India OCI for daughter born in UK and applying straight for British citizenship

Hi,

My question is specific to Indian rules - hopefully there is someone with this situation who can give me confirmation.
I am the main applicant of a Skilled worker visa and my daughter was born in June 2023.
I am eligible for ILR in Feb 2024 and hence skipped getting my daughter's Indian citizenship, Indian passport and UK visa as I am planning to apply for her British citizenship directly once I am granted ILR. I understand this is lawfully accepted.

MY query is:
Since my daughter has not attained Indian citizenship, after she gets British citizenship, will she be eligible for OCI since both her parents have Indian passport?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, your daughter will be eligible for OCI based on either yourself or her mother. I got OCI for my kid based on myself.

PS. Just have all the relevant documents and the process is straight forward.

learner1947 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 12, 2024 11:43 pm

Yes, your daughter will be eligible for OCI based on either yourself or her mother. I got OCI for my kid based on myself.

PS. Just have all the relevant documents and the process is straight forward.

Thanks for your response.
Can I ask what are the relevant documents you are referring to?

Also, can I apply for OCI after my daughter gets British citizenship while I am still on Indian passport? Or I need to have OCI first only then I can apply ?

Thanks.

For documents check this link: https://www.hcilondon.gov.in/docs/16372 ... 112021.pdf

You can apply for her OCI as soon as she has per British passport if you have indian citizenship then its fine if not then either you wait for your OCI or you can apply for her OCI based on grandparents (but that has different requirements of document), better to do it with your Indian passport/OCI. However, I am not sure

fatemaattarwala wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 1:57 am

learner1947 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 12, 2024 11:43 pm

Yes, your daughter will be eligible for OCI based on either yourself or her mother. I got OCI for my kid based on myself.

PS. Just have all the relevant documents and the process is straight forward.

Thanks for your response.
Can I ask what are the relevant documents you are referring to?

Also, can I apply for OCI after my daughter gets British citizenship while I am still on Indian passport? Or I need to have OCI first only then I can apply ?

Thanks.

For documents check this link: https://www.hcilondon.gov.in/docs/16372 ... 112021.pdf

You can apply for her OCI as soon as she has per British passport if you have indian citizenship then its fine if not then either you wait for your OCI or you can apply for her OCI based on grandparents (but that has different requirements of document), better to do it with your Indian passport/OCI. However, I am not sure

fatemaattarwala wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 1:57 am

learner1947 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 12, 2024 11:43 pm

Yes, your daughter will be eligible for OCI based on either yourself or her mother. I got OCI for my kid based on myself.

PS. Just have all the relevant documents and the process is straight forward.

Thanks for your response.
Can I ask what are the relevant documents you are referring to?

Also, can I apply for OCI after my daughter gets British citizenship while I am still on Indian passport? Or I need to have OCI first only then I can apply ?

Thanks.

Continue...

However I think (happy to be corrected), I am not sure if your child will be eligible for British citizenship as soon as you get ILR. Because, as per the rule in order a child to be eligible to be a British citizen by birth either of the parent has to hold at least ILR at the time of the birth of the baby. As it seems none of the parents had ILR at the time of the birth she won't become eligible as soon as you or the other parent gets an ILR. If that hold true, you will have to first get her an Indian passport and apply for dependent visa and then eventually to British citizen and subsequently to OCI.

learner1947 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 8:19 pm

Continue...

However I think (happy to be corrected), I am not sure if your child will be eligible for British citizenship as soon as you get ILR. Because, as per the rule in order a child to be eligible to be a British citizen by birth either of the parent has to hold at least ILR at the time of the birth of the baby. As it seems none of the parents had ILR at the time of the birth she won't become eligible as soon as you or the other parent gets an ILR. If that hold true, you will have to first get her an Indian passport and apply for dependent visa and then eventually to British citizen and subsequently to OCI.

Thanks for all your help. The rule is for a child born in the UK, as soon as one of the parent gets ILR that child is eligible for British citizenship. I have read this rule and 100% sure about it. Thanks for raising it.

In that case, as I previously said, start the OCI process (based on yourself) for the child as soon as she has her British Passport. Regarding the documents, just look at the link I shared earlier. In case you still have any query, just call the VFS helpline they are quite helpful. Number can be found on their website. Good luck!

fatemaattarwala wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:47 pm

learner1947 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2024 8:19 pm

Continue...

However I think (happy to be corrected), I am not sure if your child will be eligible for British citizenship as soon as you get ILR. Because, as per the rule in order a child to be eligible to be a British citizen by birth either of the parent has to hold at least ILR at the time of the birth of the baby. As it seems none of the parents had ILR at the time of the birth she won't become eligible as soon as you or the other parent gets an ILR. If that hold true, you will have to first get her an Indian passport and apply for dependent visa and then eventually to British citizen and subsequently to OCI.

Thanks for all your help. The rule is for a child born in the UK, as soon as one of the parent gets ILR that child is eligible for British citizenship. I have read this rule and 100% sure about it. Thanks for raising it.

Thank you very much for sharing the link and your advice, appreciate it

Hello @fatemaattarwala, I find myself in a similar situation with my child, who was born in March 2024, and I would become eligible for ILR in March 2025. I concur with your statement:

"The rule is for a child born in the UK, as soon as one of the parents gets ILR, that child is eligible for British citizenship. I have read this rule and am 100% sure about it."

However, I am uncertain whether this directly implies that we can bypass the step of registering the child for Indian citizenship. I would greatly appreciate it if you could share the source for this information and your level of confidence in it. The standard practice is for people to first obtain Indian citizenship for their children and later renounce it, which I agree is cumbersome and would like to avoid if possible. However, I want to ensure that skipping the registration as an Indian citizen is indeed acceptable. From my online research, I understand that failing to register the child as an Indian citizen could render the child stateless, and I am concerned if that would pose a problem when I eventually apply for British citizenship for them.

I would be really grateful if you could share the source which makes you conclude that its ok to skip getting Indian citizenship?