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Hello

Please i need help, my son born to a british father has been denied British Nationality because at the time of his birth, i was still married to my ex-husband, now the HO says he has to get nationality from the man i was married to whom is not his birth father and not named on his birth certificate. I am stuck here, not sure how to proceed, my ex husband is an EEA national living in the UK, i am not sure if his country authority would give my son nationality as he is not named on the child's birth certificate, I hold permanent residency status issued after my son was born, please i desperately need some advice as i am going crazy because of this.
kindly help.

Effective 1 July 2006, where a mother is married, the father of a child (for British nationality purposes) is automatically the man to whom she is married. See section 9.9.5 to Chapter 9 of the Home Office Nationality Instructions.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 150402.pdf

Is the child U.K. born? If so, the main options are:

- was your EEA citizen ex-husband a Permanent Resident when the child was born (or otherwise considered settled- Irish citizen, ILR/Right of Abode holder, etc.). If so, then the child would be a British citizen on this basis- although it would have to be documented carefully. Probably a Confirmation of Nationality Status letter would be recommended: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... us-form-ns

- Since you have since acquired Permanent Residence in your own right, you would be able to register the child as a British citizen under section 1(3) of the British Nationality Act, provided application is made before age 18. https://www.gov.uk/register-british-cit ... after-1983

- Not relevant if there is a simpler pathway to British citizenship, but the Home Office will normally register a child in this situation as a British citizen under section 3(1) of the Act if there would be a claim to British citizenship based on the natural father's British citizenship/settled status.


Whether or not your child is, or can become, a citizen of your ex-husband's EEA state depends on the law of that country. It may not be the same as British law. Also- child may be eligible for whichever nationality you hold.

Many thanks for your reply.
Yes the child is born in the UK. I have never come across this situation until my own experience. if i understand your point correctly, It appears the only option would be to register/naturalise my son.

I will probably have to go this route.

Thank you again.

You say you were issued a permanent residence document after the child was born. Was this an EEA-Permanent Residence document? If so, and if you can evidence that you acquired Permanent Resident status at an earlier date, you may be able to show that the child is British by birth.

Otherwise- section 1(3) registration is likely to be simplest and should be proceeded with straight away. There are still other options for the child to get British citizenship (example- if your future British husband adopted him, or under section 1(4) after 10 years living in the U.K.) but section 1(3) registration is likely to be simplest and quickest.

Many thanks for your reply, yes i came into the UK in 2009, got RC of EEA national family member in 2010 and the PR in 2016, child was born in 2013.

Based on these dates, I cannot see how you could have become a Permanent Resident before your child was born, so child needs to get British citizenship some other way. In this situation- I think section 1(3) registration is the best option.