British Citizenship for Children of EU Citizens:
Proposals for new legislation seeks to amend the British Nationality Act 1981 for children of EU citizens. Post-Brexit Britain would provide children of EU citizens with settled status, automatic British citizenship.
The draft legislation states that “children born on or after 1st July 2021 to a parent who subsequently acquires ILR under Appendix EU automatically acquire British citizenship from the date of grant of such leave if the parent meets certain other conditions.”
This would allow children of EU citizens born after the 1st July 2021 to gain British citizenship, from the date that their parent receives Settled Status through the EU Settlement Scheme.
Currently Section 1 and 2 of the British Nationality Act 1981 allows a child to gain British citizenship automatically based on their parent’s status or nationality at the time of their birth. This is different from the new draft legislation which allows a child to gain British citizenship after their birth when their parent gains settled status.
The new draft legislation also differs from Section 3 of the Act as it is free of charge in contrast to the current £1012 fee and does not require the parent to register the child’s British citizenship once they acquire settled status.
Although the legislation has not been introduced into law as of yet, it is set to take effect on 1st July 2021. There are still questions surrounding its application to those with settled status before the 1st July 2021.
Naturalisation for Windrush victims:
The proposed change is to give the Secretary of State the power to waive the residence requirements, including the five-year requirement, where people have been unable to return to the UK through no fault of their own.
The exact wording and implementation of the change is still unclear; however, it is hoped that this will give the Secretary of State powers to grant British citizenship to those Returning Residents who have returned under Windrush Scheme.
Children of fathers who are not the husband of their mothers:
The potential change to the current legislation seeks to create a specific registration route for children whose mothers were married (or in a civil partnership) but not to the child’s biological father when the child was born.
The definition of “father” within section 50(9A) will not change and unfortunately these children will continue to be unable to acquire British citizenship automatically at birth.
For more information contact our immigration team:
