Getting British citizenship for children

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

This is known as being ‘stateless’. You can check how the Home Office decide if someone can get citizenship because they’re stateless on GOV.UK.