Colhopper

Hi all,

Hoping someone can help.

I've done a bunch of research into this (read the wiki here as well) but still not 100% sure of what I need exactly as I've seen some conflicting info. British Immigration has not been helpful at all, so wondering if anyone here can shed some light.

So, I'm British by descent (born in South Africa to British parents in 1980). I now live in Australia and am an Australian citizen. My daughter is an Australian citizen.

From what I understand, the documents I need to apply for her British passport are:

• Colour copies of all pages of her Australian passport
• Her birth certificate
• My birth certificate
• My fathers's birth certificate
• Evidence of being in the UK for 3 years (I went to high school and worked there for 4-5 years)

The first 4 I can do no problem. I've got a letter from my high school saying that I attended for two years in 6th form, but trying to get hold of my tax documents showing that I worked and paid tax (and ultimately proving that I did live in the UK for a period of time) has been difficult.

I've read in numerous immigration forums that others have just emailed and got their tax documents in 10 days, others say it takes months. I tried a few of the emails listed and have not heard anything. I filled out a form on the National Insurance website to get a document showing NIN contributions for all years I worked (that was a while ago and have never heard anything back.)
I end up going in a loop on the HMRC website.

So I'm a little stuck and wondering if anyone has been in this situation or knows if I'm missing anything from my list.

Thanks.

BritInParis

What you're talking about is registering your daughter as a British citizen with the Home Office using Form UKM. You'll need to do this first before you can apply for her British passport. Bear in mind that if you do this then your daughter will be stuck with British citizenship by descent and if her own children are born outside the UK then she won't be able to register them in the same manner even if she spends three years in the UK as you did.

When she's old enough and wants to work in the UK then an ancestry visa for five years followed by naturalisation might be worth considering as this would make her a British citizen otherwise than by descent and her children would then be British citizens regardless of where they were born.

If you plan to move to the UK together then I would definitely hold off and register her after three years of residence as this would also give her British citizenship otherwise than by descent.

To answer your question do you have any P45s or P60s from your time working in the UK? A NI contribution record is good but since you can make NI contributions from overseas it doesn't necessarily follow that you spent those years in the UK. Alternatively could you approach your former employers and ask for a letter confirming your dates of employment? How long ago are we talking?

Colhopper

Hi BritInParis,

Thanks for your reply. That's a whole bunch of information I didn't even know about - Thanks for that. Will have to think about this now. We have no plans on moving to the UK so perhaps waiting until she's older may be the correct path.

I don't think I have my P45s or payslips anymore. It's been over 10 years since I was there and I'm pretty sure those documents got shredded. (Me stupidly thinking that I'd never need them again..... )

BritInParis

Something else to bear in mind if you decide to wait - the option to register her as a British citizen is only open whilst she's under 18.

Might be worth giving HMRC a ring about your NI records.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...nd-individuals

Colhopper

Yeah, we just wanted to do it right away so she has it. We discussed and waiting is the better option, especially as I've just seen the cost! Might as well get all the documents needed in the meantime though.

Thanks a bunch, you've been a great help.

Colhopper

Just clicked on the link you posted. The online form there is the one I filled in and have not heard anything back. I'll ring them. Thanks.