kylie_anne

Hi all!! I'm so relieved to have stumbled across this forum and the wealth of knowledge it holds - there's so much info out there in regards to UK Visa applications and most has been conflicting, I'm basically at the point of seeking out an immigration lawyer just to ensure I'm on the right path and have everything needed - so any guidance from your experience before I commit to lawyer fees would be so very appreciated. It's a bit of a long story, so apologies in advance :-)

Background: I'm a kiwi and live in NZ with my husband who is a British Citizen, we've been together since 2018 and have a 6mo old son. We've now decided we'd like to move to the UK so that our son can grow up close to my husband's parents/siblings.. so here are the hick-ups:

1) We will by applying from New Zealand, so my husband will be submitting his employment details from the past 12 months here and will secure a job offer letter for a role within the UK that meets the financial requirements. I've seen conflicting info on whether just a job offer is sufficient or whether there needs to also be a signed contract, is the offer enough?

2) Accomodation - We will be staying with my husband's parents, is a letter from them confirming this (and the details of property i.e. size, rooms, occupancy) enough or do we also need to submit evidence of their ownership of the house with utility bills/property deed?

3) Our son - So my husband is a British Citizen but was born in South Africa (his mum is British and was born in the UK but his dad is South African, they were in SA when my husband was born and his parents returned to the UK with him when he was 4 years old) and he has a British Passport. For us to apply for our son's British Passport, it appears we will be required to submit original birth certificates for not just my husband and I but also for both sets of parents (i.e. our sons maternal and paternal grandparents) as well as their marriage certificates. The issue here is that my husband's parents original documents are with them in the UK and came with them from South Africa, so if they were to go missing in transit then it'd be super difficult for them to get replacement originals from South Africa - so they're hesitant to send these original documents to us in NZ (which we would then add to our documents here and sent to the UK Home Office for his Passport Application). The other option would be complete a Child Visa Application for our son, and submit his application with mine - with him as a dependant. This would eliminate the need for us to have my husband's parents original documentation, but yes would require paying the additional Visa Application fees etc etc. What would you guys do here? Is there any other issue that could arise if we choose to just submit a visa application for our son, rather than apply for his UK passport?

Sorry for the long post!!! Any thoughts or opinions welcome :-)

SanDiegogirl

Your husband was born in South Africa of a British mother (she was born in the UK).
Your son was born in New Zealand.
I'm no expert but does that not make your husband British by descent and so he cannot - automatically - hand down British citizenship to your son? The fact your son was born in NZ makes this a little more complicated too.
I'm sure BIP will be along soon to confirm or not whether you can apply for a Brit passport for son.
When was your husband born?

kylie_anne

Thank you! That's a very valid point regarding my husband that he might not even be able to hand down citizenship, hadn't thought of that! My husband was born in January 1996.

SanDiegogirl

Brit in Paris our guru on all things about Brit citizenship will be along shortly I'm sure. Even if your son cannot get automatic citizenship then there are several ways he can, but you might have to get him a visa in the short term.

SanDiegogirl

Brit in Paris our guru on all things about Brit citizenship will be along shortly I'm sure. Even if your son cannot get automatic citizenship then there are several ways he can, but you might have to get him a visa in the short term.

kylie_anne

Brilliant, I look forward to picking his brain! Annoyingly I on the otherhand was born in the UK, but my kiwi parents were only on working holiday Visas and I returned to NZ as an infant. I've begun looking at the Child Visa application form, looks like I'll be posting here looking for any guidance if I go that route as that application does not seem straight forward!

BritInParis

1) You can provide either a contract or a job offer letter confirming the gross salary and start date. The start date must be within three months of your intended arrival date in the UK.

2) A letter from the parents plus proof of ownership would be recommended. This can either be the title deeds or a mortgage statement.

3) As your son is the second generation born abroad then he is not automatically a British citizen. As such you will either need to register him as a citizen (which he appears to be eligible for) or add him to your visa application as a dependant.

You are in a uniquely advantageous position as you can choose whether your son becomes a British citizen by descent (typically unable to pass on to his children if they are born overseas) or a British citizen otherwise than by descent (able to pass on to his children regardless of their place of birth).

If you choose to register him now then that would be the cheaper and largely more straightforward option but he will only be a citizen by descent. If he is added to your application as a dependant then that would be the more expensive option but having spent three years in the UK you can then register him as a citizen otherwise than by descent. Alternatively he can be added to your application for naturalisation after five years with the same result.

kylie_anne

That information is so so helpful, thank you massively! I agree with your suggested approach to go the visa route with my son and then apply for his citizenship later on rather than try going down the descent route - sounds like it'd make his life (and any of his children's lives if that ever happens!) much more straight forward. Again, thank you! =D

kylie_anne

Sorry BritInParis but another question, would you happen to know whether as we'll be applying via Child Visa we'll need to submit anything other than my husband's British Passport as his proof of citizenship? Just wondering if you think we'll need his birth certificate as well as his British mum's, even though he's been issued with a passport? Trying to be prepared, since some of these documents might take time to arrive from the UK to NZ and I understand there's a bit of a dealine to get original documents to the Home Office once they've requested them.

BritInParis

The father’s British passport will be sufficient. You’ll need your son’s birth certificate though.

BEVS

In the ever reducing pool that is BE these years, you remain simply ace imvho.

BritInParis