Bob

Do the passport, entering as a visitor and dealing with the hassle, well it's more hassle than getting a passport for the kid

en1gma

thanks
we certainly intend to apply for the passport.

However, would it be acceptable to arrive in the UK with our daughter using her Canadian passport and get her UK passport while we are there? (presumably she would enter as a tourist in that case if they did not accept her citizenship based on mine.. but she would have 6 months there in which to get a passport... we would just need to have a family weekend on the continent and come back in I suppose).

It would take less time there and be more secure in that we don't have the issue of applying from Canada via the US for a British passport with a short time window(which does really seem ludicrous to me... might was well send them back to the UK....)

en1gma

its not a big hassle to enter and apply there... its a bigger hassle to send all the docs off to washington, then they screw it up, and the passport is sent to Canada after we depart for the uk... then we really are in a worse mess since they would see she has the UK passport but not with her...

we have only 5 weeks until we leave and the waiting time seems to be at least 6.. plus shipping two ways internationally.

I'm not trying to avoid getting the passport... its just the process as it currently is makes it both a problem and expensive.

en1gma

one other thing... does anyone know WHEN you need to claim residency?
if we just go as tourists then get our british passports there (anything from 1 day renewal to two weeks) would that not solve this at least in part?

(apart from delaying our residency by a bit....)

note: the us passport website indicates that kids first passports can take even longer.. and they are already at 6 weeks for adult renewals!

Jerseygirl

If you are British and arrive in the UK with the intention of being a UK resident you are a resident as soon as you set foot on British soil.

Saying that there are probably various people you will need to contact ie. Social Services to claim Child Benefit etc...register with a doctor...school.

Bob

but if your using a foreign passport to enter, you'll need a relevant visa in that passport to reside in the UK...hence the hassle of sorting it out.

Jerseygirl

Apart from the youngest they have UK PPs...although it sounds like they have expired but should be sufficient to gain entry as UK citizens.

Bob

for them yes, but the youngest...

Jerseygirl

I know...but if the child is a Brit should it not be possible for her to enter the UK without a PP? I thought a Brit citizen had to be allowed entry...PP or not as long as they can prove citizenship. As long as he can show the child's birth certificate and prove he the father is a Brit ie UK PP.

tevel3

even if she is not british, i suspect no problem at a port of entry, as she is entering to the uk with a british family which she is covered by the law.
it would be better to find out whether she is a british or not before heading off to the uk, but still not essential, at the point.

anyhow, if you were naturalized (not registered, a whole different matter), then british citizenship is automatically being passed to the next gen, doesnt matter whether your wife is 'otherwise by decent or just by decent.

yet, at the point of entry they can always misunderstand her status since the british law is a very complex law... so they can consider her at the point as just canadian citizen despite the fact she is already british.
so no problem what so ever with taking up residency or having immigration problems.
if shes not british citizen or she is (a british citizen), and you have still missed few steps such as registering her when she was born, then just inquire with the home office and proceed from there.

by the way, i reckon no problems will occur if you will only enter to the uk using her birth certificate and her canadian passport, since they cannot tell under which section you are a british citizen (means they can't tell whether she is already a british citizen or not), therefore they cannot say anything if she should enter to the uk with a canadian passport with her family.
bottom line under the european law, any european citizen can enter and leave with any family member without being restricted under the immigration law, still status needs to be sort out with the authority!

en1gma

tevel3,

well since we couldn't actually register her we've not "missed" that.
and according to all sources, she is a British Citizen clearly enough.
but she just does not have a piece of paper saying that... she would rely on a couple of other pieces of paper that they would use to giver her her passport anyway.

I've called border services in the UK... and they can't give me a clear answer.
Immigration doesn't answer, and the high commission, whilst helpful, can not give me a clear answer either.

The legalities of her situation do not appear complicated at all... simply the paperwork (but then it IS the government we are dealing with )

At the moment we think we might just enter as visitors, visit the family, apply for passports there, then pop over to France for a family weekend... saving a few hundred dollars and the risk of sending docs to Washington.
All completely legit and less confusing for the border agents. (since we are all Citizens to we really even NEED to leave and come back... prob best to... but we would anyway within the 6 months we are allotted as visitors from Canada)

Jerseygirl

If you enter the UK as visitors you will not be entitled to benefits that UK citizens have access to ie medical care...apart from an emergency, child benefit, education etc.

If it was me I would enter on expired PPs...for your daughter I would carry both hers and your birth certificates. You are entitled to enter the UK on expired PPs...you have proof of your daughter's parentage. You may be sent to secondary for interviewing when you arrive...so be prepared for that.

en1gma

thanks Jerseygirl

I just got off the phone with immigration (oh the memories of long queues in Croydon!) and they indicated more or less the same as you. (although they where really not clear or confident on any of it)

Arrive with all the paperwork we can, clearly sorted (including printouts of their own websites and documents).

They indicated that worst case the officer might give us some form of limited entry for our daughter which gives us 2 months to get her passport sorted. (but there we can do it in two weeks or less)

So we will carry my birth certificate, my expired British passport (and current CDN one), my certificate of naturalisation, our marriage certificate, my daughters long form birth certificate and her Canadian passport... plus all the rest of our current and expired passports and birth certificates etc.... sorry kids, no room for toys as daddy has to carry all this paperwork (actually I think I might carry a USB thumb drive with everything scanned on it too... just in case they want copies!)

Jerseygirl

Don't forget to come back when you're in the UK and let us know how you went on. Good luck with the move.

en1gma

indeed I will... this forum is great for comparing notes and getting lots of experience quickly!
I'm sure we have a lot to learn after nearly 6 years away... and this will be our first time living outside London... that in itself is a big adventure