[travelspice]

Hi

I am planning to enter the UK to settle later this year. I have 3 children on Canadian passports. I hold right of abode in my expired passport. What is the best option to get for them?

I really do not want to get settlement visas for them as they cost 826 pounds each and there is a chance we will have to come back to Canada if things do not work out.

Could I list them all as ancestry? Or any other suggestions?

Or maybe I will just let them enter on their Canadian passports and if we do end up staying and settling, I will get their proper paperwork completed then.

I welcome advice on this...

Thanks

 

[travelspice]

Actually, looking at the fee schedule, it says something about children being Tier4 which is much cheaper at 289 pounds but not sure if that applies to settlement for children? Anyone? It is a bit confusing to read...
ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/fees-spring-2012.pdf

 

[Joppa]

Hi

I am planning to enter the UK to settle later this year. I have 3 children on Canadian passports. I hold right of abode in my expired passport. What is the best option to get for them?

I really do not want to get settlement visas for them as they cost 826 pounds each and there is a chance we will have to come back to Canada if things do not work out.

Could I list them all as ancestry? Or any other suggestions?

Or maybe I will just let them enter on their Canadian passports and if we do end up staying and settling, I will get their proper paperwork completed then.

I welcome advice on this...

This can be complicated and we don't receive many enquiries on ROA (I think this is the first in my time as MOD).

On what basis do you have ROA? This may decide the best course of action.

Unless your children are entitled to ROA (unlikely) or some sort of British citizenship, you must get settlement visas for them before travelling, and the fee is the full fee, not reduced one for Tier 4.

Ancestry visa is only available to those aged 17 and over, as you must be prepared to work (i.e. not in compulsory education).

 

[travelspice]

Hi

I have ROA because my mum is British born. She came to Canada in 1946 as a warbride, I was born in 1969.

So could my kids claim ROA through grandparent? I do see that option on the ROA form.

Also the Uk border agency site claims the ROA fee is 265 pounds for applications made outside of the UK...can you confirm this? Hope I am reading it wrong...

 

[travelspice]

Also, can you tell me why the children would not qualify for the reduced tier 4 costs? I don't really understand that whole pricing system at all...

 

[Joppa]

Hi

I have ROA because my mum is British born. She came to Canada in 1946 as a warbride, I was born in 1969.

So could my kids claim ROA through grandparent? I do see that option on the ROA form.

Also the Uk border agency site claims the ROA fee is 265 pounds for applications made outside of the UK...can you confirm this? Hope I am reading it wrong...

As you were born of British mother, you may be eligible for registration as British citizen.

This will only give you citizenship by descent and you can't transmit it to your children.

Your children can come as dependants of ROA holder or British citizen and then apply for registration as British citizen after 3 years in UK. This gives them citizenship otherwise than by descent, i.e. transmissible nationality.

No one born after 31st Dec 1982 is eligible for ROA unless they are British citizens.

You are right. £265 outside UK, £165 inside.

 

[Joppa]

Also, can you tell me why the children would not qualify for the reduced tier 4 costs? I don't really understand that whole pricing system at all...

That's the visa fee for child student, i.e. someone coming to study in a school or college aged under 18. You must read under settlement visa. Remember when applying in Canada, fees will be priced in Cnd$. The table of fees is on country-specific site which is unavailable at the moment.

 

[travelspice]

I had seen the citizenship option but it was very expensive so I thought it would be better to continue as ROA and if we do settle there, then after 5 years I can apply for citizenship directly.

Now you said the children would be dependents of my ROA...so does that mean they need any paperwork at all?

I really want to avoid getting them settlement due to the cost and would like if anything to get them ROA...any thoughts on this option?

 

[Joppa]

I had seen the citizenship option but it was very expensive so I thought it would be better to continue as ROA and if we do settle there, then after 5 years I can apply for citizenship directly.

Now you said the children would be dependents of my ROA...so does that mean they need any paperwork at all?

I really want to avoid getting them settlement due to the cost and would like if anything to get them ROA...any thoughts on this option?

They cannot get ROA as they were born after 31 December 1982 and aren't British citizens. You need to have ROA on that relevant date (which you have). You can't attach it to an unborn child.

Only some kind of British citizenship will eliminate the need for settlement visa, and I can't see any way for them to get it without your becoming a citizen first (I think it's free to apply for registration on form UKM, though applications are processed in Liverpool and currently take 3-4 months because of workload. You just pay £80 for citizenship ceremony at British consulate).

Even if you become a British citizen by descent, they won't become British until living in UK for 3 years before turning 18 and applying for registration.

You as their parent become their sponsor for settlement visa application and have to supply details of funds, job, accomodation in UK etc.

They shouldn't attempt to enter as visitor on Candian passport, as they clearly are not. They should only do so if they are really only coming temporarily and are returning to Canada with one of the parents.

 

[travelspice]

So from this fee schedule, I just choose registration UKM for 80 pounds?
ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/britishcitizenship/nationality-fees.pdf

I was under the impression I would need to choose naturlization for 851 or registration for 651...can you help me be sure which one I need to choose exactly? Because this is clearly the overall best choice.

And what do they give me for citizenship? A British passport? Or just paperwork to go along with my Canadian passport? And then the children need nothing other than the sponsorship form? I cannot use form SU07 because it is only for those who are resident in the UK already.

I am very grateful to you taking your time to help me with all of this.

 

[Joppa]

So from this fee schedule, I just choose registration UKM for 80 pounds?
ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/britishcitizenship/nationality-fees.pdf

Yes.

I was under the impression I would need to choose naturlization for 851 or registration for 651...can you help me be sure which one I need to choose exactly? Because this is clearly the overall best choice.

You can't get naturalised without living in UK for several years. Your application for registration being born of British mother on form UKM is free, and you only pay for citizenship ceremony.

And what do they give me for citizenship? A British passport? Or just paperwork to go along with my Canadian passport? And then the children need nothing other than the sponsorship form? I cannot use form SU07 because it is only for those who are resident in the UK already.

Citizenship certificate, and with it you can apply for British passport. Advantage for you is you become also EU citizen and have full right to work, live and retire just about anywhere in Europe. It doesn't, however, give any citizenship to your children because you will be a citizen by descent.

For your children's settlemnet application, you complete form VAF4A (in fact the online equivalent but the questions are the same). Your child (one form for each) is the applicant and you are their sponsor, so complete the relevant sections, and supply relevant documents (all clearly shown). You need to think laterally as the form is a common one for all categories of family migration (spouse, partner, child etc) so some questions don't apply to you or must be answered in a relevant way. Basically you need to prove three things. That the applicant is clearly your family member (e.g. birth certificate), that you have enough money for their maintenance (as they won't be eligible for public funds like child benefit) and there is somewhere for them to live.

 

[travelspice]

That is great I can apply for citizenship, wow...and do I need to go through the ceremony in order to get the passport or is the ceremony any time of my choosing?

Once i get the citizenship forms back in the mail do I then send them away to get a passport?

And do I apply from Canada by mailing to the UK or do I go to visa4uk.fco.gov.uk and send all my info to New York?

Now I would prefer not to pay out 826 pounds per child for settlement if I can wait just in case we decide not to settle...how essential is it to have settlement papers for them if I have my british passport? can i just wait and get them settlement if we decide to stay?

 

[Joppa]

That is great I can apply for citizenship, wow...and do I need to go through the ceremony in order to get the passport or is the ceremony any time of my choosing?

No. Normally your citizenship certificate is only handed to you at the end of the citizenship ceremony, having pledged your allegiance to the Crown (may not be needed for Commonwealth citizen) and promised to obey the laws and uphold British way of life etc.

Once i get the citizenship forms back in the mail do I then send them away to get a passport?

You can only apply for passport once you get your certificate at the ceremony.

And do I apply from Canada by mailing to the UK or do I go to visa4uk.fco.gov.uk and send all my info to New York?

Follow the procedure laid down under http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/canada.

Now I would prefer not to pay out 826 pounds per child for settlement if I can wait just in case we decide not to settle...how essential is it to have settlement papers for them if I have my british passport? can i just wait and get them settlement if we decide to stay?

In that case make sure you make a concrete plan to return home after a visit. Your children can enter as a visitor for up to 6 months, and you need to have return tickets etc when arriving at UK border. Should you decide to settle, your children accompanied by one of the parents must return to Canada and apply there. You cannot apply in-country when you enter as a visitor. Is your spouse travelling with you, and does he/she need a visa?

 

[travelspice]

To make life easy I could simply enter all of us on just Cdn passports and then apply for my citizenship when we get there, take a copy of mum's birth cert with me. Then get the passport over there too.

Then deal with kids settlement issues depending on what we decide to do...

 

[travelspice]

I am on my own, single mum, the ex husband is not around at all...he signed legal papers allowing me to take the kids out of the country and I have sole custody with no access rights for him. He has issues...

But wouldn't I be able to apply for settlement for the kids if I had received my Brit passport? Then I am not considered a visitor any longer...

 

[travelspice]

Any idea how I would attend a ceremony in Canada? Where they would be held?

 

[Joppa]

To make life easy I could simply enter all of us on just Cdn passports and then apply for my citizenship when we get there, take a copy of mum's birth cert with me. Then get the passport over there too.

Then deal with kids settlement issues depending on what we decide to do...

You can do that. Read form UKM and see what supporting documents you require. See UK Border Agency | The documents we require for registration as a British citizen if you were born before 1983 to a British mother

 

[Joppa]

I am on my own, single mum, the ex husband is not around at all...he signed legal papers allowing me to take the kids out of the country and I have sole custody with no access rights for him. He has issues...

But wouldn't I be able to apply for settlement for the kids if I had received my Brit passport? Then I am not considered a visitor any longer...

Your nationality is irrelevant for your children's settlement visa application, as you will have untransmissible British citizenship. It's not your visitor status that matters, but your children's, who are and remain Canadian citizens until they can register as British by living with you for three years in UK.

If you are registered as British while living in Canada, the ceremony will take place at the nearest British consulate. In UK, at the town hall where you live.

 

[travelspice]

Ok I think it is best to get this in order before we go and I will leave the kids settlement stuff until after we are there. So they can enter on Canadian passports and I will apply for their settlement while in the UK if we decide to stay. Costly, but seems the best thing to do to not have them unallowed to be there beyond 6 months. The ukba website does state I can apply for settlement for them from within the UK.

I went to the visa4uk page and clicked on apply for a visa and there does not seem to be any option for citizenship...do you have any idea what category I would choose for it? I wish they did not have to make it so complicated.

 

[Joppa]

Ok I think it is best to get this in order before we go and I will leave the kids settlement stuff until after we are there. So they can enter on Canadian passports and I will apply for their settlement while in the UK if we decide to stay. Costly, but seems the best thing to do to not have them unallowed to be there beyond 6 months. The ukba website does state I can apply for settlement for them from within the UK.

Where? You cannot. You have to apply in Canada and they have to be in Canada for that.

I went to the visa4uk page and clicked on apply for a visa and there does not seem to be any option for citizenship...do you have any idea what category I would choose for it? I wish they did not have to make it so complicated.

You don't apply online as it isn't a visa application. Go to UK Border Agency | How do I register as a British citizen if I was born before 1983 to a British mother? and download Form UKM and Guide and complete by hand. Enclose documents and send off to Washington DC:
Citizenship You have to pay Cdn$20 for return postage.