British Citizenship- child born abroad

[alex_ro]

I have one question perhaps you can help me- apologies if the question was asked previously.

We are currently considering having a baby. My fiancee and myself have been living together in the UK for almost 2 years, we plan to get married at the end of next year. I have British citizenship- have been naturalized under EU rules for residence (I have been living previously in the UK between 2003 and 2013).

The problem we have at the moment is that I am currently in full employment but my fiancee does not work and not sure she would qualify for pregnancy/birth assistance under NHS if she becomes pregnant (not sure if my contributions will count, she is not contributing for NI). The private clinics are quite expensive, so not really an option for us.

We are also considering going abroad for the child birth- but in this case will the child have automatic British citizenship? Do we need to submit an application in order to get British citizenship for the child?

Thanks for your help, it will be greatly appreciated.

[secret.simon]

If you have been naturalised (got a British citizenship certificate/passport), your children born anywhere in the world after the date of your citizenship certificate are British citizens by descent. You can apply for a British passport directly for them. They will not be able to pass their citizenship on to their children born outside the UK.

What is the immigration status of your fiancee? Is she a EEA/non-EEA citizen herself? If you have acquired British citizenship, you can not sponsor any non-EEA relatives under the EEA Regulations.

[alex_ro]

If you have been naturalised (got a British citizenship certificate/passport), your children born anywhere in the world after the date of your citizenship certificate are British citizens by descent. You can apply for a British passport directly for them. They will not be able to pass their citizenship on to their children born outside the UK.

What is the immigration status of your fiancee? Is she a EEA/non-EEA citizen herself? If you have acquired British citizenship, you can not sponsor any non-EEA relatives under the EEA Regulations.

Thank you for replying.

Yes, she is EEA citizen- does this mean she will get support from NHS based on my contributions?

Also, does it make any difference if we are married or not at the time the child will be born?

[ohara]

Also, does it make any difference if we are married or not at the time the child will be born?

Not in British Nationality law it doesn't, but it might affect how yours or your partners nationality is passed to the child.

[secret.simon]

Yes, she is EEA citizen- does this mean she will get support from NHS based on my contributions?

No, but she may be entitled to NHS support in her own right.

How is she exercising treaty rights in the UK currently? Does she have a non-UK EHIC card from another EEA country?

[noajthan]

Yes, she is EEA citizen- does this mean she will get support from NHS based on my contributions?

No, because as a BC you cannot sponsor your EEA partner under EU migration rules.
Partner has to stand on own two feet in that regard.

Be careful if partner is not here on UK visa as she has no status or right to reside in UK under EU law if not a qualified (or settled) person.

[alex_ro]

Yes, she is EEA citizen- does this mean she will get support from NHS based on my contributions?

No, but she may be entitled to NHS support in her own right.

How is she exercising treaty rights in the UK currently? Does she have a non-UK EHIC card from another EEA country?

I presume she would qualify as "self-sufficient" under the EU treaty rights- she doesnt have a EHIC card but we both are covered by a UK private health insurance (which does not cover pregnancy though).

[alex_ro]

Also, does it make any difference if we are married or not at the time the child will be born?

Not in British Nationality law it doesn't, but it might affect how yours or your partners nationality is passed to the child.

In what sense might affect, do you mean if we are not married and the child is born abroad then the child will not get automatically British citizenship based on the fact that I (the father) have British citizenship? Thanks.

[secret.simon]

I presume she would qualify as "self-sufficient" under the EU treaty rights- she doesnt have a EHIC card but we both are covered by a UK private health insurance (which does not cover pregnancy though).

Interesting situation.

As you and your partner are only considering having the child yet (the thought is conceived, not the child), I suggest that your EEA partner apply for an EEA (QP) document. That will certify her as exercising treaty rights and that should give her access to the NHS for all further treatment.

What Ohara meant is that while unmarried fathers can transmit British nationality to their children born abroad, any other (EEA/non-EEA) nationality that the father has may or may not be transferred, depending on the laws of that nationality.

[alex_ro]

I presume she would qualify as "self-sufficient" under the EU treaty rights- she doesnt have a EHIC card but we both are covered by a UK private health insurance (which does not cover pregnancy though).

Interesting situation.

As you and your partner are only considering having the child yet (the thought is conceived, not the child), I suggest that your EEA partner apply for an EEA (QP) document. That will certify her as exercising treaty rights and that should give her access to the NHS for all further treatment.

What Ohara meant is that while unmarried fathers can transmit British nationality to their children born abroad, any other (EEA/non-EEA) nationality that the father has may or may not be transferred, depending on the laws of that nationality.

All clear now, thanks. Not worried about the other nationality- we are thinking to have the baby born in Romania (I have dual citizenship British/Romanian and my fiancee is Romanian)- the baby will automatically get Romanian citizenship by birth- and a Romanian birth certificate. Then understand we will need to apply for a British certificate/passport for the baby based on descent- and the baby will have also dual citizenship.

Will have to investigate on the NHS/QP card subject- but not really part of this subject. Thanks for the guidance in this matter also. We will be going to try and register my fiancee with a GP also, lets see what they say.

[ohara]

What Ohara meant is that while unmarried fathers can transmit British nationality to their children born abroad, any other (EEA/non-EEA) nationality that the father has may or may not be transferred, depending on the laws of that nationality.

Exactly, for example I cannot transmit my home country nationality to a child born outside of that country unless I am married to the mother.

[alex_ro]

What Ohara meant is that while unmarried fathers can transmit British nationality to their children born abroad, any other (EEA/non-EEA) nationality that the father has may or may not be transferred, depending on the laws of that nationality.

Exactly, for example I cannot transmit my home country nationality to a child born outside of that country unless I am married to the mother.

I checked the Romanian law now also. If a child is born abroad from Romanian parents, both or only one, the child will get Romanian citizenship. It doesnt say whether the parents should be married or not- so this should be referred to practice. I read few decisions- emphasis is on the mother, if the mother is Romanian all is clear and no one will do any further checks.

I am getting more worried now about the implications of health cover and logistics- if the baby is born in Romania, we will probably have to spend some time there before and after the child is born, we will have to get the baby a passport for travelling back to UK so it might be a longer stay- during which my fiancee will probably lose the continuous residence in UK. Not sure if I should start a new thread on this, this seems to be much more complicated than I thought. Private insurance in UK will not cover anything related to pregnancy.

Also it seems the thought is not only a thought now...we will find out very soon when we go for a ecography!

[noajthan]

No need for another thread.

The founding fathers/mothers of EU were not Philistines.
Continuity of residence is not broken by a one-off exceptional reason such as pregnancy/childbirth. For up to 12 months.

So as long as you don't make a habit of this all should be well.

[ohara]

Can you afford a UK birth? In an NHS hospital, for a straightforward birth with no complications you are looking at around £3500.

If you choose to go private, you're looking at about £7500 absolute minimum.

[alex_ro]

Can you afford a UK birth? In an NHS hospital, for a straightforward birth with no complications you are looking at around £3500.

If you choose to go private, you're looking at about £7500 absolute minimum.

3500 pounds will be fine, but we are a bit worried about conditions in NHS. We dont mind going to Romania for the regular checks, but once the birth is getting closer travelling will no longer be possible and we will need to decide what to do.

Even 7500 pounds will be eventually all right (we can start saving now), but we are living in London- from what I looked up on the internet we are looking at much larger amount (over 12-15,000 pounds only for the last 3 months of checks and the normal birth).

[ohara]

http://www.which.co.uk/birth-choice/art ... ivate-care

My previous post had a link to the price list of the Portland Hospital in London, which is the only private maternity hospital in the UK.

http://www.theportlandhospital.com/