apply for British Citizenship for my son - 4 year old

[liuminparis]

Hi can I have your advices please -

My son was born in August 2006 in Canada and have a Canadian Passport. I wasn't a British Permanent resident at that time. I gained my British permanent residency in 2008 and became a British Citizen in 2009.

My husband is a British permanent resident since 2008, he holds Chinese passport currently.

My son also gained British permanent residency in the year 2008 with us.

Can I register my son to be a British Citizen?

I have read the rules and I got
(5)A person born outside the United Kingdom [F6and the qualifying territories] shall be entitled, on an application for his registration as a British citizen made while he is a minor, to be registered as such a citizen if the following requirements are satisfied, namely—
(a)that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British citizen by descent; and
(b)subject to subsection (6), that that person and his father and mother were in the United Kingdom [F7or a qualifying territory] at the beginning of the period of three years ending with the date of the application and that, in the case of each of them, the number of days on which the person in question was absent from the United Kingdom [F8and the qualifying territories] in that period does not exceed 270; and
(c)subject to subsection (6), that the consent of his father and mother to the registration has been signified in the prescribed manner.

Does it mean both my husband and I have to here three years before the application date and be asent from U.K. for less than 270 days? I am ok but my husband has been away for more than 270 days.
what about my son? does he need to be here three year before the application date and be absent less than 270 days as well?
does my son need to be present in the U.K. while we send the application form?

please kindly advise
thanks

[Jambo]

You got the rules but not the right ones...

The rules you have quoted refer to

(a)that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British citizen by descent; and

As you were not a British citizen when your child was born, the relevant rules for your case can be read here. This is an application for registration under section 3(1) and will be considered at the HO discretion. The fact that you are now British and living in the UK means the application is likely to be granted. If the child lives in the UK with you, the likelihood increases.

[liuminparis]

You got the rules but not the right ones...

The rules you have quoted refer to

(a)that at the time of that person’s birth his father or mother was a British citizen by descent; and

As you were not a British citizen when your child was born, the relevant rules for your case can be read here. This is an application for registration under section 3(1) and will be considered at the HO discretion. The fact that you are now British and living in the UK means the application is likely to be granted. If the child lives in the UK with you, the likelihood increases.

Jambo, thanks for your quick response.
Does it matter my husband is out of the UK at the moment? And he has been absent from UK a lot in the past two years

Thanks

[John]

Does your son actually live in the UK? If yes, you can make an application for Registration under section 3(1). It is irrelevant that your husband is outside the UK at the time of the application.

[liuminparis]

Thank you John for your help. I will send in the application next week

[liuminparis]

hi, I haven't sent the application yet as I read the UKBA weblink provided above and think my son may not qualify due to residency requirement



http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary
-


9.17 Criteria for all other minors
9.17.1 Chapters 9.6 to 9.16 deal with applications from minors in a variety of different circumstances. This section deals with all other applications. It sets out, broadly in order of importance, criteria which other minors are normally expected to meet. Future intentions
9.17.2 The most important criterion is that the child's future should clearly be seen to lie in the UK. A reliable indicator should be the applicant's and/or the family's past behaviour. If that suggests an established way of life in the UK, and we have no reason to think that this will not continue, we should accept at face value that the child intends to live here.
9.17.3 If there is any information to make us doubt that the child's future lies here, for example:
•
the child, or one or both parents, has recently left the country for a period of more than six months
•
the child is about to leave the United Kingdom
•
one or both parents is resident abroad,
we should write to clear up the point. If our doubts are serious, and we are still not satisfied this criterion is met, the application should be refused.



My son has been absent from UK for just over 6 month in the past year; plus my husband is traveling a lot out of UK.

Do these two points make my son (4year old) unqualified?

However UKBA states below as well

[/quote]Children under 13
9.17.18 The length of residence in the United Kingdom is less important for
children under 13. If we are satisfied that their future lies here, and that registration would otherwise be appropriate, we need not normally take into account the length of residence here. There will be plenty of time for the children to establish their own personal connections with the United Kingdom before they become adults.

Now I am really not sure if I should apply or not

Please advise

thanks

[John]

Your husband's time outside the UK is irrelevant, unless of course it might mean that your son might move from the UK.

However if it is clear that is is likely that your son will live in the UK, at least for some time, the application under section 3(1) should be successful.