TRAX123

Hi, can anyone tell me how to get a passport for a newbie canadian baby.

Also, how to go about getting dual citizenship?

Thanks in advance

Trax

iaink

First you need the official birth certificate...this can take months to be issued.

You dont go about getting dual citizenship, they have it automatically. Beyond thats its a question of what paperwork you choose to get at this point.

Once you have the birth certificate you can pursue a passport. Personally given the major difficulties in getting pictures of small kids that satisfy the biometric requirements I would choose a canadian passport for them as you can go to the local office and keep getting pictures taken until you get one thats not too washed out for the face recognition requirements of modern passports. Doing it by mail back and forth to Washington for a UK passport seems not worth the hassle...plus UK passports are $220+, canadian ones $70 or so.

"Guaranteed" pictures are only good for the cost of the replacement pictures...there is no guarantee at all they are good enough to pass the requirements first time, as we found out the hard way.

Mr Bean

We just did the process for our newborn on line and it took less than two weeks from birth registration to having the passport in our hands. I was really surprised at how quick it was.

iaink

You registered a birth with the consulate? I didnt think that was even an option anymore?

Mr Bean

No the whole process of me registering the birth online and then applying for the passport. Different processes with different government bodies. Sorry for being misleading.

fledermaus

Aren't babes born waving a passport in each hand?

JAJ

There are some cases where (British) citizenship is not automatic. Only way to know child is British is to get first British passport. Or a Right of Abode stamp in a Canadian passport.

Cdnshaz

Just did this for my grand daughter(cdn passport)...you must have a long form birth certificate...this can take up to 16 weeks they told me(even ordered online)...gramma a bit more determined as flights to UK were booked!

Once you get long form birth cert you can get passport..do not worry about photo....if people were to actually read the cdn passport site it does say they do not expect newborns to have picture perfect photos and are very lenient with them. (We have had 2 grand daughters in last 2 yrs)
If you have a flight booked however and still not recieved birth cert you fax the main provincial office with flight details and they will put rush on it.
As we had flights booked for christmas we were running out of time, after fax was sent they had cert in their hands within 48hrs. Then had passport within 2 weeks.

iaink

What age does that leniency apply until? My youngest kid was just two and it was a major headache, no leniency at all. We had no option but to use the same day service, they were very good, and all fees were later refunded due to the unfortunate circumstances.

iaink

Jeremy, do you have a link to the "right of abode" process?

Oakvillian

Experience in other provinces may vary, but the birth certificate application process in Ontario has changed dramatically in the last three years. When #2 child was born in late 2006 we had to go to the registrar's dept in the town hall, fill in a form, and submit it with payment to apply for birth certificates. The process took almost 3 months. This time around (Dec 2009) we learned while still in the hospital that the entire process is now online. Birth certificates were duly applied for, and arrived by courier four working days after the application was submitted. I was pretty impressed with that turnaround time.

We've been led to expect a 2-week turnaround for Canadian passport applications for an infant. We haven't bothered with British passports yet for either of our two youngest - it seems an unnecessary expense at this stage considering the cost differential between a British and Canadian one.

Rob_999

Just got Canadian passport for our daughter, and UK one is in the mail.

For Canadian we took all the documents and application form into the passport processing centre in Vancouver. They checked everything and took payment. Passport arrive 10 days later.

For UK you need to apply to Washington, DC. Web page here: http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/passports
Processing times are also pretty quick.

JAJ

So are you even sure your children are British ... if so, then how so?

JAJ

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Right_...United_Kingdom

also http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

iaink

At least one british born, british citizen parent, married at time of birth...

Looks like the fee for right to abode is 215 GBP?

Does a right of abode stamp confer any benefits with regard to moving to the EU, or would you need a british passport for that?