island.girl

hi there

we want to get our little girl a uk passport and am unsure of how to go about it?
were both uk born
she is AU born.
im hoping its an easything to do!
anyone know?
thanks

gedge

simple process thru the British High Commission in Canberra
http://bhc.britaus.net/Passports/passportsdefault.asp
hth

cabaj

Hi island girl

Not difficult at all. I posted off an application to the British High Commission this morning for a passport for my little guy. There are several catergories for application however, and you will need to identify under which category she qualifies. It's all on the website below:

http://bhc.britaus.net/Passports/pas...ault.asp?id=46

Good luck!

ozzieeagle

Basically you just apply, To the UK consulate.. I think your supposed to do it before they turn 18... However, I'm sure our 2nd Daughter got one after that age.

We've a strange situation in our household.. All 4 kids were born here in Melbourne, only the 2nd so far has a UK passport. Our 2nd daughter is now residing in the UK, as she is highly career orientated, she is aged 22 and may well never reside in Australia permanently again... well not in the foreseeable future. Oh BTW my Wife is Australian, that may or may not make a difference.

I've got no idea what that status would be on our oldest daughter... soon to turn 25, So I'm glad you raised this thread. She doesn't want a UK passport so basically its not a problem.

As for our 14 and 10 year olds, I guess I should get my act together and apply for one for them, just so they have permanent future options.

Very interested to see what people add, that really know this subject. Re age cutoff, limitiations and future possible trends.

bridie

the hardest part i'm encountering is finding anyone on their list that we've known for two years to countersign the photos....

JAJ

Age cutoff generally does not apply unless in some (not all) situations of:

- parent born outside the U.K.; or
- father not married to the mother.

But it easier to document a claim to British citizenship as soon as possible.

gedge

JAJ has something to say on this
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504022


lol: as if by magic...

ozzieeagle

Thanks JAJ, I looked at the site mentioned after I posted the comments. It seems to me they have simplified the information. It seemed a lot more complicated circa 4 years ago, when we first applied for a UK passport for our 2nd daughter.

FMI, does a UK passport automatically give one rights to live in any EEC country, providing one can sustain oneself of course ?

JAJ

More or less, yes. Except for some transitional restrictions in some of the new member states.

Plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

bridie

I'm really wondering what to do on it... I dont know why they have to have only certain people, e.g. doctors, judges and stuff... we were lucky with our aus citizenship ones that our friend introduced us to her friends and he was a copper, otherwise we'd have been stuck there too.

dont really want to ask him again as we dont see him that often and you feel you're putting on people but cant see what else we can do.............

JAJ

Get someone to sign the form anyway. They can cross out the 2 years and replace it with whatever period of time they have known you.

If your application is refused you then proceed to do the following:

1. Demand a refund of the passport application fee (which unless things have changed recently, is for passport issuance, not application); and

2. Contact your MP in the United Kingdom with a view to making a formal complaint with the Foreign Office.

If you have multiple passports to apply for you may wish to "test" this on one application.

In any case, UK Passport Service does not require a countersignature for straightforward renewals, so if someone in Canberra is demanding this then they need a kicking from higher up in the system.

Pollyana

Just a thought, but is there no-one that you knew in the UK that has also migrated, and you are still in touch with over here?

bridie

nope

this isnt a renewal, it's a new passport for our daughter.

JAJ

In that case your choice is either wait 2 years or follow the instructions in post #11.

Pomster

when we got our passport for our new daughter, I asked a guy at work to sign that he had known me for 2 years- as our daughter was only 4 weeks old!
This is what BHC ask for...and I have heard they accept less than that if no other option, as long as the referee is on the list. I had forgotten that a mate of ours was an accountant- ask around, you might find an acceptable person.