Abbygail8

HI all, I'm UK born but have lived 25 yrs of my 37 yrs in Australia. I feel that I never seem to fit in while living in Australia but just dealt with it. I have 2 children and am a single mom. All my family are in UK/Wales and I am now on my own in Australia with no family but me and my 2 girls. I would really like to move back to UK where my family is. But im unsure of the rules. Can I move back to the UK with my girls and what are the rules involved. I know that we'd need both Aussie and UK passports but and concerned that income is an issue when obviously id have to find a job and have my girls in school. Can anyone please give me some advice or point me in the right direction

brits1

Hi,

You don't need two passports but you can have both, if you were UK born then you can apply for your UK passport (Canberra) if your children's father has given them permission to leave Australia then you need to register them as British Citizens and then can obtain a British Passport for them. Good luck and I hope all works out well for you and your children.

MrMuffin

To add to the previous poster's answer, no, you don't need to worry about income requirements etc. That's only if you were trying to move back with a non-EU husband or partner. Your kids are British by descent even if they were born in Australia because you were British born (as long as your parents were both Brits... if not make sure you're not British by descent as that might complicate things). Get the kids' UK passports as it is relatively quick (a few weeks at most) and then make plans to get back to the UK when you can. There are no visa issues to be concerned with. Good luck!!!

BritInParis

Presuming you and your children are Australian citizens you'll need to leave Australia on Australian passports. If you want to return to the UK as British citizens then it is best to obtain British passports for yourself and your girls otherwise you may have problems at the UK border proving your British citizenship. You cannot register a British birth in Australia with the British authorities so you will just need to apply for your passports.

www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

You also need to make sure that there are no custody issues with the father of your children before you take them out of the country.

As for income there's nothing to stop you from going back but obviously from a practical point of view you'll need to be able to support yourself and your children. Without knowing more about your situation it is difficult to advise further but I would ensure that I had enough funds to cover myself for several months and/or had family who I could stay with and support me.