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Registration as a British citizen: children
If you would like to apply for your child who is under 18 years old to be a British Citizen, this process is called Registration, while it is called Naturalisation for adults.
After getting a British Citizenship for your child, you can apply for a British passport for them.
Before making a Registration application, you should check if your child is automatically a British citizen. A child can already be a British citizen if they were born in the UK or have a British parent. Moreover, again, they will get British Citizenship automatically, if your child is born after you obtain permanent leave in the UK, such as:
- British or Irish citizenship
- settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme
- indefinite leave to remain
- right of abode
- permanent residence – if your child was born before 1 July 2021
If you certainly know that your child is not already/ automatically a British citizen, whether or not you can apply for citizenship for them depends on where they were born and your immigration status:
- If your child was born in the UK:
You can apply to register your child for British citizenship if:
- you obtained permission to live in the UK permanently (please see the above list for permanent leaves) after your child was born
- your child’s father was British or settled in the UK when your child was born
- you joined the UK armed forces after your child was born
- your child lived in the UK until they were 10 years old
2. If your child was born outside the UK
If your child was born outside the UK and you are seeking to apply for Registration for them, at least one of their parents must be a British Citizen.
However, if neither of your child’s parents are British, they can still apply for Registration and obtain Citizenship as long as one of their parents is also apply for Naturalisation before or at the same time as your child’s Registration application.
Please note that if your child is over 10 years old, they must be ‘of good character’, on other words they must not have a criminal conviction.
Book a consultation here to discuss your situation one-to-one with an Immigration Adviser.