Form MN1 Child Registration under Section 3(1) prior to 5-Year ILR Route

[jackstiller]

Below are my case details and questions I wanted to get clarification on if anybody can help :

Case Overview:
Main Applicant Status: Entered the UK on a Skilled Worker visa in late 2019, granted ILR in 2024, and got Naturalisation and a passport in 2026.

Dependants Status (Spouse + 2 Children, aged 10 & 12): Arrived in the UK in December 2022 on Skilled Worker Dependant visas.

Spouse Settlement Plan: Intends to remain on the Dependant visa route until completing 5 years of continuous residence in December 2027 to apply for ILR.

Queries:
MN1 Discretion under Section 3(1): After Father got British Citizenship, can the two minor children (aged 10 and 12) apply directly for British citizenship via Form MN1 (Section 3(1)) without holding ILR or completing 5 years of residence?

Spouse Status Criteria: Does the spouse actively remaining on a route leading to settlement (Skilled Worker Dependant) satisfy the Home Office caseworker guidance on parent settlement expectations for minor registration under Section 3(1)?

[CR001]

Your children born abroad need ILR first and can apply for citizenship when your spouse does.

There is no shortcut route for them simply because you became British.

[secret.simon]

If the children have lived in the UK for less than 10 years, ILR is required before their registration as a British citizen. No way around it.

And as the children are born outside the UK, they only become eligible for ILR with the second/less-privileged parent. So your children will have to wait till their other parent also gets ILR with them. They can be registered immediately after they and the other parent are granted ILR (as can your spouse as they will be married to a British citizen at that point in time).

See this recent (October 2025) refusal of British citizenship for children born outside the UK who did not have ILR, even though both parents had successfully naturalised as British citizens. Also see this thread which covers much the same ground.