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FIRST BRITISH PASSPORT FOR THE CHILD OF A BRITISH CITIZEN BORN IN THE PHILIPPINES

8/18/2019

ECO-Friendly clients Khlodia Marie-Chung McGruer with hubby Ken and son Kameron in the UK. Congrats on the First British passport of Kameron!

Manila, Philippines - Children of British nationals, even if born in the Philippines are considered as British citizens from birth.

According to the rules as prescribed in the official website of the UK government, a person is automatically a British citizen if he or she was born outside the UK and all of the following apply:
1.      The applicant from the Philippines was born on or after 1 July 2006 (a different provision applies if applicant was born before1 July 2006)
2.      The mother or father of the applicant was a British citizen when the applicant was born
3.      The British parent of the applicant from the Philippines could pass on their citizenship to the former

Unfortunately, most applicants for the UK Spouse Visa who want to settle in the UK with their children whose fathers are British nationals do not realize that their children are automatic British citizens.

Thus, in some instances, when an applicant from the Philippines filing for a UK Spouse Visa decides to file the application with his or her child who is the natural child of her British spouse/sponsor, they usually file for the UK Child Dependent Visa instead of the First British Passport.

If they file for the UK Child Dependent Visa, the expenses will be double because the fees for both applications are the same (the last time ECO-Friendly filed for the UK Spouse visa, we paid around USD2,000 and for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) around USD1,700).

Both applicants need to pay for the visa application, IHS, TB Test, as well as fees for the visa application center.

But why pay for all of these fees when the child applicant from the Philippines who is the son or daughter of the British sponsor/father is an acknowledged British national at birth?

Instead of paying for all these fees and experiencing all the hassles that go with applying for a UK Spouse visa or any other UK Settlement Visa, ECO-Friendly suggests that the child simply file for a First British Passport with Her Majesty’s Passport Office, and the applicant need only to pay a fee of £75.86.

All it takes is 16 weeks of processing, if the application is filed here in the Philippines.

For more queries regarding the filing of the First British Passport, please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment with us. Just click the Eco-Friendly contact box below.

Click this ECO-Friendly contact box for your queries

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FLR (M) - Further Leave to Remain in the "M" Category

8/2/2019

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Congratulations to the newly-weds Mr. and Mrs. Robert Neil and Venus Hawkes who celebrated their wedding last July 10! ECO-Friendly wishes you a happy and fruitful life in the UK!

Manila, Philippines - In ECO-Friendly’s previous blogs, we extensively explained the intricate details of filing the UK Spouse Visa, the UK Fiancée Visa or the other types of UK Settlement Visa.

We will now feature the next phase of the application… the FLR (M).

FLR (M) means Further Leave to Remain, in the “M” category – based on the Marriage to a person settled in the UK.

This is the application filed by the UK Spouse Visa holder or UK Fiancée Visa holder, who are already in the UK and want to extend their stay in the country for the eventual purpose of finally settling there and filing for a British citizenship someday.

Everyone knows that the ultimate goal of each applicant for the UK Spouse Visa or UK Fiancee Visa is to settle in the UK and start a family with their British partner or a person settled in the UK.

ECO-Friendly explains that he or she will only be allowed to stay and eventually file for the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after staying in the UK for a continuous period of five (5) years. This is what the UKVI calls as the Five-year Route.

According to the Family Policy of the Home Office published on 25 July 2019, Under the principles of the UK law, generally speaking, “…A family who wishes to come to or remain in the UK, usually chooses to do so because they feel it’s in their best interest to do so. A family cannot necessarily exercise that choice however, unless the requirements of the Immigration Rules are met. There are costs to the taxpayer which arise from migration to the UK including for example, provision of education for children of compulsory school age, a sponsor’s entitlement to claim tax credit or child benefit for their partner’s children and costs arising to the NHS. Being able to speak English aims to encourage integration. Family life must not be established here at the taxpayer’s expense and family migrants must be able to integrate if they are to play a full part in British life.”

“In some cases, families may have to wait before they are able to meet the requirements to enter the UK. In today’s global economy it may be that families choose to separate for work or other reasons in order to satisfy the immigration requirements of the country in which they wish to live together.”

In other words, although the general rule is that the UK government understands the importance of the family unit living together under one roof, there are certain rules and regulations which must first be complied by the applicants before they can be allowed to enter and settle in the UK, not only for the good of their family but for the good of the country especially.

There are actually two ways to settle in the UK: the 5-year route and the 10-year route.

Under the 5-year route, as the name implies, the applicant must stay in the UK for a duration of five (5) years as well as comply with all the requirements for the relevant suitability and eligibility requirements as specified under the UKVI rules.

Thus, under the 5-year route, both the SUITABILITY and ELIGIBILITY requirements are met and complied with by the applicant.

Under the 10-year route, however, the applicant should stay in the UK for a period of ten years because of the fact that he or she was able to comply only with all of the SUITABILITY requirements and unfortunately was not able to comply with all the ELIGIBILITY requirements.

In the case of a UK Spouse Visa holder, if he or she is already in the UK, the approved visa is only for a period of 30 months initially in the UK (2.5 years). After this period, the UK Spouse Visa holder will have to extend for another two and a half years to qualify for the Five-year route.

On the other hand, in the case of the UK Fiancée visa holder, the successful applicant who applies say in the Philippines is initially given a period of 180 days or six (6) months to fly to the UK and celebrate the marriage with his British sponsor or who is settled in the UK.

Before the lapse of six months, the applicant shall be given a chance to change the visa status from that of a UK Fiancée Visa to a UK Spouse Visa so that he or she can extend the stay in the UK for a period of until 2.5 years from the time the UK Fiancée visa was issued. Before the lapse of the 2.5 years as a UK Spouse Visa holder, the applicant is then allowed to file for another extension of the stay to another 2.5 years to complete the 5 year period and complete the 5-year route.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any queries you may have regarding your applications for a UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other type of UK Settlement Visa.

Our contact numbers: ECO Immigration Consultancy, +63 02 5465440 / +63 9175273009

Click this ECO-Friendly contact box for your queries

Having the best times of their lives in the UK! Venus and Robert Neil are a picture of a very happy couple and very much in love!

Venus with the London Eye in the background.

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