Guidance

Registration as a British citizen: children

Guidance on the registration of a minor as a British citizen by entitlement and discretion.

From:: UK Visas and Immigration
Published: 27 July 2017
Last updated: 28 June 2022 — See all updates

Documents

Registration as British citizen: children

PDF, 391 KB, 42 pages

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Details

This guidance tells Home Office staff about the registration of a minor as a British citizen by entitlement and discretion.

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Published 27 July 2017
Last updated 28 June 2022 + show all updates

28 June 2022
The section on children of unmarried British or settled fathers has been amended to take into account changes made by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Following commencement of that act, a child whose mother was married to someone else at the time of the birth can apply under section 4G of the British Nationality Act 1981.
9 August 2021
Amended the section of Child’s Immigration Status, to remove the statement that citizenship does not give any additional benefits than ILR.
16 April 2020
Added information about the fee waiver for a child born on or after July 2006 where the mother was married to someone other than the natural father.
10 January 2020
Replaced document with a new version.
12 November 2018
Amendment to clarify that DNA evidence cannot be mandated and that no negative inference can be drawn if an applicant chooses not to supply such evidence.
28 September 2018
Replaced the document with a new version.
8 February 2018
Guidance updated.
18 August 2017
Updated guidance published.
27 July 2017
First published.

Update history

2025-08-11 14:54
Updated the guidance to clarify who is the parent of a child.

2025-08-07 11:33
Updated to reflect that children adopted by British parents can be registered under section 3(1) if they would have met the criteria to be registered under section 3(2) or section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981 had they been the adoptive parents’ natural born children.

2024-10-14 14:21
Guidance updated to re-order scenarios where we might normally register under section 3(1). The section on registering outside of the usual criteria has also been revised, and a new section added on children who were previously recognised as British citizens in error.

2024-07-24 12:00
The section on the ‘citizenship ban’ has been removed to reflect the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

2023-08-24 10:52
Added information about section 4D of the British Nationality Act.

2023-07-25 15:43
Accessible version added.

2023-07-21 15:40
Updated to reflect changes made by the Illegal Migration Act 2023. Clarified that a parent will be considered settled for the purposes of a child’s application under section 1(3) where they are ordinarily resident and have acquired a Withdrawal Agreement right to reside permanently on the basis of qualifying activity for the relevant period.

2023-06-07 14:44
Clarification on page 7 that registration under Section 3(2) would give British citizenship by descent. This is an exception to other registration entitlement provisions which give British citizenship otherwise than by descent.

2022-12-08 14:40
‘The Hague Convention on inter country adoption’ hyperlink amended under section ‘Overseas adoptions recognised by UK law’.

2022-09-20 13:39
Amendments to the guidance on provisions for children born to a parent registered under section 4C, 4G, 4H, 4I or 4L of the British Nationality Act 1981.

2022-07-19 17:00
Updated the ‘Registration as a British citizen: children’ document.

2022-06-28 00:15
The section on children of unmarried British or settled fathers has been amended to take into account changes made by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Following commencement of that act, a child whose mother was married to someone else at the time of the birth can apply under section 4G of the British Nationality Act 1981.