Swabra Natabi

If a child is born in the United Kingdom and lives here until they turn 10 years old, they may have an entitlement to register for British citizenship. However, if they are born outside of the United Kingdom and move here as a child, they have no entitlement to citizenship, even if they, too, live here for 10 years. Fortunately, the Home Office recently updated their citizenship guidance meaning that children in this situation have a much better chance of registering as British citizens.

Section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (BNA 1981) states that ‘if while a person is a minor an application is made for his registration as a British citizen, the Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, cause him to be registered as such a citizen’. This means that the Home Office can exercise a wide discretion to register children as British citizens. They have published detailed guidance setting out the circumstances in which they will do so.

On 19 July 2022, the Home Office updated its guidance relating to the registration of children as British citizens under Section 3(1) of the BNA 1981, specifically for those who were not born here but have lived in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years. The reason for this change is to recognise that 10 years “constitutes a significant period of residence for a child to demonstrate a strong connection with the UK”, irrespective of whether they were born here.

Children who have lived in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years

Children born abroad who have lived in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years will now “normally” be granted British citizenship under Section 3(1) of the BNA 1981 provided they meet all the relevant parts of the guidance as follows:

They are in the UK lawfully;
Their parents have regularised their own status;
Where necessary, both parents consent to registration or any objections by the non-applying parent are ill-founded; and
There is no reason to refuse on character grounds

Previously, the guidance stated that they would only grant British citizenship to a child in this scenario if they were an older teenager (16 years old and above) who had spent most of their life in the UK, on the basis that those were exceptional circumstances. This is a significant change which means many more children are likely to have successful British citizenship applications.

What if the child does not meet the criteria in the guidance?

There will still be children who have lived in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years, but cannot meet those criteria, for example because the child and/or their parents do not have lawful immigration status.

In this scenario, it is always open to those children to apply for registration at the Home Office’s discretion. However, as before, they will be expected to provide evidence of exceptional circumstances why they should be granted British citizenship, such as their length of residence, connection to the United Kingdom and proof that their future lies here.

The Home Office must always treat the best interests of the child as a primary consideration. These cases will be considered on their own merits. Therefore, immigration advisers should not be deterred from making these applications even if the child’s circumstances are not perfectly in line with this guidance. They must, however, ensure that these applications are well evidenced.

We have a lot of experience assisting children to register as British citizens. If you require advice in relation to this updated guidance, we would be happy to help. Please contact us on 0207 401 6887 or via email on contact@gryklaw.com.

On 17 January 2022, the Home Office published guidance on concessions for Afghans who are in the UK on study and work routes. They relate to the provision of supporting documents and restrictions on switching immigration routes in the UK.

Switching

The Immigration Rules have switching restrictions on some routes. For instance, you cannot switch to a Skilled Worker visa if you are in the UK on a visit visa. Under the rules, an individual must leave the UK and make an out of country entry clearance application.

In light of the volatile situation in Afghanistan, the Home Office recognises this may not be a possibility for Afghan nationals who would otherwise be eligible for other immigration routes. Therefore, this concession seeks to waive this requirement, provided the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.

To apply, the applicant must confirm in writing that they wish to apply under this concession, stating their reasons for making an in-country application.

Document evidence

Applicants may not be able to provide all the documents required for their application under the relevant route. The applicant must provide a letter explaining why they cannot provide the required document.

There is no need to provide detailed evidence in support of the letter however the applicant must give a ‘sufficient and reasonable explanation’. The guidance sets out acceptable explanations such as the institution from which the document is required is no longer functioning or no one else can reasonably be expected to obtain the document on the applicant’s behalf because it is unsafe.

The requirement to provide the document may be waived if the Home Office is satisfied a document from Afghanistan cannot reasonably be obtained.

Eligibility

The key requirements for both concessions are as follows:

1) The applicant must be an Afghan national, or their dependent partner or child.

2) They must be in the UK lawfully or have been granted an exceptional assurance or where they have overstayed it can only be for a very short time as allowed by the Immigration Rules.

3) They must have lawfully entered the UK prior to 1 September 2021 or made an application for a visa by that date and arrived later, on a temporary route. The list of routes can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-nationals.

4) They must be applying for permission to stay on one of these work or study routes:

- - Skilled Worker (including Health and Care Visa)
  - Global Talent
  - Student
  - Child Student
  - Parent of a Child Student
  - Intra-company Routes
  - Representative of an Overseas Business
  - T2 Minister of Religion
  - International Sportsperson
  - Temporary Work – Creative Worker/Charity Worker/Religious Worker/Government Authorised Exchange/International Agreement
  - UK Ancestry (main applicant must hold Commonwealth citizenship)
  - Investor
  - Start-up
  - Innovator

5) They must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules for the route on which they are applying, subject to these concessions.

Under the guidance, dependants can also switch in line with the main applicant or become a main applicant provided they meet the criteria.

It should be noted that applicants must meet all the criteria above otherwise their application will not be considered under the concessions. Further to this, the guidance states that the decision maker will consider each application on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all circumstances.

These concessions will be applied to all decisions made from 14 January 2022 and will be reviewed in a year.

Although temporary, the introduction of these concessions is welcomed, and will no doubt have a positive impact on the lives of many Afghan nationals.

If you require immigration advice in relation to the above, we would be happy to help. Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com.

Helpful new guidance makes it easier for children to register as British citizens

Concessions for Afghans on study and work routes in the UK