UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

Hello,

I'm applying for a spousal visa from Singapore (I'm Singaporean and my husband is British), and am wondering whether it would make a difference if we get a British passport for our daughter. She was born in October last year in Singapore and has been given Singaporean citizenship and also has a Singaporean passport.

I understand she is already British by descent because my husband is a British citizen. I'm working on my spousal application now, and I have to put her citizenship as Singaporean because she doesn't have a British passport yet, only a Singaporean one (the application requires a passport number so I can only put down her Singaporean one). It seems like it will take some time to get her a British passport, and my husband and I would rather just focus on my spousal visa and send out the application. Waiting for her British passport application would delay us further.

So my questions are -
1. Will it be a problem if we travel back to the UK (after we receive my spousal visa) and she enters the UK with a Singaporean passport? She won't have a visa as she is supposed to be British by descent.

2. Will it be sufficient to have her Singaporean birth certificate with us to show she is my husband's daughter, and thus British by descent?

Thanks much for the advice!

Re: UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

Have a read of BiP's responses in this thread - seems you'll need to sort a British passport for your children before applying.

https://britishexpats.com/forum/citi.../#post12843283

HTH.

Re: UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

The official at the border won't take your word for it that 'she is supposed to be British by descent". You need documentation to prove this i.e a British passport for your daughter.
A Singaporean birth certificate will be irrelevant.
Without a passport or visa your daughter will not enter as a permanent resident - at best she would get a visitor status.

Best to get the passport.

Re: UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

Thanks much for the link to the thread. Good to see the differing opinions. I think I'll have to apply for her British passport after all.

Re: UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

Thanks for the advice. I'll work on applying for her passport first then. I guess once she has this passport, it'll show she's British? Or at least British by descent, and she will be able to remain in the UK when we move there, without needing any other documentation?

Thanks again!

Re: UK passport needed for child born abroad upon return to the UK?
 

Yes, a British passport is proof of British citizenship and guarantees the right to remain in the UK permanently.