gpatb36

My American wife and I recently had a baby boy, born here in CT. I applied for both a British and a USA passport, successfully, so he now has both for the future.

My question is this - do I additionally register his birth with GOV.UK so I can get a British national birth certificate in addition to his American birth certificate - I ask because the fee to register is $175 and the fee per certificate is another $107 - so a whopping $282 just to register.

He already has his British passport so is there any advantage to additionally registering his birth?

Thanks
Gary

BritInParis

If you already have your son's British passport then there'll be no immediate benefit. The largest benefit is having a permanent proof of his British citizenship, that won't expire unlike his passport and that a copy of the certificate will always be available from the GRO in the UK in case of loss or damage. It's something that your grandchildren might thank you for in forty years time.

Just pay the registration fee for now and you can order a certificate from the GRO in a year's time at a fraction of the cost it would be to have one immediately issued by the Embassy in Washington DC. It's personal preference in the short term but it's something I would definitely consider worth the money in the long term.

Bob

You don't have to, but it's handy to have as proof. Plenty of threads on the pro/cons.

Wouldn't need to bother get the actual certificate though, you can get that essentially in a years time in the UK if you're on holiday for a tenner.

sir_eccles

Yes, it isn't quite a year though. Something odd like after the September the year following the birth.

I went ahead and paid for it though. I haven't done a passport, figure there isn't any point until he is over 16.

Lbjen

I didn't do it for either of my kids, now that everything is online I can easily order copies of their foreign birth certificates if I need to.

Bob

Their US birth certs?

That's where the issue tends to lie though.

Adnams

?? Don't you think helichrysum want to travel? Somewhere before he 's 16?

We've just applied for my daughter's reg stuff, well worth it if a little pricey. I myself was born abroad to British parents and having this document myself has made it way easier to confer British citizenship on my daughters than it would have done otherwise. My hubby is a Brit too so we could've conferred thru his line but you have no idea what your child's circumstances might be when they're an adult do you might as well get it in my opinion.

sir_eccles

Helichrysum?

Young Sir has to have a US passport to travel obviously. I was referring to his potential UK passport that can wait until he is 16 and can get a 10yr one. Might be a fun birthday present.

gpatb36

Thanks for all the replies folks - very useful to know. I'll register but wait until next September to get copies cheaper from UK direct

Bob

Yes, it's a waste of money getting a UK passport that is only valid 5 years. It's only worth getting if you're planning on moving to the UK permanently, because a US passport is more than enough to travel for a holiday.

Unless you wanted to have a holiday in Brazil without getting a visa I suppose.

Adnams

A lot easier to travel around Europe on a British passport than a US one.

Oops and sorry for earlier typo! iPhone and two crazy kids and typing don't mix

Lbjen

Not currently but I've been able to get the European born one's online since she was born almost 10 years ago, and been able to get copies of my own online since before then. I can request copies by mail for the US one right now but I got several when he was born.

Bob

It's the US that's the issue, certainly from some states, that the UK have problems with, for any US certificate issued after 3 months of birth.

Some states just have a date of issue on them, rather than date of original issue etc, so in that circumstance there's no way of knowing if the certificate has been altered, which happens in adoptions so that there's no proof of right to citizenship.

In that circumstance, is why registering the birth is handy.

BritInParis

It's the proof of British citizenship that makes consular registration valuable. A foreign birth certificate won't get you a British passport by itself but a consular birth certificate will.