Plissken

Hello everyone.

I was born in 1988 in the United States to an American-born mother and a British-born father (and both only have citizenship in their respective countries). My parents divorced in 1990, and my father moved back to the UK soon after. I have limited contact with him at the moment.

I just graduated from college and am interested in living abroad since I'm still young. I read through the requirements for a British passport and for consular birth registration, and both seem to require birth certificates from both of my parents and a marriage certificate. I don't know how I am supposed to coordinate my application with my father. Since he lives in the UK, would he have to send his birth certificate to me? It sounds like a pain more than anything. Is there any way I could work around this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Octang Frye

Snake? Is that you?

Noorah101

I don't know for sure, but aren't birth certificates a public record? Can you request a copy yourself?

Rene

Plissken

Not quite. I'm trying to escape from New York at the moment.

Sally Redux

I thought you'd be taller.

Rete

Well then don't do it, if it is painful and no there is no way to work around it.

Sounds like a college student that believes in instant gratification to me.

Plissken

Sounds like an old woman who is better at gossiping than thinking.

I came here for help, not to be preached at. The hard part is about my father cooperating with sending his birth certificate across the ocean.

Sally Redux

You could try asking him, but then again I sympathise as I hate having to ask my father for anything. I know you can get a replacement copy of your own birth certificate online very easily, could be worth following up Noorah's suggestion and seeing of you can get his.

Zonie

Yes you are correct. If the OP knows the town of birth of his father he can go to the town council website and request a copy of the certificate. The difficult bit might be paying for it in Sterling.

rebs

Or he can just order them from the centralized website...

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

OP - you don't really need to involve your father at all as long as you know when/where he was born.

Zonie

Sounds like a first time poster on BE looking for help to me. Wouldn't a welcome have been more appropriate?

Plissken

Thanks for everyone's replies.

I can involve my father if I have to, but I'd rather not because he isn't very reliable. My brother and I tried to arrange a visit to see him last January, but instead of working with us to arrange an appropriate date he just told us that January wasn't a good time, with no suggestion of an alternate date. I doubt he'd be very reliable with this situation either.

There's one final piece. For consular birth registration, I need the following:

* child’s civil overseas birth certificate
* mother’s full length British birth certificate (US in my case)
* father/second female parent’s full British birth certificate
* parents marriage certificate or civil partnership registration
* One current British passport

Will I have to get his passport as well? Is there any way I can obtain proof of this via the web?

Bob

Only if they ask for a cheque, but you could probably ring them up and use a credit card.

Birth and Marriage cert, shouldn't be much hassle, just a bit time consuming.

OP- you don't need to get a consular birth certificate to get a passport, but it'll certainly make you life easier in the future if you have to replace a lost passport.

Mummy in the foothills

You don't need to register your birth with the British consulate, just apply for the passport and keep it safe.
This from the mother of a kid born in '88 in the US who is a dual national and just graduated from Uni and is moving back to UK tomorrow. Hey your not my kid are you?

Plissken

I know what I need to do now. Thanks everyone!