Registration as British citizen: children guidance adds same-sex relationship update

Version 19.0 of the caseworker guidance on registering children as British citizens, published on 22 September 2026, adds guidance on a child whose mother is in a same sex relationship with a British citizen.

UK Visas and Immigration published version 19.0 of the guidance for Home Office staff on 22 September 2026. The guidance tells nationality caseworkers how to consider the registration of minors as British citizens, by entitlement and by discretion, under the British Nationality Act 1981.

The "Changes from last version of this guidance" section says the changes were made to include guidance on registration of a child whose mother is in a same sex relationship with a British citizen. The text we reviewed does not set out the content of that guidance, so we cannot report the conditions, evidence or routes it applies to these cases.

The rest of the guidance is organised around the sections of the Act it covers:

• Sections 1(3) and 1(3A): registration by entitlement of minors born in the UK after 1 January 1983.
• Section 1(4): entitlement for a child or adult born in the UK after 1 January 1983 who lived in the UK for the first 10 years of their life.
• Sections 3(2) and 3(5): registration by entitlement of minors born outside the UK and qualifying territories to British citizens by descent.
• Section 3(1): the discretionary provision for registration as a minor.
• Section 4D: registration of a child born outside the UK and overseas territories to a parent serving in the armed forces.

The guidance defines a "minor" as a person under 18. It tells caseworkers to check first whether the child is already a British citizen. If not, they must consider whether the child has an entitlement to registration, and then whether the child meets the normal criteria for registration under section 3(1).

A child with an entitlement should be registered under that entitlement and not under section 3(1). The guidance explains that registration under section 3(1) would in some cases give British citizenship by descent, whereas registration under an entitlement provision would typically give citizenship otherwise than by descent.

Sources

• Registration as British citizen: children (accessible), UK Visas and Immigration, version 19.0, updated 22 September 2026
• Children nationality policy guidance, GOV.UK