guypol

Hi,

I'm British by descent, born and living abroad. I'm planning to move to the UK with my wife and two children, none of whom are British.

As I understand I will need to apply for UK family visas for all three of them, and have a few questions about this:

1. Is there any difference if the children apply for their own separate visas, or as dependents in my wife's visa, in terms of their future status in the UK (e.g. registration as British citizens later on, visa extension)?

2. When applying for child visa I need to fill out form VAF4A appendix 1. This form has questions (e.g. part 2- regarding financial circumstances) that seem to be meant for cases in which the UK sponsor is already residing in the UK. How should I answer these questions- with details on my employment and income where I currently live?

3. We currently don't have an address in the UK, will probably find an apartment to rent only after the visa applications have been submitted. Is this a problem?

Thanks,
Guy

BritInParis

1. You will need to apply for a separate visa for each family member. Your children cannot be added as dependants to your wife's visa.

2. You don't need to complete Appendix 1 in your situation. You should complete Appendix 2.

3. You will need to provide evidence of sufficient accommodation as part of the visa applications. Failure to do so will likely result in refusals.

Where were both your parents born? Does your wife have any recent British, Irish or other European ancestry; parents, grandparents, great-grandparents?

guypol

Thank you for the prompt reply BritInParis...

My mother was born in the UK, my father in Poland. My wife has European grandparents but does not hold any European citizenship.

I have British relatives living in the UK. Should I state that we will be staying with them until we find permanent accommodation? If so, is there anything I need to provide other than a letter from my relatives that approves this?

BritInParis

In that case I would investigate Polish citizenship for yourself and your children, assuming your father was born to Polish parents. Has your father ever acquired another citizenship?

Did you ever live in the UK for any length of time before your children were born?

Which country were your wife's grandparents from?

Staying with family members is possible way to meet the accommodation requirement providing there is sufficient room. This is specified here. If you can avoid settlement visas by using EU passports then it will be far simpler and cheaper for you.

guypol

I previously lived in the UK, before my children were born, for 6 months only.
My wife's grandparents were also from Poland. I will look into the EU passport possibility you suggested.

I have another question which is not directly visa-related. Assuming my family will enter the UK with family visas, should I be able to register the children as British citizens after 3 years of living in the UK or 5 years? I've found some contradicting information about this issue. I'm British by descent, born outside the UK in November 1982 to a British mother.

Many thanks again,
Guy

BritInParis

Polish passports all round would be the way to go.

It's three years. If you were born in November 1982, were you registered as a British citizen? Which country were you born in? Which passports do your wife and children hold at the moment?

guypol

Yes, I was registered as a British citizen and I hold a British passport. I was born in Israel and my family all have Israeli passports.
Might you be able to refer me to any specific (formal) documentation that says it's a 3 year duration before registration? I've previously come across the document 'Guide MN1' , where it is written under section 3(5):
"To qualify under this section the child and their mother and father should have lived in the UK (or British overseas territory if born after 21 May 2002) for a 3 year period ending with the date the application is received."

Is this clause relevant to my case?

BritInParis

That's correct provided you were registered as a British citizen before your children were born.

British Nationality Act 1981

guypol

Great thank you

guypol

Hi,

After reading some information on this site and others, I'm not completely sure about my type of citizenship.

,I was born to a British (otherwise than by descent) mother and a non-British father outside of the UK (in Israel) in november 1982.

From what I read British nationality was passed only through the father before 1983, so I should not have received automatically a British citizenship 'by descent', but must have been registered at birth as a British citizen.

If that is the case, is my citizenship by descent or otherwise than by descent?

Thank you very much again

Guy

BritInParis

Well, you already stated that you were registered. The presumption is that you are a British citizen by descent given the information provided. You’d need to check your registration certificate to confirm this.