British citizenship by birth
British citizenship by birth is governed by UK nationality law, which outlines the conditions under which a person born in the United Kingdom (or its territories) is automatically a British citizen.
Find out more about your British citizenship by birth options by getting into contact with our London Immigration Lawyers on 0204 502 8582.
Page Contents
- Who is eligible?
- Registering a child
- Required documents
- Application forms
- British citizenship by descent
- Children born outside the UK
- Child is born in UK to foreign parents
- Adoption law
- Surrogacy law
- Automatic citizenship by birth
- The ‘good character’ requirement
- Dual citizenship
- Registration fees
- Frequently asked questions
Birthright Citizenship in UK
Those born after 1983 are not automatically granted British citizenship by birth if you are born in the UK. Whether or not you have an automatic right to British citizenship depends on you and your parents’ circumstances. At least one of them must be a British national for you to be granted British citizenship when you are born. You must also be born in the UK itself to be automatically granted citizenship.
You may be able to register as a British citizen if you were born in the UK to one or more parents who became a British citizen or was granted permanent residence after your birth.
If you were born abroad to one or more British nationals, you will also need to register as a British citizen, as you will not just be automatically granted citizenship. Call us on 020 4502 8582 to find out more.
Who is eligible for British Citizenship by birth?
Citizenship by birth is granted only to individuals who were born on UK territory. If you wish to be a British citizen but were not born in the United Kingdom, there are various other routes to obtaining citizenship that you can explore, such as citizenship through naturalisation or citizenship through marriage.
You may qualify to register yourself for British citizenship depending on your birth date and your parents’ circumstances at the time of your birth.
Automatic Citizenship
You are typically considered a British citizen if you were:
- Born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983, and
- Born to a parent who was a British citizen or ‘settled’ in the UK at the time of your birth.
In such cases, you can apply for a British passport or request a letter from the Home Office confirming your citizenship.
If you reside in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or a British overseas territory, there is a different process for obtaining a letter confirming your citizenship.
If You Were Born Before 1 January 1983
You are automatically a British citizen if you were born in the UK before this date, unless one of the following conditions applies:
- Your father was a diplomat representing a non-UK country.
- Your father was considered ‘an enemy alien in occupation’ and you were born in the Channel Islands during World War II.
Similar to those born after 1983, you can apply for a UK passport or request a letter confirming your citizenship..
Residents of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or British overseas territories should follow a different procedure to obtain this confirmation.
If You Were Born on or After 1 January 1983
You may be eligible for British citizenship if either of the following applies to you:
- You are under 18 and one of your parents became a British citizen or received permission to stay in the UK permanently at your birth.
- You lived in the UK until you were 10 years old or older.
Registering a child as a British citizen
Please note the child must be under the age of 18 at the time of application; if the child is older than 18, they must follow the process for obtaining citizenship as adults through registration or naturalisation.
Although the United Kingdom allows dual nationality, some countries do not accept it and as a result the child will have to revoke their citizenship of that country in order to become a British citizen.
Therefore, we strongly advise that you consult the authorities of the child’s current country of citizenship through their Embassy or High Commission before applying for British citizenship, and consider the option carefully before coming to a decision on whether or not obtaining British citizenship is the right path for the child.
If the child’s current citizenship is recognised, they may still be subject to the obligations of that citizenship, including potential military service duties, while in that country.
To register your child’s British citizenship, you will need to complete an application using Form MN1. If the child is above 6 years old, they will also need to arrange a biometrics appointment at a UKVCAS centre. A parent or legal guardian must accompany them to their appointment if they are below 16 years old.
You will then need to pay the required fees for the registration and potentially attend a citizenship ceremony if the child turns 18 during the application process. Once the child is a citizen, they will be able to apply for a British passport.
What documents do I need to apply for British citizenship by birth?
To apply for citizenship by birth for a child, the full application should include:
- A completed and accurate MN1 form
- Proof of identity of the child, for example a birth certificate or a passport if they have one. Both parents’ names should be included on the proof of identity document
- A recent digital photograph for children under 6, or biometric data for children under 16. Please note that a parent or legal guardian must be present with the child when they attend their biometric appointment, and the biometrics appointment must be booked by the parent or guardian as they are not automatically booked for you
- For children above 6, the biometrics fee of £19.20
- The citizenship application fee of
- The citizenship ceremony fee of £130 if the child turns 18 during the application process
- Any other documents that may be required to support your case, outlined in the application form.
Application Forms for British Citizenship by Birth
The correct application form for British citizenship by birth is form MN1. This form specifically relates to registering for citizenship. Note that this process is different than that which is used by people who are naturalising as a British citizen. For these people, the correct application form is form AN.
Form MN1 can be completed by applicants who are living in the UK; in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or a British Overseas Territory.
The form requires applicants (or parents) to complete information about birth, nationality, parentage, and criminal/immigration history. In section five of the form, two referee details must be included. These individuals must be professionals who are not related to the applicant. They must confirm the identity of the child born the applicant and state why they believe the child is entitled to British citizenship.
British Citizenship by Descent
‘British citizenship by descent’ is a term which is used to describe a a person who children born abroad or who is born outside the UK to one or more British parents.
If such a person is descended from a British national(s), and they are not born in the UK, they will not automatically qualify for UK citizenship.
To become a citizen, they will need to register for British citizenship.
Child Born Outside the UK
If a child is born outside of the country and one or more of their parents are British nationals, they can claim their citizenship by birth when they return to the UK, once one or both the parents get settled status.
Settled status, in this case, counts as Indefinite Leave to Remain, often referred to as ILR, or settled refugee status.
This process is called claiming nationality “otherwise than by descent”.
If a child is born in UK to foreign parents
A child born in the UK to non-British parents does not automatically gain British citizenship.
Automatic citizenship is only granted when at least one parent is a British citizen or holds settled status, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE), or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
If neither parent has British citizenship or settled status, the child is not automatically eligible for British citizenship. However, there are pathways for future registration, including:
- 10-Year Residency Rule: A child who has lived continuously in the UK from birth until the age of 10, with minimal absences (generally not exceeding 90 days per year)
- Change in Parents’ Status: If the parents later obtain British citizenship or settled status, the child may then be eligible to register as a British citizen.
- Statelessness: If the child is not recognised as a citizen of any country, they may qualify for British citizenship under provisions for stateless individuals.
British Citizenship by Adoption
According to the 2002 Adoption and Children Act, children who were adopted on or after the 1st January 1983 can qualify for British citizenship by descent if one or both of their adoptive parents are British.
If one or more of the adoptive parents are habitually resident in the UK then a child can also apply for British citizenship by birth based on this.
A child who has been subject to a parental order at a UK court can become a British citizen if the person who made the order was a British national. If the parental order ceases to have effect once the child has successfully registered as a British citizen, they will keep their status as a British citizen.
It is important to note that children that are adopted from overseas before 1st June 2003 do not automatically qualify for a British passport.
Surrogacy Law in the UK
UK nationality law on surrogacy is especially complex. This is because of the route to citizenship changes depending on different circumstances.
For example, if the surrogate mother of the child is the genetic mother then her nationality will be used in order to make the child’s citizenship claim. However, if IVF has been used as a method to plant the ‘commissioning couple’s’ sperm and eggs in the woman, the couple’s nationality will be taken into account.
It is important to note though, that the ‘legal mother’ of the child is always the surrogate mother, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990.
If the ‘commissioning couple’ seeks to get a parental order, then their nationality or immigration status will take precedent in an application rather than the ‘legal mothers’’.
British Citizenship By Birth Advice
Our team of immigration and nationality law will work with you to assess whether you are eligible for British citizenship by birth. They will examine your parentage and immigration history to decide whether you qualify and, if you do, they will advise you on what you need for a successful application. They will discuss various options with you and offer alternatives to meet your needs if you are not eligible. The team will advise you on which documents and application forms you need to include in an application for British citizenship registration.
Call us on 020 3883 6530 or make an enquiry online to get advice on your eligibility for British citizenship by birth.
British Citizenship By Birth Application Support
If you are eligible for this route, or any other, you can instruct our lawyers to oversee your application. If you choose this option, your lawyer will work tirelessly to ensure your application meets the high standard set by the Home Office. They will source and organise your British Citizenship application documents for you, carefully placing them into an in-depth Evidence Portfolio. This ensures that the person reviewing your case can easily navigate through each section without missing anything.
As part of this service, your lawyer will also write a detailed cover letter – called a Letter of Representation – to be submitted with your case.
Call us on 020 3883 6530 or make an enquiry online to begin your British citizenship by birth application.
Do my child automatically get British citizenship by birth?
A child born in the UK is not automatically a British citizen. Whether a child acquires British citizenship at birth depends on the immigration status of the parents at the time of birth.
If you hold permanent citizenship when you give birth, your child will automatically qualify as a British citizen. However, you as a parent will need to prove that you have:
- British or Irish citizenship
- ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) or settled status
- Right of abode
If you were not yet a citizen of the UK after your child is born, they may still qualify as a British citizen if the following are true:
- You were eligible for settled status on the 30th of June, 2021
- Your child was born after the 30th of June, 2021
The ‘Good Character’ Requirement
If the applicant child is over the age of 10, then they must prove that they are ‘of good character’ when making an application for registration.
To meet this requirement, the child must:
- Have always shown respect for UK law and not committed any crimes. This included terrorism, war crimes and any activities which are considered to be ‘not conducive to the public good’.
- Not have been in breach of any immigration laws, such as overstaying a visa.
The Home Office will assess the applicant’s criminal and immigration history when discerning whether or not they meet this requirement.
Applicants under the age of 10 are not subject to this requirement, but in certain extreme circumstances, they may still be refused citizenship on the basis that their character could still seriously harm the good of the British public.
Dual Citizenship for Children
Making a British citizenship application is likely to affect any current citizenship status which is held by the child applicant.
Because of the way UK nationality law works, it is unlikely that the child will have to renounce your former citizenship to another country. This is because the UK allows for dual citizenship status. However, there are certain countries that will not permit dual citizenship in any form. In these cases, the child will have to renounce their citizenship to that country in order to register as a citizen of the UK.
It is important to bear in mind that, when a child (or adult) is a dual citizen of two countries, they are still bound by citizenship laws in their former country. So, in countries where citizens have certain civic responsibilities (such as military service for example) the child is still subject to them.
British Citizenship Registration Fees
The British citizenship registration fee for a child is £1,000. As well at this, there is an additional cost which covers the taking and setting up of the child’s biometric information.
If you cannot afford the registration fee, you can apply for a fee waiver.
A child applying for any form of British citizenship by a birth certificate will not be required to attend a citizenship ceremony. Neither do they have to swear an oath of allegiance.
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, the law may change, and the information may not reflect the most current legal developments. No warranty is given regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information, and we do not accept liability in such cases. We recommend consulting with a qualified lawyer at London Immigration Lawyers before making any decisions based on the content provided.
Last modified on July 7th, 2025 at 12:40 pm
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Related pages for your continued reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can apply for a passport on behalf of a baby, child or teenager online or by post.
A child’s passport will last for five years.
The processing time for a child’s passport is three weeks, but you can also use a one-week fast-track service if you are working to a shorter timeframe.
A child’s passport must be applied for by someone with parental responsibility – this can be a parent or guardian.
A status letter is a document which records the UKVI’s assessment of an applicant’s nationality status. This should not be confused with a certificate of nationality.
A status letter can be used in an application for British citizenship and can be accessed by submitting a dorm NS to the Home Office.
Yes, children up the age of 16 can apply for citizenship based on their descent or birth. If needed, a parent or guardian can complete their application for them on their behalf. If doing so, they should ensure that the applicant’s details are that of the child and not of themselves.
It is also important to note that any child registering for British citizenship who is under the age of 16 will not need to attend a citizenship ceremony. Children over the age of 10 must satisfy the good character requirement.
Yes, adults over the age of 18 can register as British citizens, as long as they are eligible. For adults who want to become British citizens who are not descended from British nationals or born in the UK, naturalisation is an option.
British citizenship by naturalisation requires applicants to have lived in the UK with a valid settlement visa for between three and five years (depending on the visa type) before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). They then need to hold ILR status for at least 12 months to be eligible for a British citizenship application using form AN (for naturalisation).
A child born in the UK may be eligible for British citizenship, depending on the parents’ immigration status at the time of birth. If either parent is a British citizen or has settled status (such as Indefinite Leave to Remain), the child is automatically a British citizen.
If neither parent has this status, the child may be eligible for British citizenship later, particularly if they have lived in the UK for a certain period or if a parent’s immigration status changes. Factors like long-term residence, statelessness, or changes in parental status can influence eligibility for registration.
In most cases, you can expect a decision on your application within six months of submitting your application. This process may take longer if your application is incorrect or incomplete, or if the Home Office requires additional information to help them to make their decision. In some circumstances, you might be asked to attend an interview.
If you are 18 or older and your application for British citizenship is successful, you must attend a citizenship ceremony within three months of receiving your invitation from the Home Office. If you become a British citizen through the Windrush scheme, attendance at the ceremony is optional, and there is no fee.
Your local authority will arrange the citizenship ceremony, which typically takes place in groups, though you can request a private ceremony if desired. You must bring your invitation to the ceremony, and you may bring up to two guests.
