donsp10

Hi, I will give you the run down first, then my question/problem:

We are moving back to U.K. mid next year.
I am Australian, 7 months pregnant with child #2
My partner (we are not married) was born in U.K, British passport
We live in Australia, he is a permanent resident (since Feb 06) eligible for Aus Citizenship Feb 08.
Our 17 month old daughter is Australian (born in Aus) but I have registered here as a British Citizen and got the registration certificate last week.

I am in the process of applying for her British passport now and can complete the form except for the part about sending in a copy of parents marriage certificate. We are not married and i have to send in the checklist all ticked which i can except for that box......... Do we have to be married? Am i applying using the wrong passport application???

Does anyone know/been in a similar boat to us???

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me

JAJ

What do you mean by "registered her as a British citizen". Do you mean a Certificate of Registration as a British citizen issued by the Home Office?

donsp10

Yes, sent application almost two months ago, got the certificate last week. Sorry to mix up the terminology

JAJ

In that case, the Certificate of Registration is proof of your child's British citizenship.

Children born before 1 July 2006 whose only claim to British citizenship was through an unmarried father did not get British citizenship automatically. It is obtained through Home Office registration before age 18 (which you have done).

The passport application form should have a section for those who are British citizens by naturalisation or registration - this now applies to your child.

The request for a marriage certificate is only for those cases where the parents are married and there is an automatic claim to British citizenship.

donsp10

Ok great thanks heaps again, just need it counter signed by a friend and will have it in the post next week, then my visa application can go ahead!!

Thanks again for the advice

JAJ

Child #2 won't need Home Office registration because of the new rules since 1 July 2006. As long as father is named on the birth certificate, child should be British automatically => important to apply for a British passport immediately to document this. (marriage certificate is not necessary).

If you mean a U.K. unmarried partner visa, you need to be careful not to apply too soon as it could mean having to get a further visa 2 years down the line before you are eligible for an indefinite visa in the U.K. (expensive). Try http://www.immigrationboards.com where you can get some good U.K. visa advice. Or were you previously living in the U.K. with permanent residence?

Any plans to get married? It won't affect visa eligibility for the U.K. but one thing it does mean is that you can become a naturalised British citizen after 3 years, not 5.

And your partner ... is he planning to get his Australian citizenship before he leaves Australia?

donsp10

There are some interesting points.

My partner is definately wanting to become an australian citizen. He bought home sample questions of the new test and has been learning australian history!!

I was previously living in Uk on working holiday visa.

As for us getting married, thats been on the cards for ages but have always had other prioritys (having kids, applying for visa/passports, ect)
If i get a visa as unmarried partner, then marry in Uk, when would I be eligible to be naturalised? 3 years from our marriage or still 5 years from the visa being granted?

How soon after the birth of bubs #2 can I apply for british passport?

Thanks

JAJ

He should only make firm plans to leave Australia after he is sworn in as a citizen - not before. Otherwise it may complicate his citizenship application. (he should still be eligible because of continuing close ties to Australia through his partner/children but you don't really want to go to that argument).

So you will need an unmarried partner visa. Ask on immigrationboards.com about the right timing to apply.

As far as I know, if you arrive in the U.K. on an unmarried partner visa, it doesn't cause a problem getting permanent residence (after 2 years) if you get married in the meantime. But ask the question on immigrationboards.com.

With naturalisation it's very clear that you only need to be married to a British citizen on the date of application (in order to use the 3 year rule). There is no minimum period of marriage.


Immediately. Or at least, as soon as you have the child's Australian birth certificate.

Presumably you already have the supporting documents (parent's birth certs etc) that were used to support child #1's citizenship application - these will also be needed to get passport for child #2.

donsp10

Thats great will do. Just having a big read on the other site now. Will be very helpful, cheers

dopple

Just out of curiousity, this applies to me. I am an illegitimate Australian born Australian citizen to a British father. I'm over 18 so does that mean I am cut off from registering for British citizenship?

I noticed the proviso about legitimising children born before 2006 by the parents getting subsequently married (and I could probably convince my parents to get married to help me out here), but is there a time limit - before you turn 18?

donsp10

To be honest I don't know, I have only looked for my child and she is 17 months old.
Are you wanting to be registered as a british citizen to obtain a uk passport?
There is some info on the British High Commission website under Nationality/Registration and also Passports.

Unless anyone else can help you, sorry I couldn't.

Ask JAJ if he knows, he is a clever fellow!!!

JAJ

For Home Office registration there is a cut-off of age 18, sorry. Did you not look into it before? the facility has been available since early 2000.

For legitimation through marriage there is no age limit as far as I know, although in a small % of cases it doesn't work to confer British citizenship if you have already been legitimated by operation of law.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/doc.../nisec2gensec/
(look at the document on Legitimacy)

Your parents should have other reasons to get married ... but if they have been living together a long time and are committed to each other, then it's something they should consider anyway.

You may be eligible for an Ancestry Visa anyway, as legitimacy does not matter for this - http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk