Babies born in the UK

Find out how having a baby while studying in the UK can affect you and your child.

Citizenship

Being born in the UK doesn’t automatically make a baby a British citizen. The baby needs to have a parent with British citizenship or settled status in the UK in order to be British.

If your baby isn't a British citizen, you don’t have to make an immigration application for them and they can remain in the UK. However, babies born in the UK are not entitled to free healthcare from the age of three months old, unless it is emergency treatment.

Accessing healthcare through an immigration application

To access healthcare for your child, parents of babies born in the UK will need to make an immigration application within the first three months of the child’s life and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

To make an immigration application on behalf of a child, you'll need to get a national passport or travel document for the child from the relevant embassy, consulate or issuing authority in your country.

Eligibility

Applications can be made on behalf of babies born to students with a Student visa / Tier 4 visa for permission to remain in the UK or entry clearance as a student dependant if one of the following criteria applies:

• both the child’s parents are in the UK 
• both the child’s parents are applying at the same time as the child  
• one parent has sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing 
• the other parent has died. 

To make an application for leave to remain in the UK, you must hold a Student visa/Tier 4 visa for a course of over six months duration.

You must also fulfil one of the following criteria: 

• the baby’s application must be made at the same time as yours
• you are a government-sponsored student on a course of more than six months
• you are on a postgraduate course of at least 12 months at a higher education institution.

UK Visas and Immigration confirms that if your baby is born in the UK and is eligible, you can make an immigration application for them as your dependant from inside the UK by applying online.

If your child doesn't meet these requirements, you may be able to make a different application to extend their stay in the UK through the application to extend stay in the UK: FLR(HRO) form. We advise you to seek specialist advice if this applies to you. 

Applying for entry clearance from your home country

Applications can be made on behalf of babies for entry clearance from your home country as your dependant if one of the following circumstances applies to you:

• The baby was born during your most recent period of Student visa/Tier 4 visa student leave granted for a course of more than six months duration (unless the leave was for a re-sit or to re-take a module for the same course of more than six months duration, in which case the baby does not have to have been born during your most recent period of student-related leave).
• The application is made within three months of the expiry of your most recent Student visa/Tier 4 visa.