Hello, I Have Just Been Awarded British Citizenship After Living In The Uk For 11 Continuous Years

Hello, I have just been awarded British CItizenship after living in the UK for 11 continuous years on a highly skilled visa. My son is 9 and is a Swedish citizen. His father is no longer involved, and my son has lived in the UK his whole life, except being born in Sweden. His citizenship application was refused because they said his father had not exercised his EEA treaty rights, and my son is "not settled" here. I would like to get him citizenship, do you know how I can do this - do I need to apply for ILR first? Can I apply for that? He is at school and I do not claim any child/tax benefits for him. Or could I ask for a re-consideration on the decision?

Hello, I have just been awarded British CItizenship after living in the UK for 11 continuous years on a highly skilled visa. My son is 9 and is a Swedish citizen. His father is no longer involved, and my son has lived in the UK his whole life, except being born in Sweden. His citizenship application was refused because they said his father had not exercised his EEA treaty rights, and my son is "not settled" here. I would like to get him citizenship, do you know how I can do this - do I need to apply for ILR first? Can I apply for that? He is at school and I do not claim any child/tax benefits for him. Or could I ask for a re-consideration on the decision?

Public Answer

Thank you for your question.

You may be able to apply for the decision not to award your son British Citizenship, or you could wait and apply under the following route:

“Any person who has lived in the UK until they were 10 years old

A person born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 and neither of their parents was a British citizen or settled at the time of their birth, can apply to register as a British citizen if they are under the age of 18. The general requirements are they must be:

-10 years old or older
-Have lived in the UK until they were 10
-If older than 10 years old, they must show that they are of “good character” for an explanation of what good character means, please see the detailed paragraph below.
-They must not have spent more than 90 days outside the UK in each of the first 10 years of their life

Please note, this answer cannot be taken as a legal advice until we have your full instructions. The answer provided above is for information purposes only, if you would like to proceed to full legal advice and consultation with our Immigration solicitors, please let us know your availability for an appointment by contact us on 0207 936 9960 or through our contact form.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best regards,

OTS Solicitors

[This question has been successfully answered by our lawyers in a private e-mail]