> > Should be able to get US and UK Citizenship, wouldn't know about
> > Italian though, probably not. But the UK one, I guess that would
> > depend on how you got your citizenship etc.
>
> Only bothered about US and UK citizenship, I was just concerned the
baby
> might automatically be considered Italian as it was born here. I know
> that might be naive but as I say, I'm new at this!
>
> I was born in the UK to British parents, is that what you mean by
'how I
> got my citizenship'?
That's probably what the poster was asking. In order to pass
British citizenship to a child born abroad, the British parent
must be British "other than by descent". That generally means
being British due to birth or naturalisation in the UK. Sometimes,
being "registered" as a British citizen is also considered to be
"other than by descent", but not always. In any case, since
you were born in the UK to British parents you are definitely
British "other than by descent".
Your child would definitely have British citizenship. There's
nothing that you'd have to do to claim it, it's automatic. You
could register the birth with a British consulate, if you wished.
Your chilld will be British, "by descent", and as such will not
be able to pass his or her British citizenship to children born
abroad.
There's no automatic US citizenship for children born
abroad to persons on US military postings, although
most are US citizens.
Your child will be a US citizen as long as your
husband has met the requirements to pass citizenship
to his children born abroad. Foreign born children, born
in marriage to one US citizen parent and one non-US
citizen parent, will automatically be US citizens if the US
citizen parent has been physically present in the US
for periods totalling at least five years, with two of those
years being after age fourteen. Military postings abroad
count as "physical presence in the US" for purposes of
passing citizenship, so your husband, most likely, meets
the requirements to pass citizenship to your child.
Again, this citizenship is automatic, but the birth
should be registered to obtain a certifiicate of birth
abroad of a US citizen, which is legal proof of his
citizenship.
Your child will be able to keep both citizenships for life.
Some people may tell you that the US will require your
child to choose only one citizenship when he becomes
an adult, but that's a widely held misconception. The US
has no such requirement, nor do they prohibit dual
citizenship. Britain has no restrictions either.
You may also want to take a look at the following
site which discusses the US policies on dual citizenship
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
Stephen Gallagher
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