ian-mstm

I agree! As an aside, I wonder what the penalty is for someone who chooses to ignore an unenforceable law?

Ian

sir_eccles

I don't know, ask Boris Johnson http://kvsmith.com/?p=113

Bob

Some one mentioned it in a previous thread that as the airlines do pass that info to the US authorities, you are by default presenting yourself to the US government as a none US citizen.

Don't think they do anything about it in practice, but in theory they can fine you for it. It's a bit like LPR's having to carry their greencards, but I don't think anyone ever gets locked up for not having it on them, occasionally find the odd person getting the fine but it's usually just a verbal telling off to not do it again.

md95065

While I realize that (a) the legal subtleties are complex and (b) it really doesn't matter, I am not convinced that the fact that the airlines may subsequently pass information that I give them on to the US government means that I, the traveler, am making any kind of representation to the US government.

Usually, when the US government wants information from me that request comes on a form with an OMB number, and a lot of extra paper mandated by the "Paperwork Reduction Act" explaining why they need the information and an estimate of how long it will take me to provide it and a warning about the penalties for failing to provide it and for providing false information.

When I provide my passport information to an airline prior to international travel I do not recall having seen any of that. Perhaps I need to read the small print more carefully ...

MarylandNed

Your children are already UK citizens. You don't need to do anything to "establish" UK citizenship for them. What you actually want to do is obtain documentation that can be used to prove their UK citizenship now and in future years.

You can go through the consular birth registration route i.e. register their births with the UK government. To obtain proof of UK citizenship (e.g. to obtain a UK passport) through this route, you'd still need to obtain a consular birth cert - or a cheaper one through the GRO in the UK (the latter is only an option from the September of the year following consular birth registration). Consular birth registration is not necessary (even the UK government states that) and is not even available for people born in certain countries (e.g. Canada, Australia, NZ, Ireland, South Africa) but it can provide a level of comfort should you fear your (or your children's) ability to obtain and retain alternate documentation of their UK citizenship (e.g. copies of long form parental birth certs).

There's one other reason why consular birth registration may be a good idea for those born in the US. US birth records can be amended in cases of adoption and so the UK is suspicious of US birth certs issued more than 3 months after the date of birth (because the parents named on the birth cert may not be the biological parents). This does NOT mean that such birth certs are unacceptable - however, additional questions might be asked to ensure that the parents named on such birth certs are in fact the biological parents.

So the choice is a personal one. I chose not to do consular birth registration for my US born daughter because I have enough other documentation to prove her UK citizenship and she has a UK passport. Other people feel more comfortable going the consular birth registration route.