Getting British citizenship for children

Mae'r cyngor hwn yn berthnasol i Cymru. Gweler cyngor ar gyfer Gweler cyngor ar gyfer Lloegr, Gweler cyngor ar gyfer Gogledd Iwerddon, Gweler cyngor ar gyfer Yr Alban

If you want to get British citizenship for your child, you can apply to ‘register’ them as a British citizen. Registering is a way of applying for British citizenship. 

Your child needs British citizenship before they can get a UK passport.

If your child is over 18 years old, they’ll need to apply as an adult - check citizenship eligibility for adults.

If your child is under 18, it’s important to check if applying for citizenship is the right thing for them. It can cost over £1,000 and you won’t get your money back if your application is refused or your child is already British.

If you can’t afford the fee

You can apply for a ‘fee waiver’. If you get a fee waiver, you will not have to pay the fee.

To apply for a fee waiver, you have to show you don’t have enough income and savings to pay for both the fee and essential costs like food and rent. You’ll need to send documents showing your income and spending for the last 6 months, for example your:

  • pay slips

  • bank statements for all your accounts

  • written statement of your occupation contract

  • utility bills

If social services give you money to help you look after your child, you’ll automatically get a fee waiver - you’ll need to send documents to prove this.

You can apply for a fee waiver on GOV.UK.

Check if your child is already a British citizen

Your child might have British citizenship automatically if they were born in the UK or they have a British parent.

You can check how the Home Office decide if someone is automatically a British citizen on GOV.UK.

If your child is already a British citizen, you don’t need to apply for citizenship for them. You can just apply for your child’s first passport on GOV.UK.

If you’re not sure your child is a British citizen, talk to an adviser.

If you’re pregnant or planning to have a child 

If you have permission to live in the UK permanently when your child is born, they’ll get British citizenship automatically. You’ll need to prove you have:

  • 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 get settled status after your child is born, they will still be a British citizen if both of the following apply:

If you have permanent residence, you might not have a document to prove it. If you're in this situation, talk to an adviser.

Check if you can apply for citizenship for your child

If your child isn’t already a British citizen, you might be able to apply for citizenship for them. It depends on where they were born and your immigration status.

If you’re also applying for citizenship yourself, you can apply for your child at the same time. You’ll need to fill in a different form for them.

If your child is over 10 years old, they must be ‘of good character’. Your child will usually be of good character unless they’ve got a criminal conviction. 

If you’re not sure your child is of good character, talk to an adviser.

If your child was born in the UK

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship if:

  • you got permission to live in the UK permanently 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

If you got permission to live in the UK permanently after your child was born

You can register your child for citizenship if you or their other parent became ‘settled in the UK’ after they were born, for example if you:

  • have British citizenship

  • have indefinite leave to remain (or enter)

  • got permanent residence 

  • are an Irish citizen living in the UK

  • have settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If you got settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme after your child was born

Your child will automatically be a British citizen if both of the following apply: 

  • they were born after 30 June 2021

  • you were eligible for settled status on 30 June 2021 - even if you hadn’t applied by that date

If you’re in this situation, you don’t need to register your child as British - you can just apply for your child's first passport on GOV.UK.

If your child's father was British or settled in the UK

Your child will usually be a British citizen if their biological father had British citizenship or was settled in the UK when they were born. You’re settled in the UK if you:

  • have British citizenship

  • have settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme

  • have indefinite leave

  • have right of abode

  • have permanent residence 

  • are an Irish citizen living in the UK

In some situations your child will not be a British citizen, even if their biological father was a British citizen or settled in the UK when they were born. Your child won’t be a British citizen if: 

  • they were born on or after 1 July 2006 and their mother was married to someone else

  • they were born before 1 July 2006 and their parents weren't married

If your child is in one of these situations, you might be able to register them as British - you don’t have to pay the citizenship application fee. 

If your child was born on or after 1 July 2006

You can read the UKF(M) form guidance on GOV.UK to find out what requirements your child has to meet to register as British.

If they’re eligible, you can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form UKF(M) on GOV.UK

If your child was born before 1 July 2006

You can check the requirements your child has to meet to register as British on GOV.UK

If they’re eligible, you can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form UKF on GOV.UK.

If you joined the UK armed forces after your child was born

You can apply to register your child as British if:

  • you or their other parent joined the UK armed forces after your child was born

  • your child was born on or after 13 January 2010 

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If your child has lived in the UK for the last 10 years

What you can do depends on whether your child lived in the UK from when they were born until they reached 10 years old.

If your child lived in the UK until they reached 10 years old

If your child is not already a British citizen, they’ll usually be eligible for citizenship - even if you or your child don’t have the right to live in the UK permanently. 

You can apply to register your child for citizenship using form T on GOV.UK.

If your child didn’t live in the UK until they reached 10 years old

You can apply to register your child as British if:

  • you, your child and the child’s other parent are all in the UK legally

  • your child has lived here for the last 10 years

If you’re in the UK legally and your child doesn’t have regular contact with their other parent, it doesn’t matter where the other parent lives.

You’ll need to apply to register your child as British using form MN1. Before you apply read all the form MN1 guidance on GOV.UK. It costs over £1,000 to apply if you don’t get a fee waiver. If your application is refused, you won’t get your money back. 

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If your child was born outside the UK

The rules about getting British citizenship for your child depend on your status and their status.

If you got British citizenship after your child was born

You can apply to register your child as British if you meet all the Home Office’s criteria. They’ll consider things like:

  • if you and your child plan to live in the UK - if you or your child plan to live abroad their application might be refused

  • how long your child has lived in the UK - if they’re over 13 years old, they usually need to have lived in the UK for 2 years before you apply

  • your child’s immigration status - they’ll usually be refused if they don’t have indefinite leave or permanent residence

  • the immigration status and nationality of you and your child’s other parent

Your immigration status and nationality

You can apply to register your child as British if one of their parents is British or applying to become British. 

Your child’s other parent must either be British or settled in the UK. If their other parent has an immigration status that will lead to settlement, your child’s application might still be successful.

You’re settled in the UK if you have one of the following:

  • settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme

  • indefinite leave

  • right of abode

  • Irish citizenship and you're living in the UK

If you’re British and your child doesn’t have regular contact with their other parent, the other parent’s immigration status doesn’t matter.

If you’re applying for citizenship for yourself and you’re not sure your application will be successful, talk to an adviser.

Apply to register your child

You’ll need to apply to register your child as British using form MN1. It’s important that you read all the form MN1 guidance on GOV.UK before you apply. It costs over £1,000 to apply if you don’t get a fee waiver. If your application is refused, you won’t get your money back. 

You can apply to register your child for citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If your child’s father was British when your child was born

Your child will usually be a British citizen if their biological father both:

  • had British citizenship when your child was born

  • was born in the UK or applied for British citizenship

In some situations your child will not be a British citizen, even if their biological father was a British citizen when they were born. Your child won’t be a British citizen if: 

  • they were born on or after 1 July 2006 and their mother was married to someone else

  • they were born before 1 July 2006 and their parents weren't married

If your child is in one of these situations, you might be able to register them as British - you don’t have to pay the citizenship application fee.

If your child was born on or after 1 July 2006

You can read the UKF(M) form guidance on GOV.UK to find out what requirements your child has to meet to register as British.

If they’re eligible, you can apply to register your child for citizenship using form UKF(M) on GOV.UK

If your child was born before 1 July 2006

You can check the requirements your child has to meet to register as British on GOV.UK

If they’re eligible, you can apply to register your child for citizenship using form UKF on GOV.UK.

If you got British citizenship automatically when you were born

If you were born outside the UK, you are ‘British by descent’. This means you can’t automatically pass on British nationality to your children if they are born outside the UK. 

If you’re British by descent, you can apply to register your child as British if either:

  • you lived in the UK for 3 years at any time before your child was born

  • your whole family came to live in the UK for 3 years after your child was born

If you lived in the UK for 3 years before your child was born 

When you register your child as British, they’ll also be British by descent. This means they will not be able to pass on British nationality to any children they have outside the UK.

If your whole family comes to live in the UK after your child is born

You can apply to register your child as British after you’ve lived in the UK for 3 years. When you register your child, they’ll be ‘British otherwise than by descent’ - this means they can pass on British nationality to any children they have outside the UK.

Your whole family is your child and both their parents. If you’ve divorced or ended your civil partnership, or the other parent has died, your whole family is you and your child.

Apply to register your child

You can apply to register your child as British using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If you were born in the UK

Your child will usually be a British citizen automatically. You can check how the Home Office decide if someone is automatically a British citizen on GOV.UK.

If your child has lived in the UK for the last 5 years

You can apply to register your child as British if you, your child and the child’s other parent are all settled in the UK. You must all have lived in the UK legally for the last 5 years and your child must have been settled for 1 year.

You’re settled in the UK if you have one of the following:

  • settled status from the EU Settlement Scheme

  • indefinite leave

  • right of abode

  • Irish citizenship - and you’re living in the UK

If you’re settled and your child doesn’t have regular contact with their other parent, it doesn’t matter where the other parent lives or what their immigration status is.

You’ll need to apply to register your child as British using form MN1. Before you apply read all the form MN1 guidance in full on GOV.UK. It costs over £1,000 to apply if you don’t get a fee waiver. If your application is refused, you won’t get your money back. 

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If your child has lived in the UK for the last 10 years

You can apply to register your child as British if you, your child and the child’s other parent are all in the UK legally and your child has lived here for the last 10 years.

If your child doesn’t have regular contact with their other parent, it doesn’t matter where the other parent lives or what their immigration status is.

You’ll need to apply to register your child as British using form MN1. Before you apply read the form MN1 guidance in full on GOV.UK. It costs over £1,000 if you don’t get a fee waiver. If your application is refused, you won’t get your money back. 

You can apply to register your child for British citizenship using form MN1 on GOV.UK.

If your child isn’t eligible for citizenship in any country

If your child isn’t eligible for citizenship

The Home Office might grant your child citizenship: 

  • if your child needs to be British for their job - for example, if they plan to join the Armed Forces or they’re going to represent the UK in sport

  • for compassionate reasons - for example, you’re British and caring for a child in your family whose parents have died and you want to get citizenship for the child

If you’re applying because your child needs to be British for their job or for compassionate reasons, talk to an adviser.

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