tjlewis

just getting ready to apply for my 4 month yr old british passport. her dad is american and i'm british. i have also applied for her u.s. one .. can anyone tell me what documents they submitted with the application and also do the parents birth certificates have to be originals.??? also should i register her as a british citizen??? thanks to anyone who can help xxxx

chicagojlo

I posted earlier but I didn't see that you are British and the father is American. According to http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply...ility-am-i.asp you can't claim nationality from your mother alone, so unless he applies for British citizenship you won't be able to get her a British passport.

FlyergirlUK

Strangely enough, my dual citizen son was able to derive British citizenship, (and therefore his UK passport) through me though his father is American.

To the OP - the passport office in DC will only want to see originals of documents. Take a look here for more in-depth information.

yorkieuk

The British Nationality Act of 1981 adressed this problem. Mothers aswell as fathers can now pass citizenship along to their children.

BNA 1981 : s 2 Acquisition by descent.

(1) A person born outside the United Kingdom and the qualifying territories after commencement shall be a British citizen if at the time of the birth his father or mother--

(a) is a British citizen otherwise than by descent;

JAJ

That is wrong, as the information on that website is extremely limited and only discusses the situation as it was for those born before 1983 (and even then it is incomplete).

If mother is born in the United Kingdom then U.S. born child is automatically British by descent.

The way to prove it is to get the child a British consular birth certificate + British passport.

x743

Hi
I am about to register my 9 month old's birth at the British Consulate and was wondering if I can apply for the passport at the same time, or if I have to do it separately? His US passport arrived last week.

JAJ

At the same time, normally, if the child is automatically a British citizen at birth.

chicagojlo

You don't need a consular birth certificate. Many parents get them because it is supposedly easier to get copies later in life, especially if you are living back in the UK, but if you plan to stay where you are forever then there's little point in my mind. Money was tight enough as it was for us at that point in time, I didn't need to shell out another $300 (which is what it was in the country my daughter was born in) for something she didn't need. You can use their actual birth certificate to apply for a passport providing it is either in English or an official translation is provided.

Sorry for the mis-information earlier too!

JAJ

True that you don't need it, but be warned that without it, child may have serious delays/hassle renewing passport in future, especially if passport is lost or stolen.

The reason is because if passport is lost, there is absolutely no other evidence that child is a British citizen so that all needs to be proved from scratch.