Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 10289062)

Look, we can agree to disagree. I'm entitled to my point of view just as you are entitled to yours. I'm also entitled to express it.

I made no mistakes with my "children." Two were born in Canada where consular birth registration isn't even an option (which is also true of other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa). One was born in the UK (so no issue there either). ONE child was born in the US. I have enough birth certs for her, me and my wife stored in separate locations. She already has a UK passport. I see no need for consular birth registration - if I did I could still do it, so again, there is no "mistake". The UK government actually states on their web site that you don't need to do it:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...tering-a-birth

I can see that some people might feel the need to do it for whatever reason (e.g. the US birth cert issued more than 3 months after birth). I just don't see those reasons applying to my daughter's situation.

I certainly don't have safety deposit boxes just for storing birth certs although that's a perfectly good reason for having one. I happen to already have a safety deposit box for other reasons so it costs me no more to throw a couple of birth certs in there for safekeeping. I have family members who also have safety deposit boxes so it costs nothing to throw a couple more birth certs in there too.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket by trusting the GRO. As I've said before, I've seen "secure" records go missing for various reasons. Nothing quite beats the ability to shove a physical document into someone's face and have them try to explain it away.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10289100)

I have no problem with that. But if you're only going to do one method, FFS do the first one!

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10289100)

Method one: single payment required, no other actions necessary, stored permanently, child may request copy at any time.

Method two: multiple payments required over extended periods of time to secure, multiple actions necessary over lifetime of child to secure -- including, presumably, the time when you have passed away, loss is irretrievable.

You can certainly do both methods -- I have no problem with that. But if you're only going to do one method, FFS do the first one!

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 10289386)

What multiple payments and actions are involved in obtaining a birth cert and storing it?

Originally Posted by holly_1948 (Post 10289873)

The thing about these various approaches is that they all make sense if we lived in certain times where the past was a good guide to the future.

If I read the post correctly, I was mocked for asserting that we live in uncertain times wherein predicting the future very far out is risky. Even in the face of the fact that citizenship, residence and work permit rules have changed in major ways several times during my lifetime and there are people advocating still further changes goiong forward.

The thing about passports is - when the need for a passport asserts itself is it just as often urgent as not. The best time to apply for a passport is before you see a need for it, not when you actually do need it

Originally Posted by holly_1948 (Post 10289873)

The thing about these various approaches is that they all make sense if we lived in certain times where the past was a good guide to the future.

If I read the post correctly, I was mocked for asserting that we live in uncertain times wherein predicting the future very far out is risky. Even in the face of the fact that citizenship, residence and work permit rules have changed in major ways several times during my lifetime and there are people advocating still further changes goiong forward.

The thing about passports is - when the need for a passport asserts itself is it just as often urgent as not. The best time to apply for a passport is before you see a need for it, not when you actually do need it.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10289436)

Payment for a storage box, or indeed multiple storage boxes in your quoted example. And for the lifetime of the child, 78.2 years if they're an American. Okay, you already have one! Make sure you leave money in your will for your child to rent them as well. And train them on well-keeping since it's irreplaceable! Every time you move countries/cities, you need to change boxes. Every time you need the certificate for something, you risk losing an irreplaceable copy.

Compare and contrast with registering the birth: a single payment, certificate always easily replaceable at nominal cost, no action necessary at any time to preserve the record.

Just go and register your youngest child and get it over with. You made a bad mistake. Now you're doing a Romney by compounding it.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 10290940)

This is not an "either or" situation. The point you seem to be completely missing is this...people routinely have copies of their real birth certs anyway REGARDLESS of whether they also do consular birth registration. You can't be seriously suggesting that doing consular birth registration negates the need to have and look after a physical US birth cert. At least I sincerely hope that's not what you're suggesting.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10291038)

There are two ways of documenting UK citizenship for a child born in the USA: consular registration of birth and passport. If you're only going to do one of these, do the consular registration.

It really is that simple unless you suffer from cognitive dissonance.

Originally Posted by fatbrit (Post 10291079)

And if you fail to do either, even though you can afford it, and instead rely on piss-poor logic, you're a sorry excuse for a parent.

And if you encourage others to follow your illogicality, you're contemptible.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 10291180)

There's really no need for insults. You just lose credibility and respect when you resort to that. Not doing consular birth registration hardly makes me a "sorry excuse for a parent." There's much more to being a parent - and doing consular birth registration isn't even on the list.

You're just plain wrong if you think consular birth registration or holding a UK passport are the only 2 ways to document you're a UKC if you were born in the US.

Firstly, consular birth registration by itself achieves NOTHING in this regard. You can't obtain a UK passport just by doing consular birth registration. You also need a physical birth cert (either consular or one through the GRO).

Think about it - you actually have to DOCUMENT that you are a UKC before you can even do consular birth registration. How do you do this? You need your US birth cert and proof that you have a UKC parent who passed on UK citizenship to you by descent. So therefore this is the primary method for documenting UK citizenship.

Also, remember that consular birth registration is OPTIONAL and actually DISCOURAGED by the UK authorities (see web site link I gave you earlier). Since you are able to obtain a UK passport WITHOUT consular birth registration it, again, therefore follows that there must be another way to document that you're a UKC. Yes, again, a US birth cert and proof that you have a UKC parent who passed on UK citizenship to you by descent.

Originally Posted by MarylandNed (Post 10291180)

Think about it - you actually have to DOCUMENT that you are a UKC before you can even do consular birth registration. How do you do this? You need your US birth cert and proof that you have a UKC parent who passed on UK citizenship to you by descent. So therefore this is the primary method for documenting UK citizenship.

Also, remember that consular birth registration is OPTIONAL and actually DISCOURAGED by the UK authorities (see web site link I gave you earlier). Since you are able to obtain a UK passport WITHOUT consular birth registration it, again, therefore follows that there must be another way to document that you're a UKC. Yes, again, a US birth cert and proof that you have a UKC parent who passed on UK citizenship to you by descent.