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British Citizenship status - born abroad

10 replies

adtasit · 09/06/2014 10:43

Dear Friends

I need some advice.

I am a dual national (British and Thai). I was given the naturalization certificate about 10 years ago. I am currently holding a valid British passport and resident in Thailand. I married with a Thai national in January but not officially registered marriage. My wife is expecting our first child in October 2014. After birth, I like to register my child birth as British citizen.

I have some questions that need your advice:

  1. Is there will be any problem if my wife and I are not officially registered marriage and a give birth to the child, would the child still be classed by British Citizen?


  1. Can my wife give birth to my child in a hospital in Thailand and apply for British birth certificate and British Citizenship later at the British Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand? If yes, what supporting documents do I need to provide to the embassy.


3. If not, Does my wife need to give birth to my child in a hospital in the UK to obtain the British birth certificate and British Citizenship?

I contacted the British Embassy in Bangkok and they said that I need to contact the Home Office in the UK to get the answer. I tired to contact them many time but no success and no solid answer.

I look forward to hear back from you soon, if you need anymore information, please kindly let me know.


please help!

Adtasit
OP posts:
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Dudess · 20/06/2014 20:36

Are either of you students? If not, perhaps find the international pages of a UK university 's web site and contact them...most universities have an international advisory service who help prospective and current stusents with visa questions for them and their families.

you could also try looking at the web pages of UKCISA, a uk organisation offering free immigration advice for international students. They usually have information about families.

I used to work in immigration and though I can't answer your question because my knowledge isn't up to date I think your baby would keep the same nationality of the mother, even if born in UK.

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Dudess · 20/06/2014 20:43

Links -

ukcisa - www.ukcisa.org.uk/

Sheffield university - //www.sheffield.ac
uk

Plymouth University - //www.plymouth.ac.uk

Bournemouth University - //www.bournemouth.ac.uk

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Thistledew · 20/06/2014 20:47

Your child will be British by virtue of your British nationality. You don't need to be married to your wife, but will need proof of paternity. In most cases, you being named on an official birth certificate will be sufficient.

Being born abroad will have no affect on your child's status, apart from the fact that if they have a child who is also born outside of the UK, that child will not have an automatic entitlement to UK citizenship.

You will need to take the birth certificate to the British Embassy to register the birth and apply for a passport. Good luck!

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unweavedrainbow · 20/06/2014 20:48

what kind of british citizen are you? if you are "by descent" (born abroad but a parent was british) then you can't pass citizenship on, if you are otherwise than by descent (born to parent ordinarily resident in Britain/British in Britain/passed citizenship test) then you can pass it on. If the child was born after 2006 then the parents do not have to be married, but one of the parents has to be british citizen otherwise than by descent. Broadly speaking, if you are a naturalised british citizen in your own right, then if the child is born abroad he/she will be entitled to register as a british citizen regardless of the nationality of the mother.
hope that helps :)

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LIZS · 20/06/2014 20:49

Assuming your dw/dp is Thai I think you will struggle to get automatic British Citizenship wherever she gives birth. iirc we had to provide our dd's local birth certificate to the embassy(in Europe but not EU) to get her British birth certificate (which isn't mandatory) then we applied for a British passport but I know that system has changed since so all applications go to UK.

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unweavedrainbow · 21/06/2014 11:10

LIZS, after 2006 the nationality of the mother is irrelevant as long as the father is a British citizen in his own right ("otherwise than by descent"). Yes, all applications go to the uk now. Just to add on an extra layer of awkward...

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 21/06/2014 11:15

If you were naturalised then you are considered to be "deemed as otherwise than by descent" so your child will be British by descent.

You don't need to register your child's birth at the embassy to get her British Citizenship. She will be British (by descent) at birth. It may make life easier for her if she has a Consular birth registration but it changes nothing. (I don't have one for dd and I used to work in the Nationality Office Smile)

So in summary, presuming you were naturalised and not registered yourself, it doesn't matter if you are married or not, your child will be British by descent, and all you will need to do is apply for her British passport. Your naturalisation details confirm her citizenship status.

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 21/06/2014 11:17

(no-one abroad needs to register births to BCs to obtain anything. There has always been massive confusion because of the closeness of terminology "registering a birth" and "registering as a British Citizen". Two completely unrelated things, with the former being worthless but giving £££s to the govt)

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 21/06/2014 11:22

Registering births abroad

To be clear, it may make your life easier, if at some point you need to translate a foreign language birth cert, but consular registration of a birth is unnecessary.

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maisiemarlow · 27/06/2014 13:11

I am lso naturalised, and also gave birth abroad. No need to do anything until you apply for your child's first passport, when you need to provide his/her birth certificate and your naturalisation certificate. You can also provide your UK passport as additional evidence if you are worried. It's not complicated - you are British, so is your child; it's just as if you would apply for a passport for him/her and you lived in the UK.

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