EmilieW

Hello!

I am a British Citizen, living in Costa Rica. My husband is Costa Rican. My baby is due on the 9th April!

I thought it would be easy to get a UK passport for my baby once he was born so he could have dual citizenship. I found out recently, that even though I am a British Citizen, as I was born in Belgium due to my dad working there at the time, if my child is born abroad, I am unable to pass down by nationality easily. I was told by the passport UK gov department that because even though my Birth Certificate is British, the address is in Belgium so my baby is not entitled to a UK passport.

I was directed to this forum by someone in a different Visa Forum, to see if someone was able to give me any advice about my situation.

I appreciate any advice anyone has. Thanks so much!

Emilie

BritInParis

Hi Emilie, welcome to BE.

You mention you were born in Belgium to a British-born father. Can you confirm what your father's employment in Belgium was at the time of your birth and whether you yourself spent at least three consecutive years living in the UK at some point in the past?

EmilieW

Thanks so much for your reply! My father was working as a Computer consultant, nothing governmental or Army or anything like that. I lived in the UK from 2 years of age through to my mid 30s, so most of my life was spent in the UK.

Thank you!

BritInParis

So at the moment your baby won't be a British citizen at birth. You have two options to register a British citizen before he turns 18.

The first is Section 3(2) registration. You can do this as soon as he is born but it will only grant him British citizenship by descent. This status will be fixed and he won't be able to repeat it for his own children should they also be born outside the UK.

The second is Section 3(5) registration. This would require your family to move to the UK. This is likely to entail settlement visas for both your husband and son. After living in the UK for three years together you can then register your son under S.3(5). This is potentially the more complicated and expensive option but it has the advantage of granting your son British citizenship otherwise than by descent meaning his children will automatically be British citizens regardless of their place of birth.

EmilieW

Thank you so much for the information! I really truly appreciate it! The first option is probably what we shall do, as my husband does not have a Visa either and I know its a long, difficult process. Where can I find the Section 3(2) registration information online so I can undertsand what is needed to do. Is it on the UK gov website?

Thanks so much!
Emilie

BritInParis

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-...orn-outside-uk

It's obviously your decision but I would strongly advise against the first option unless you are not planning to return to the UK in the next 15 years. You have 18 years to lodge a S.3(2) application so you don't need to make an application immediately.

EmilieW

Hello!

Sorry for the super late reply. I had my baby boy in April and have been busy the last 5 months. So I have an update of our situation and would love some more advice.

My husband who is Costa Rican, received his Spouse Visa and we are now in the UK. My son was born in Costa Rica and as we discussed because I was born in Belgium, he does not automatically receive my Nationality.

We think the best idea would be the second option so that he does not have any problems in the future with passing his nationality down to his kids if they were born abroad.

I have a couple of questions:
1 - I have looked on the UK website and can not find out information on how we go about this process. For instance does he need to be out of the country when we make the application? What do I need to proove? Is there is a list somewhere? Like for my hbbys visa I had to show how much I earned, where we lived etc.
2 - Right now he is on a Costa Rican passport, can he stay longer than 6 months without the visa at this time or do we need to do this process immediately?

Thanks so much, I appreicate your help!
Emilie

BritInParis

So your family is in the UK, you on a British passport, your husband with his spouse BRP but your son has only been stamped in as a visitor?

EmilieW

correct!

BritInParis

And the reason you didn’t apply for your son’s settlement visa was...?

EmilieW

BritInParis

Why didn’t you apply for your son’s child settlement visa at the same time you applied for your husband’s spouse visa?

EmilieW

BritInParis

Spouse visas rarely take a few weeks. Having your son in the UK would’ve solved a lot of problems but yes you’ll have to go back to Costa Rica now to apply for his visa.

EmilieW

thanks. So I read the notes in the application via this link: https://assets.publishing.service.go...nuary_2017.pdf

It does not mention anything about being back in the country he was born in, also it says he has to do his biometrics here at a post office and that an appointment shall be given once we have applied online. this is where I am confused. If we apply online and then do his biometrics, he needs to be in the uk? Not sure if you can help me understand this better?