Delivery in UK or India

[mkanagar]

Hi All,
I have got multiple questions regarding my situation.
Please ignore if this is not a suitable thread for all these questions.
Please help by giving your thoughts if possible.

I am on Tier-1 General(In-dependant) and will have to apply for ILR on Jan-2013. My wife is already on ILR from 27th Mar 2012.
Good News is she is now 2 months Pregnant.
So now we have to decide where we are going to have the delivery. here or in India.
I know this is a kind of personal decision. But we would like to know the Pros and Cons so that we can get Prepared.
Our baby is our future. So we are not going to force ourselves to take a decision based on the answers/adv/dis-adv provided.
But the answers/clarifications will certainly help us to plan things in advance.
I know there are a bunch of questions here. But it will be great if you can answer them.
Thank you.

Case-1.) Having the delivery in India:

My wife is working right now and she had made a request for Maternity leave for about about 1 year.
if granted, she will be leaving to India on Aug-2012 and will have baby by Nov-2012 and return back to UK with the baby on Aug-2013.
a.) She will be on ILR when baby is born. Will the baby also get the ILR as Visa status.?

b.) I hope we have to apply visa for the baby from one of the vfs office in India. What docs should we provide for that?
Asking this because my wife will be in India when the baby is born and she might not have UK Payslips/UtilityBills/TenancyAgreement ?
Should she provide these docs to get the visa for the baby even though she is on ILR? is it very complicated or straight forward?

c.) if Maternity leave is not granted, then she will resign her job and go to india for delivery.
So she will be out of work when the baby is born and when we apply visa for the baby.
So she cannot provide any docs apart from her own passport and visa.? is that a problem for getting visa for the baby?

d.) When my wife and baby return to UK, will they be denied entry as she is out of UK for nearly 1 year.
I know for sure, ILR visa will become invalid only if we are out of UK for more than 2 years.
But little bit concerned here as there might be questions? Should be ok right?

e.) I know she cannot apply for British Citizenship immediately after she returned from India.
But we are not very keen on British Citizenship right now.
But will her 1 year stay in india affect getting the British Citizenship in anyway in the future?

Case-2) Having the delivery here in UK :

The delivery could be in Nov-2012.

a.) If the baby is born here, she/he will become British Citizen by default?
or will the baby get the ILR visa which my wife will hold when the baby is born?
We have to apply for Indian Passport for the baby right? Do we need to provide any docs for visa or passport?

b.) During the Maternity period, are we eligible for any benefits apart from NHS? Like any council tax allowance or child benefits?

Please let us know of any details that will help us.
Your help is much appreciated. Thanks.

-Mahesh

[vinny]

If a parent has ILR/PR, then baby subsequently born in UK will automatically be British.

[Jambo]

a.) She will be on ILR when baby is born. Will the baby also get the ILR as Visa status.?

If both parents have ILR, child will need to apply for Child settlement visa to enter the UK.

b.) I hope we have to apply visa for the baby from one of the vfs office in India. What docs should we provide for that?

See Applying for a visa as the child of a British citizen or settled person for fees, process time and supporting documents required.

c.) if Maternity leave is not granted, then she will resign her job and go to india for delivery.
So she will be out of work when the baby is born and when we apply visa for the baby.
So she cannot provide any docs apart from her own passport and visa.? is that a problem for getting visa for the baby?

See the link above.

d.) When my wife and baby return to UK, will they be denied entry as she is out of UK for nearly 1 year.
I know for sure, ILR visa will become invalid only if we are out of UK for more than 2 years.
But little bit concerned here as there might be questions? Should be ok right?

You are allowed to be upto 2 years abroad without losing your ILR. Should be fine.

e.) I know she cannot apply for British Citizenship immediately after she returned from India.
But we are not very keen on British Citizenship right now.
But will her 1 year stay in india affect getting the British Citizenship in anyway in the future?

There are residential requirements when applying for BC. Staying abroad would normally mean you will need to stay longer in the UK before you qualify. There are no other implications on the naturalisation application.

Case-2) Having the delivery here in UK :

The delivery could be in Nov-2012.

a.) If the baby is born here, she/he will become British Citizen by default?
or will the baby get the ILR visa which my wife will hold when the baby is born?
We have to apply for Indian Passport for the baby right? Do we need to provide any docs for visa or passport?

Child will be BC from birth. No need for ILR or Indian passport. You can apply for a British passport directly using UK birth certificate and parent passport.

b.) During the Maternity period, are we eligible for any benefits apart from NHS? Like any council tax allowance or child benefits?

Benefits are allowed under ILR if you qualify for them.

[mkanagar]

Thanks for all your replies.

If the baby is born in UK, it will automatically be british if only one parent has PR or only if both the parent has PR?
Asking this as i see 2 types of answers above.
When the baby is born, i will be on Tier-1 and My wife will be in PR.?

We ourselves not sure if we will apply for british citizenship after one year in PR. we have not made that decision yet.
We are worried that our baby will become british by birth(by default) and we will be Indians. Is it a problem if we decide to setttle in India after 5 years or so?

Can the baby get Indian Citizenship or right to study/live in India if we decide to settle in India after 5 years? or will it be rejected just because the baby is british by birth.

Can the baby get both british and indian (dual)citizenship if born here?
should I and my wife retain Indian citizenship for that?
One thing we dont want is that baby is not allowed to live/study/settle in India just because its british by birth?

Please can some one advice so we dont regret later.

Thanks,
- Mahesh

[ouflak1]

Thanks for all your replies.

If the baby is born in UK, it will automatically be british if only one parent has PR or only if both the parent has PR?

Yes, the child automatically has UK citizenship if either one or both parents has ILR.

We ourselves not sure if we will apply for british citizenship after one year in PR. we have not made that decision yet.
We are worried that our baby will become british by birth(by default) and we will be Indians. Is it a problem if we decide to setttle in India after 5 years or so?

It depends on how you define 'problem'. You should look up the requirements for Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Person of Indian Origin (PIO).

Can the baby get both british and indian (dual)citizenship if born here?

The UK has no problem with this. India has laws against it. It would be a problem if the child tried to travel to India or tried to access Indian consular services as an Indian citizen. Otherwise, the rest of the world outside of India doesn't care.

One thing we dont want is that baby is not allowed to live/study/settle in India just because its british by birth.

Understood. You may consider that only one of you acquire UK citizenship, with the child getting UK citizenship. Then getting the child OCI. Afterwords, the other parent can get UK citizenship if they so choose.

Please can some one advice so we dont regret later.

Do a lot of research. Have everything clearly understood. Pray that the rules don't change in the next few years. Good luck