Question:
I'm planning on moving back to the UK sometime soon (next month or two). As
a British citizen, there's no problem for me, but I am in need of knowing
what I need to do to bring my family with me. My family members are:
1. wife
2. son (19 years old)
3. son (17 years old)
All thee of them are Canadians (also the country of our marriage many years
ago).
What do I need to do to immigrate them into Britain? Also how do I get them
work permits? Finally, how long does the process typically take?
Answer:
Did you register your sons as British dual-citizens? If so, they can just
come in normally as British citizens; if not you'll need to register your
17-year-old son *now* IIRC but your 19-year-old son may have problems
since IIRC the cut-off age for registering children is 18.
Your best bet is to check the IND website
(http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/), for further information, but your
wife will need to obtain a marriage visa from the Consulate or Embassy in
your current country of residency, which she will be able to work on
immediately.
Registration is not required for his sons to be
considered British provided that the father
is British other than by descent. Normally
that means the father is British because he
was born or naturalized in the UK. If that
is the case, then the boys do have British
citizenship, and no registration is necessary.
British passports can be obtained by
presenting their birth certificates
(listing the parents), the father's birth or
naturalization certificate in the UK, and
the parents' marriage certificate.
Registration, prior to age eighteen, was a
requirement for a WOMAN to pass her British
nationality to her foreign born children,
when the children were born before January 1,
1983. Since that date, British women have
been able to pass their citizenship to their
foreign born children on the same terms
as men, and no registration is required.
I thought that changed after the law was changed? I guess I just got the
two confused, that the men had do what the British women had to do rather
than reverse. Sorry about that!
Unfortunately, this is not the case for myself. My parents were residing in
Canada at the time of my birth (instant dual citizenship!). With that being
the case, and recognizing that my two sons are 18 and 19 (as in, neither is
under 18 years of age), I'm not sure what the correct path is for me to
proceed down for them (to reside permanently in the UK).
It seems that the case for my wife is pretty easily accomplished, from what
I read on the http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk web site.
If you are a British citizen and your parents were British citizens at the
time of your birth and they were married and you were married to your wife
at the time of both of your son's birth and they were born in the commonwealth,
then you can get "right of abode" stamped in their Canadian passport. This
will give them all the benefits of being British except they can't vote or
get a British passport. After five years in the UK they may apply for British
citizenship. You apply for a spousal visa for your wife. You will need to
prove you have enough money (at least 5000 pounds per person you will be
supporting) plus a place to stay in the UK already organized that is sufficiently
large for all of you (i.e. all four cannot stay in the same room... I believe
you will need three bedrooms 1 for each adult and/or couple). You will also
need various documents such as marriage document, your birth certificate
etc etc. I would get right of abode for your sons first before I tried to
get a spousal visa so that most of the family have right to live in Britain
(an easier case).
In any event all of the information you need is on the IND website. I suggest
you take a pair of hours and simply read the whole site.
Where did you hear 5000 pounds? On equiry to a number of British
Consulates and the IND over a period of time of a couple of years, I have
been told by all of them that there is no set amount.
