MN1 Section 3(1) - Adoption from non-recognised country

[Dhivehi]

Hi all. I would really appreciate some advice on the below situation.

I am a British citizen and my wife holds dual British/Maldivian citizenship.

We are currently living in the Maldives and have been living here since 2013.

We adopted a baby 18 months ago in the Maldives, who has Maldivian citizenship. The baby is now 18 months old.

We would like our adopted child to Have British citizenship, as we plan to move back to the U.K. eventually.

The Maldives is not listed as a country in the Adoption (Recognition of Overseas Adoptions) Order 2013, so there is no automatic recognition of the overseas adoption in the UK and no automatic citizenship.

I have read that form MN1 should be used to apply for citizenship where overseas adoptions are recognised in the UK, but also that all cases are considered, and they may grant citizenship if it is in the best interest of the child.

My question is whether it is worth applying for citizenship through this route, or whether there is no chance of it being granted. If this option isnt likely to succeed we would need to get the adoption recognised in the UK I believe, which will cost tens of thousands of pounds and can only realistically be done after we move back.

As a second question. If we move back to the UK without having UK citizenship for the baby, what status should we apply for so the baby is allowed to stay in the country?

Any guidance you can provide would be much appreciated.

[vinny]

See also Immigration and nationality law for adopted children.

[Obie]

If you are British Citizen and the adoption was properly done, then there will be no need for MN1, just passport application will be fine.

[secret.simon]

If you are British Citizen and the adoption was properly done, then there will be no need for MN1, just passport application will be fine.

Would that apply even if the country is not a party to the Hague Convention on Inter-country adoption?

According to an article on Adoption.com, because Maldivian/Dhivehi law is based on Sharia law, which does not recognise adoption in the Western sense of the word, there is no procedure for adoption in the Maldives. All it has is an extended form of guardianship.

Maldivian law and Islamic Shari’a law, upon which Maldivian family law is largely based, does not allow the adoption of Maldivian children in Maldives. Maldivian law recognizes only long term guardianship as an alternative to adoption, and this arrangement is only available to Maldivian nationals. According to Maldivian law, prospective adoptive parents who are non-Muslim may not be appointed guardians of Muslim children.

[Obie]

I do not dispute the point you are seeking to make.

My point is that all being equal, then a properly adopted child does not require to be registered.

[secret.simon]

a properly adopted child does not require to be registered.

My folowup question is, given the information above about adoption in the Maldives, does that qualify as a proper adoption for the purpose of British Nationality?

If not, presumably, a MN1 under Section 3(1) would be required.

[Dhivehi]

See also Immigration and nationality law for adopted children.

This is really helpful. Thank you Vinny.

[Dhivehi]

Thank you all for your guidance.

You are correct in that the legal term used in the court documents we have translates to guardianship, not adoption. Would this make a difference, given Maldives is not a party to The Hague convention anyway? From reading up, we would meet the criteria relating to ’de-facto adoption’ at least.

My understanding was that even though we are British citizens, because Maldives is not party to The Hague convention, there is no automatic right to citizenship. Obie - you seemed to be suggesting this was not the case - would you be able to elaborate?

Given the above (not party to The Hague convention; guardianship rather than adoption; de-facto adoption), do you think the MN1 (Section 3(1)) would be appropriate?

[Obie]

The difficulties in this case is that there can never be any adoption in the Maldives, as they have the Kafala system which is anathema to the western system of adoption.

Therefore there is not adoption, that is the starting point. This is the reason why i made the comment that i made secret simon.

OP must consider 310-316 of the immigration rules. then when the child arrives in the UK, an adoption order can be made to the courts in the UK, and then a citizenship application can be made.