MN1 Citizenship Application for a Child Born in the UK: Our Own Experience

Short answer: If neither parent was a British citizen or settled when the child was born in the UK, the child may not automatically be British at birth. However, if one of the parents obtains indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or settled status, or becomes a British citizen, before the child turns 18, the child will in most cases become entitled to register as a British citizen using Form MN1, under section 1(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

What does this post cover? I describe the online MN1 application we made in September 2026 for our UK-born child, the documents we prepared, the two-referee problem, and the TLScontact document upload and biometrics stage. Our application was approved just four days after the biometrics appointment; I explain the outcome, and how the decision reached us, in the update towards the end of the post. This is not legal advice; check the latest GOV.UK guidance for your own circumstances.

Is every child born in the UK automatically a British citizen?

Almost everyone assumes that every child born in the UK is automatically a British citizen, but the answer is no. Being born in the UK doesn’t, on its own, always give a child automatic British citizenship. The deciding factor is whether, on the day the child was born, one of the parents was a British citizen or settled in the UK.

Situation on the child’s date of birth	General outcome
One parent was a British citizen or settled	In most cases the child is automatically a British citizen from birth; instead of MN1, the next step is a passport application.
Neither parent was a British citizen or settled; one later obtained ILR or settled status	The child can apply to register under section 1(3) before turning 18; this is the route we took.
The child was born in the UK and spent their first 10 years here	A separate entitlement may arise; in this scenario, Form T and the section 1(4) rules are usually what you look at.

GOV.UK’s current If you’re under 18 page summarises the registration route for children born in the UK whose parent obtained indefinite leave to remain, settled status, indefinite leave to enter, permanent residence or British citizenship after they were born. The Home Office’s more detailed guidance on registering children as British citizens goes through the section 1(3) requirements one by one.

In short, the main requirements under section 1(3) are:

• The child must have been born in the UK.
• They must not have been a British citizen at birth; in other words, neither parent was a British citizen or settled at that time.
• One of the parents must later have become a British citizen or settled while the child was still a minor.
• The child must be under 18 when the application reaches the Home Office.
• If the child is 10 or older, the good character requirement is also assessed.

When these requirements are met, this isn’t merely a request left to official discretion; it is a statutory entitlement to registration. A child registered under section 1(3) becomes a British citizen otherwise than by descent. Even so, the form and the evidence still have to be submitted correctly.

Why was our case right for MN1?

When my son was born in England, we didn’t yet have indefinite leave to remain. Later, both my wife and I were granted ILR. So our son didn’t automatically become a British citizen on the day he was born; but because his parents became settled afterwards, the registration route under section 1(3) opened up.

The key concept here is registration. An MN1 application for a child is not the same as the naturalisation application that adults make. That’s why you’ll see the phrase “register a child as a British citizen” on the application screens and in official documents.

Our MN1 application process: step by step

1. First, I confirmed the right citizenship route

Before starting the online form, I compared our status on the child’s date of birth, the dates of our ILR decisions and which section of the Act applied. This was the most critical check. If the child was born after a parent became settled, they may already be a citizen; in that case, rather than making an unnecessary MN1 application, you should look straight into the passport process.

2. I filled in the online application

I applied online from within the UK. The form asks detailed questions about the child’s identity, birth, nationalities, address and travel history, parents, immigration status, referees and any special circumstances. Rather than guessing, I entered each answer after checking it side by side against the passports, the birth certificate and the Home Office decision letters.

Once the online application was complete, I also added the downloaded application PDF to the document bundle. On the TLScontact upload screen, this went under the Proof of Application category.

3. The fee and choosing the priority service

The fee to register a child as a British citizen is £1,000. If the child turns 18 before a decision is made, a £130 citizenship ceremony fee may also be charged. Children who can’t afford the fee can apply for a citizenship fee waiver if they meet the criteria.

We also used the priority service, which opened to citizenship applications in July 2026. It costs an extra £500, and the target for citizenship applications is generally 30 working days. However, according to my latest research, results are arriving 7–10 days after the biometrics appointment. That isn’t guaranteed; it can take longer if further information, identity checks or checks with other agencies are needed. There is no super priority service for citizenship applications. The priority service can only be chosen for eligible online applications, at the time of applying; an application that has already been submitted can’t be switched to priority later. When you reach the payment stage, the priority service option doesn’t appear at all times of day. If you refresh the payment screen at 01:00, a £1,500 payment option (priority service) appears below the £1,000 application payment.

According to the Home Office’s explanation of the priority service, once you’ve proved your identity at the appointment and completed the process, the clock starts from the day of the appointment. So we started our own 30-working-day countdown from the day of the biometrics.

4. I prepared the documents and sorted them into meaningful categories

Our application bundle contained 17 PDFs in total. That isn’t a required or ideal number for everyone; it simply reflected the documents in our case. Always go by the Home Office’s personalised document checklist and your own application circumstances.

Document group	Evidence we uploaded	What it supported
Application	PDF of the submitted online application	A full copy of the application
Child’s identity and birth	Full UK birth certificate showing the parents’ details, current and previous passports, biometric residence permit (BRP)	Birth in the UK, parents’ details, identity and immigration history
Parents’ settled status	Both parents’ ILR decision letters and evidence of their electronic immigration records (eVisas)	Showing that the parents became settled after the child’s birth
Family relationship	Marriage certificate and a multilingual extract of the marriage record	Supporting the parental relationship; not every case may need the same coverage
Consent	Home Office parental consent form signed by both parents	Parental consent to the application
Referees	Two referee declarations	Confirmation of identity and of the application by the referees
Attempts to find a referee who knows the child through their professional work	Correspondence showing we tried to find a referee from organisations that know the child in a professional capacity	Explaining the genuine attempts we made when no referee who knew my son professionally could be found
Correction	A short, clear correction note	Matching the few errors in the online form with the correct information, without hiding them

The core evidence listed in the official section 1(3) guidance is the child’s full UK birth certificate showing the parents’ details, plus documents showing that a parent became a British citizen or settled after the child was born. Alongside these, we also submitted supporting documents that set out our own immigration and family situation as a clear file. Rather than copying someone else’s list word for word, it’s safer to think about which question each document answers.

5. I documented the part of the two-referee requirement we struggled with most

An MN1 application needs two referees. Under the general rule, one referee can be of any nationality but must be a professional person. The other must hold a British passport and be either a professional person or over the age of 25. Referees must have known the applicant for at least three years; they must not be related to each other or to the family; and they must not be the solicitor or agent representing the application, or a Home Office employee.

For child applications, at least one referee is also expected to know the child in a professional capacity, such as a teacher, doctor, health visitor or social worker. In practice, this was the hardest part for us. We asked the organisations the child had contact with, but they told us their policies didn’t allow them to help with private matters like this.

The referees section of the MN1 guidance sets out an important exception for this situation: if no referee who knows the child in a professional capacity can be found, and the family documents its attempts to find one, two referees who meet the general criteria for adult applications can be accepted.

So we didn’t just say “we couldn’t find a professional referee”. We attached the correspondence showing our attempts as PDFs and checked that both referees met the general rules. This approach is explicitly provided for in the current guidance.

6. I added a correction note for errors in the online form

After submitting the form, I realised a few details needed correcting. Rather than ignoring the wrong information, I prepared a correction note explaining in short bullet points which field was wrong and what the correct answer was, and uploaded it with the supporting documents.

It’s important to keep this in proportion: the note isn’t a way to rewrite a muddled application from scratch. It was a practical way for us to flag small, obvious mistakes honestly. If there’s a significant error affecting the entitlement to citizenship, identity or the substance of the declaration, it may be wiser to get professional immigration or nationality advice.

7. I did a final check on the TLScontact document upload screen

We uploaded the documents under four main headings:

• Proof of Application
• Life Event / Official Documents
• Evidence of residence in the UK / Proof of activity in the UK
• Other

In the upload summary, I checked the page count and file size of every PDF one by one. The TLScontact screen stated clearly that once you clicked “Submit Documents”, you couldn’t go back and add new documents. So before submitting the files, I compared both the document names and whether each one appeared under the right category one last time.

Numbering the file names helped me, but it doesn’t create any legal order as far as the Home Office is concerned. What matters is that each document is legible, complete and belongs to the right person.

8. We went to the UKVCAS/TLScontact biometrics appointment

After the online application and the document upload, we went to our appointment at the TLScontact UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) centre in Birmingham. We found a paid £65 appointment at 07:45 on the morning after the day I uploaded the documents. Because traffic in and around Birmingham is horrendous in the mornings and evenings, we set off from Shrewsbury at 05:30. An hour later we had reached Snow Hill Station Car Park. From there, it was a 3–4 minute walk to the appointment centre. On the whole, the staff were helpful and polite. Although our appointment was showing as 07:45, we turned up at around 07:05 and they dealt with us straight away. The whole thing took 10 minutes.

The child was photographed and had his fingerprints taken in a way appropriate for his age. Under the official rules, children under five don’t have to give fingerprints but do have a facial photograph taken; children under 16 must attend the appointment with a parent or legal guardian.

Within a few minutes of the appointment, we received four separate confirmation emails from TLScontact with identical content. At first it looked as though there were four different transactions, but the contents were the same. The messages said that the biometrics had been taken, the uploaded document categories had reached the system and the application would be sent to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for consideration. We weren’t asked to do anything further.

How long does it take to get an MN1 decision?

For standard citizenship applications, the Home Office’s published target is generally 6 months. Some cases can take longer; in that case, the Home Office is expected to let the applicant know.

For eligible citizenship applications using the priority service, the target is generally 30 working days. If biometrics are given in person, the clock starts on the day of the appointment. Weekends and bank holidays don’t count as working days. If additional documents or checks with other agencies are needed, it can go beyond 30 working days, and a delay doesn’t automatically mean a refund.

Our priority service application came in well under this target: it was decided just four days after the biometrics appointment. I explain how the decision reached us in the update below.

Update – our application has been approved

An interesting detail about the outcome of the application came to light right at the end of the process. After the biometrics appointment, I didn’t receive any decision email from the Home Office. Even though I checked my inbox and spam folder regularly, no approval or decision notification appeared.

Even so, a few days later the certificate of registration arrived by post, straight to our address.

When I looked at the date of registration on the certificate, I saw that the citizenship process had been completed only four days after the biometrics appointment. In other words, our priority service application had been decided quite quickly, but the decision email still hadn’t reached us by then.

Then, a few hours after the certificate had arrived at our home by post, an email titled “Application Update” came through from Home Office Atlas:

I am pleased to tell you that your application for British citizenship has been approved.

You do not need to attend a citizenship ceremony. You will soon receive your certificate which is the legal evidence that you are a British citizen.

The email said that the application had been approved, that we didn’t need to attend a citizenship ceremony, and that the certificate – the legal evidence of British citizenship – would reach us soon. Yet the certificate had come a few hours earlier; in other words, in our case the decision email arrived after the certificate.

So if you’ve made a similar application and haven’t received any email for a few days – especially when you’ve used the priority service – I can tell you that this doesn’t necessarily mean your application still hasn’t been decided. In our case, the decision had been made, the citizenship registration completed and the certificate posted, yet the electronic decision notification only arrived a few hours after the certificate had reached us.

The moment the certificate reached us, the process was complete as far as we were concerned. The next step is to make our son’s first British passport application.

If the decision is positive, when does the child become a British citizen?

According to the current MN1 guidance, if the child is under 18 when the decision is made, they become a British citizen on the date the application is approved and don’t need to attend a citizenship ceremony. The certificate of registration is proof of citizenship. A British passport, however, is a separate application; approval of citizenship doesn’t automatically produce a passport.

If the child turns 18 before the decision is made, a citizenship ceremony may be required, with an associated extra fee.

Practical lessons I took from our application

1. First, check whether the child is already a British citizen. The parent’s status on the day of birth changes the whole route.
2. Cross-check the application dates against the documents. The details of the birth, passports, ILR decision and electronic immigration record must all match up.
3. Don’t leave the referees until last. People who know the child professionally may not sign because of their organisation’s policy.
4. Keep a record of your attempts to find a referee. If you need to rely on the exception in the guidance, don’t depend on a verbal explanation alone.
5. Know why you’re uploading each document. More documents don’t automatically make a stronger application. In fact, unnecessary documents can confuse the caseworker.
6. Open and check the PDFs before you click Submit. A wrong file, a missing page or an illegible scan can cause problems later.
7. Don’t hide mistakes. Explaining a small correction clearly and traceably is healthier than leaving conflicting information unexplained.
8. Don’t treat the priority service timeframe as a guarantee. 30 working days is a service target; not every case will be decided at the same speed.

Frequently asked questions

Is an MN1 application required for a child born in the UK?

Not always. If one of the parents was a British citizen or settled when the child was born, the child may already be a British citizen automatically. If the parent gained that status after the birth, MN1 registration under section 1(3) comes into play.

Is MN1 the same as naturalisation?

No. MN1 is the process of registering a child under 18 as a British citizen. Naturalisation is a different route to citizenship, mostly used by adults.

How many referees do you need for an MN1 application?

You need two referees. For child applications, at least one is normally expected to know the child in a professional capacity. If no such person can be found, two referees who meet the adult rules can be accepted, provided the attempts to find one are documented.

Does the child need to give biometrics?

Yes, child applications also involve biometrics to verify identity. Children under five don’t give fingerprints but do have a facial photograph taken. Children under 16 are accompanied to the appointment by a parent or legal guardian.

How much is the MN1 fee?

As of 28 September 2026, when we applied, I can tell you that a child registration application costs £1,000. Eligible families can apply for a fee waiver before applying. The priority service costs an extra £500 for eligible online applications.

How quickly does the MN1 priority service give a decision?

For the priority service on citizenship applications, the Home Office generally aims for 30 working days. This isn’t guaranteed and can take longer if extra checks are needed. The general published target for standard applications is 6 months. Recently, though, responses have been arriving within 7–10 days.

Can I change the documents after uploading them online?

On the TLScontact document upload screen we used, it was stated clearly that no new documents could be uploaded after clicking “Submit Documents”. So it’s important to check the summary screen and every PDF before submitting.

Does a British passport come automatically once MN1 is approved?

No. Approval means the child is registered as a British citizen, and a certificate of citizenship is issued. You then apply separately for a passport.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Citizenship for a child under 18 born in the UK
• Home Office: Form MN1 guidance
• Home Office: Specialist guidance on registering children as British citizens
• GOV.UK: Priority service and processing times
• GOV.UK: Citizenship applications eligible for the priority service
• GOV.UK: Citizenship fee waiver for under-18s

Information last checked: 28 September 2026. Fees, service providers, processing times and application screens may change. Check the current versions of the official sources above before you apply. This post only summarises my own experience and publicly available official guidance; it is not immigration or nationality advice.