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How can I bring my Palestinian girlfriend to the UK?

Last activity 14 December 2015 by rustygecko

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420weblazeit

So looking at Wikipedia, UK and France doesn't recognise "Palestine".

It's a stupid situation. Her father (who left her) is a Palestinian and mother Lebanese. This means unless there are radical changes in the law, because her father is not a Lebanese citizen, she will never be. Due to the influx of refugees in Lebanon, there have been at times leaders who have nationalised Christians in order to increase the Christian population of Lebanon, but on papers she is a Muslim, so this wouldn't apply to her.

So I want to get her to the UK somehow. She doesn't live in Jerusalem, so she can't quietly apply for Israeli citizenship. She doesn't live in the West Bank, so can't get a Jordanian passport.

I'd like to bring her to the UK to be with her and to then do the Mongol Rally with her (if you look at the same map as I did, France doesn't recognise her country but Poland does - I'll have to cross the border to Dover and wait three days for her to get from Poland to Paris by train?!)

Can anyone with experience comment? Perhaps how they as a Palestinian came to the UK? She has a Lebanese passport for Palestinian refugees... Is this the same as a Lebanese passport in the eyes of the British law? If so, it's still the paper printed non holographic old travel document which doesn't look like the new Lebanese passports

Cynic

Just seen this; not sure if you've succeeded yet.  Can't your girlfriend get Lebanese nationality via her mother?

Another thought is, has she considered trying to claim asylum in one of the EU countries?

420weblazeit

No, Lebanese law is messed up. If she could, they'd also easen up the nationality requirements and allow kids who have lived and grown up in Lebanon (including many Palestinians, a group of people who my girlfriend officially belongs to, but not physically, who are disliked and unwanted in Lebanon. Her paternal ancestors were pure Bosnian Muslims, possibly if her father cared about her, we could dig up birth certificates and beg Bosnia to give her citizenship, in which case she'd be visa free for Schengen areas)

Turns out that she has a Lebanese travel document, which will need to be renewed, again and again, until she naturalises in the UK. The plus point of this is we can visit Israel, and she cannot be imprisoned as she isn't a Lebanese citizen, but a stateless "Palestinian", who didn't "betray" the motherland, because she returned to her "homeland", which is convenient for me.

I actually don't wish to live in England, I'd want to live in Russia, or Ukraine or somewhere else thereabouts. I'd like her to have an "open visa" as we call it, meaning she could travel to the UK at any moment with me, and be able to travel in Europe, but I'd like to get UK or another similar EU citizenship for her without actually being there.

If me and her have a child in England, London to be exact, and the child gets my citizenship, can she get the citizenship too, as the mother of my child?

Cynic

According to the UK Gov website, children born in the UK are only UK nationals if one of the parents has citizenship at the time, so I suspect not.

How about you; what's your nationality?  Perhaps that may be a way through.

420weblazeit

Oh I'm British, hence it working out for me. I just want the other parent to get the citizenship, due to the child :)
I mean, let's say we are in Lebanon, Syria (after the war ends) or even in Russia, the British government will send someone out in case of a conflict to evacuate me, but not her? So the child and father would be pulled out, but the mother wouldn't?

This is why I would like the British citizenship, it means pledging allegiance to the Queen, protecting her if she needs protection, and her protecting us. I just don't plan on living in the UK, that's all

GuestPoster491

420weblazeit wrote:

Oh I'm British, hence it working out for me. I just want the other parent to get the citizenship, due to the child :)


Citizenship can only be passed from parent/grandparent to child (descent), not from child to parent as you would hope.  For her to acquire citizenship, she would have to go through the naturalization process.  This is common in most countries of the world.

Romaniac

Cynic

Complicated one; the Palestinians really seem to have a hard time; I honestly don't have a clue where to go with this as everywhere you turn, you bump into the issue of the Palestinian state and the fact that nobody seems to recognise it.

Perhaps as a British citizen you should go and see your Member of Parliament and get his/her advice.  You'll certainly get the Governmental view of your status and know where you stand.  I did it with my daughter on a totally unrelated matter; it certainly got the attention of the Government Department I was having an issue with.

420weblazeit

How many generations can I have kids abroad before they can no longer qualify for British citizenship? Let's say I have a kid in Beirut, and my kid has a kid, and his kid has a kid, assuming the father gets citizenship, or is brought to London to be born there, the grandkids kids could potentially infinitely get British citizenship?

Cynic

420weblazeit wrote:

How many generations can I have kids abroad before they can no longer qualify for British citizenship? Let's say I have a kid in Beirut, and my kid has a kid, and his kid has a kid, assuming the father gets citizenship, or is brought to London to be born there, the grandkids kids could potentially infinitely get British citizenship?


One generation; this link explains this.

420weblazeit

So for example, I was born in London, my child is born in Beirut, he can get British citizenship? His kids however, cannot get it, unless they are born in London?

Cynic

420weblazeit wrote:

So for example, I was born in London, my child is born in Beirut, he can get British citizenship? His kids however, cannot get it, unless they are born in London?


Correct (except, not necessarily London, anywhere in the UK would do).

mrsmagoos

Being British and living in the UK is an absolute nightmare with regards to visas. My husband is Albanian and we are about to submit a spouse visa application for him. And we expect a lengthy costly process.
However had he married a Polish (for example) girl it would be so much easier for him.
Its an absolute disgrace how British Citizens are treated.

420weblazeit

So when and how do they ask those questions? I have a legitimate relationship but get anxious and think I might fail. On the other hand I've heard that it's not always required, so how does that work?

Bomo Lad

Not true. He will get a spouse visa to Poland but still will have to go through masses of paperwork to be able to stay permanently.

rustygecko

Maximum 2 generations.

rustygecko

A child cannot pass citizenship to a parent. The type of open visa where you come and go exists, if you are a multi millionaire.

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