slummymummy

I was reading another thread where people were talking about how a child in the future could prove US citizenship if needed and it was said it might be best to have a naturalization certificate, but this is $600... (ouch)

So then my always paranoid mind started thinking about my kids. This is their background. Mother swedish citizen, father USC, kids born in the UK.

We got their US citizenship by filling in the forms and proving that their USC dad had lived the required time in the US. They also have "Consular report of birth abroad" certificates.

As for their UK passports, we got those by proving that their dad had indefinite leave to remain in the UK at the time of their births. Me as a EU citizen I did not have anything like that, I was just allowed to stay and work in the UK without a stamp in my passport.

As for being Swedish, this has not been registered by me (yet), the reason I'm hesitating is something a bit silly that I'd rather not go into right now. However if I do register them as Swedish I'm pretty sure this will be on record in a computer database and they will never again need to prove that they are Swedish! (Except that they might have to apply to keep citizenship when they are 21, I do know about that.)

Anyway, my questions here are: As for being USCs, are the "Consular report of birth abroad" certificates proof enough? If they lose their passports I mean.

As for the UK, what if we lose my husband's passport with the ILR stamp in it, this along with their birth certs is their proof of being UKC...? Apart from their passports. Why can't this info being held in a computer database somewhere so that you don't have to possibly re-prove something you already proved when you were 6 weeks old!

I'm just worried that my kids might have problems in the future because of them being a mix of all these nationalities. Is there anything we can do to help them. Scan and email copies of all these important documents to a few relatives, would that help? In case we're not around anymore or we have a house fire or something.

I know, this is not that important right now maybe, but if anyone has any advice it would be appreciated!

slummymummy

I really meant to post this in the general US forum, feel free to move if you think that's more appropriate, or if not it doesn't matter.

JAJ

For the U.K. you should do most or all of the following:

- keep their British passports valid
- keep copies of passports ID pages in a safe place,
- when passports expire, keep them (indefinitely). Do not throw them out.
- make a file containing proof that their father had ILR when they were born and keep that in a safe place;
- you don't say what year they were born in but you may well have had "deemed ILR" as well, so if there was ever a problem proving father's ILR then your status could also be used. IF there's evidence you were living and working in the U.K. - for example, your Swedish passport, employment records, etc.
- apply to the Home Office on form NS for them to get British nationality status letters (the fee is currently GBP88 but could change)
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...ty/form_ns.pdf
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...y/guide_ns.pdf

Make sure a set of copies is stored away from your home.

Consular birth reports should normally be enough and the State Department keeps good records. Perhaps look at the State Department website to see what they need to renew passports if lost?

Same principles as for the U.K., by the way. Keep copies of everything, including their U.S. passports. And keep a file of the evidence of your husband's U.S. citizenship + his residence in the United States for the relevant period of time.


If you apply using form NS it should create a Home Office record for your children. But never rely on the government to be your sole record-keeper.


It is normally better to have too many copies of critical documents rather than too few.

slummymummy

Thank you JAJ! So helpful! I was hoping you would reply...

That's very interesting about the form NS, will definitely look into that. I was thinking not to keep their British passports renewed but with all the other stuff you listed it should be ok I hope. Oldest child's British passport expires in a few months. The US ones we will keep renewing.

I feel better already. Now I hope that no one will post something to make me worry again!

Jerseygirl

As the subject of this thread is not about US immigration or visas I have moved it to the US forum.

slummymummy

Thank you, that's where I meant to put it.

slummymummy

JAJ - I was living and working in the UK from 2001. My kids were born in 2008 & 2010. I was definitely a resident there, no question about that. I can prove that I worked and paid taxes and national insurance. I guess copies of my P60s (end of year tax certs) might be helpful to keep with all the other stuff if the kids ever need it?

JAJ

Starting on April 30, 2006, most EEA citizens in Britain automatically acquire Permanent Resident status after 5 years living and working in the country. So you became a Permanent Resident sometime in 2006, and hence your children would be British citizens by birth even if your husband didn't have ILR.

I would recommend you keep all the evidence of you having acquired Permanent Resident status (anything showing you lived and worked in Britain in those years), in case your children ever need to use it.

Did you not become a British citizen during your time in the United Kingdom? Sweden has allowed dual citizenship since July 2001.

slummymummy

Wow this is great!

No I never did as I didn't think there was any need. (However we might live to regret that my husband didn't become a UKC.)

Ok mini-panic over, my children will not be without citizenship! Thanks again.

Bob

To late now, but yeah, plenty of potentials, what if the UK pull out of the EU? What if you're not able to meet the requirements to sponsor the OH to move back to the UK/Sweden, in the future? Certainly isn't easy for the UK with the recent changes at least.

ILR is only good for x amount of time away, a couple of years is it? Something to consider.

slummymummy

Yes it wouldn't be great if he lost his ILR if we wanted to move back to the UK. I read that you lose it after 2 years away. I wonder if it would help to set foot in the country again (for a few days or so), before the 2 years is up?

Edit: No it won't help. But there is a thing called Family permit for non-European family member of an EEA national. We'll look into that if we ever need to!

Steve_

I think you're worrying about nothing, tbh, they have British birth certificates and passports so clearly they are British, being Swedish is largely academic from the sounds of it and the consular certificates show they are American. The only real problem is that it is a bit of an unusual document, but like you say you can get a certificate of citizenship by filing N-600 - but it is $600.

Why not just apply for US passports for them?

slummymummy

They have US passports.

Someone who is born in the US can just show their birth certificate to get a new passport. My kids can show their Report of a birth abroad. That's fine. And even if their passports and the certificates are lost, the info is held on a database and you can apply for a copy of the certificate.

I was more worried about the British side of things. Their birth certificates alone are not enough to prove British citizenship. They also needed to prove that their parents were permanent residents in the UK at the time of their birth, as we are not British. This was done by us when they got their UK passports as babies, but it might not be so easy to do again.

But it will be fine. Hopefully they won't lose their passports, and if they do I will collect some documents for them to use if they ever need to.

FlyingDutchman6666

Being a UK citizen would work *against* slummymummy in this case. EU/EEA citizens have a right to settle anywhere in the EEA, together with their non-EEA dependents, as long as they're economically self-sufficient.

The UK is bound by this. Yet it has the right to create separate rules for its own citizens only. That's why the recent strict UK partner sponsorship rules apply to UK citizens only, *not* to other EU/EEA nationals. The latter never need to 'sponsor' a partner.

Pure Kafka if you ask me. And reading the 'moving back to the UK' section of the forum, it seems that some Brits are circumventing the new rules by moving to another EU/EEA state such as Spain

That's my understanding of it, anyway...

JAJ

It's the consequence of the parallel legal system forced upon the United Kingdom by the European authorities. If the U.K. were ever to withdraw from the EU, everything would change.