normally cover the holders of British Visitors passports which have been issued in error. It is intended primarily to benefit people who had, but no longer have, an avenue to registration under the minor or other registration provisions of the British Nationality Act 1948 or the British Nationality Act 1981 and have been led to believe that they are British or have a UK right of abode. Although we should act reasonably in the circumstances of each individual case, the policy should not normally apply where:

- a realistic avenue to citizenship is still open, or
- at the time of the error, the person would clearly not have been eligible for the grant of citizenship (as would be the case, for instance, with an adult who was unable to meet the unwaivable requirements for naturalisation or registration)

but any discretion should normally be exercised in the person's favour.

6.3.11 The policy should not apply, either:
- where there is reason to believe that the passport, certificate of entitlement or consular birth registration was obtained by deception, or
- where the person could reasonably have known that no such claim existed

6.3.12 It is important to note that if an application referred to in paragraph 6.3.9 above is to be construed as a citizenship application, it must have been received by the authority specified in the appropriate nationality regulations. In this connection, it should be noted that:

- the Passport Office did not form part of the Home Office until 1 April 1984
- an application for registration as a CUKC under s.6(2) or s.7(1) of the 1948 Act had to be made to the Home Secretary if the applicant was in a foreign country
- if a passport etc application is known to have been received but cannot now be traced and (if necessary) passed to the correct receiving authority, it will not be possible to treat it as a citizenship application.

-------------

dollface

My understanding is that the non Hague convention child would have to initially apply and obtain a Certificate of UK Citizenship, THEN apply for a UK passport.

You're daughter, is not automatically a British Citizen either, they don't know she exists yet - first you must apply for her UK Passport before the age of 18.

I'd hate to be giving you wrong info here as i'm getting this 2nd hand. If in any doubt, and I recommend you do this, call the UK Border Agency direct or e-mail them (so you have something in writing) to seek clarification.

You could also call the British High Commission in the USA.

Good Luck, i'm sure everything will be fine in the end.

JAJ

SS number : does not prove U.S. citizenship

Birth certificate : shows a foreign birthplace, so does not prove U.S. citizenship.

Passport : fairly good evidence of citizenship, but can be lost/stolen etc. and can be revoked if found to have been issued in error. It's still open to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration to challenge U.S. citizenship if status is not documented on U.S. CIS files.


If you're not resident in the United Kingdom then as far as I can see you have to apply for both children to be registered as British citizens. You will need to show that their adoptions are recognised under British law, either through the Convention or otherwise. Are the adoptions either Convention compliant, or U.S. compliant?

susie64

The are both US compliant as you are only allowed to adopt from certain countries over here, very strict and the US embassy has to pass everything, only my Chinese daughter is hague compliant as Ethiopia is not a hague countr, but still they have to follow hague guidelines. I do think however where they were born is irrelevant as long as they are legally my children and US citizens. Would it be best to apply for UK passports for them