Babies Citizenship?

I have a rather complicated situation.  As a student I am only allowed, legally, to be int he country until Oct 31, 2004.  The only way for me to stay longer is to either obtain employment or get married.  I realise at 7 weeks along gaining employment is going to be next to impossible.  And James, the father, and I are in no hurry to rush into marriage.  Therefore, I may have to return to the United States for before the birth of our baby.  My question is, if the child is born in the United States and the father is British what citizenship  will he/she have?  I assume it will be American and once we are able to return here we can file for British citizenship, etc?  I know its all a bit confusing but any help and advice would be much appreciated.   

Thanks,
Aubrey
 

If you're married when the baby is born, the baby is entitles to British citizenship.  If not, no such luck.  You'll have to wait until you get married, if you do, and apply for citizenship then.

Incidentally, and I'm genuinely curious here, in what way is getting married a bigger commitment than having a baby together?  You don't want to rush into marriage, but don't see bringing a child into the world as a big commitment?

Perhaps you want to think about that when you say you're not ready for marriage.

Like I said, please don't think I'm being judgemental, that's not my intention.  But marriage is legal as well as emotional protection and in a transatlantic relationship you need to consider all angles.  (Aside from the fact that I really don't "get" that way of thinking.)

You might want to check the IND website for more info, but that's my understanding of it.

Saf,

I completely understand where you are coming from.  I think the way I typed it seemed a bit cold.  However, when I said that we were not going to 'rush' into marriage is had everything to do with time restraints, not emotional ones.  James and i have been together a bit under a year.  We have not have the opportunity to meet my family in the US.  Therefore, the rush means that we both want a traditional wedding and are willing to wait a few months for that.  Emotionally we both agree 100% marriage is definitely going to happen in the future, however maybe not before the baby has arrived. 

I hope that explains it a bit better.

Don't ever be afraid of being honest with me, I do not feel judged in the least.

Aubrey

If a baby is born 'outside of marriage' it is not entitled to British Citizenship through the father.  But, if you get married after the baby is born, the baby is then entitled to a UK passport.  It's a very simple process. 
We had our eldest before we were married, because like Aubrey we weren't ready to enter in an international marriage and all it entailed. 

Aubrey, do bear in mind that returning to the US pregnant could throw up some other issues as well. Do you have health insurance there still? It can be hard to get coverage with a pre-existing condition. And I have heard horror stories that pregnancy is a *condition*. You can of course get medical care, but it may not be through doctors or a practice of whatever that you want and you may pay a lot for it.

How is an "international marriage" any more complicated than a child with parents on two different continents?  Just asking.

How is an "international marriage" any more complicated than a child with parents on two different continents?  Just asking.

We-ell.  If you really want to know.  Let me try to think.   First of all,  the baby wasn't exactly planned and we hadn't known each other all that long.  But the main thing was that I was working, had a job I liked, a place to live, a life.  James also was fairly independent and was in the US on a work visa so that wasn't an issue. 
Marriage was something that we felt we were being pressured into and that we weren't necessarily ready to commit to each other.  I made the decision to have the baby and I was independent enough to do that at the time.  I guess I'm a person that feels that it's possible to commit to a baby without committing to another person.   His commitment to the baby was one that he made independent of mine and was not something I would ever pressure a person to do. 
When we got married, we knew that one of us was making a permanent decision to leave behind their life basically.  Family, job, freinds, country.  And an International marriage IS more complicated than one between two people living in the same country of the same cultural background.  It has to be-even if you're just looking at the logistics of it.  Visas, moving, finances.  And if the marriage breaks down, there are even more complications. 
Sure a baby having a parent on two continents would be complicated.  But do-abe.  Not ideal, of course, but then neither would having unhappy parents who had rushed into a marriage that they weren't ready for.  Or warring parents after a divorce.  It was the right decision for us.  Maybe not for everybody, but that's not what I'm advocating. 
We did get married when Emily was about 4 months old.  When we both felt we knew each other well enough and that we were ready for a permanent commitment. 

There are some rules about how the British parent is a citzen. If born here, no problem. However if the UK parent got their British citzenship by descent (like me) then the baby cannot be registered as a UK citizen if born outside the UK.

Mindy,

Thank you so much for that very well spoken explanation.  I could have not done it better myself.  And that is exactly how I feel at the moment.  I am fully prepared to be a single mother, last time i checked that was still a hard but acceptable decision.  I am not ready to rush into marriage for the sake of 'doing the right thing'.  I have seen too many of my family and friends do just that and end up resenting one another.  I would rather take my time. 

Aubrey