Markcadorsett

My wife and I have recently been blessed with a little daughter (Freya) born here in central Illinois. We were both born in the UK, have British parents and hold UK passports as do our other children. I am working in the US on an L1 visa.

I've seen various advice on the subject of passports for young Freya but would appreciate some additional practical advice.

1. Is the best route to get a US and UK passport using the US to travel on other than entry into the UK/EU when the UK passport is used ?

2. If this is the best course of action has anyone encountered any issues when going through immigration in the UK ?

Many Thanks.

JAJ

Three pieces of civil documentation required (on top of US birth certificate):

1. US passport,
2. British consular birth certificate,
3. British passport.

Do be aware that her US birth certificate is not acceptable for British nationality purposes unless printed within 3 months of birth (replacements are not acceptable). Hence the advice to get a British consular birth certificate as well.

Markcadorsett

Thanks for the reply.

How does the Britisih Consular birth certificate help once the passports are obtained ?

We have registered the birth locally.

Thanks.

JAJ

In case passport is lost, it will be a lot easier to get a new one.

Also, in case it's ever necessary to "re-evidence" citizenship for a new passport application, such as at age 18. Often a first adult passport is treated as a "first time" application.

Once again, a US birth certificate printed more than 3 months after birth is not acceptable for evidencing a natural parent link to the British authorities.

Bob

As you know, they need to use the US passport when leaving/entering the US.

As for the UK, if it is only for a visit, they can use the US passport, but if you are moving permanently, you'd want to use the UK passport and it shouldn't be a problem.

British Consul

Visit www.UKinUSA.fco.gov.uk/passports for full details on applying for a British passport.

Information on Consular Birth registration is here: http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...-registration/

Dean

MarylandNed

You don't actually need a British consular birth certificate. I've obtained British passports for my kids who were born in Canada and the US without consular birth certificates. I've also never heard of the 3 month restriction you mention. You can obtain replacement birth certificates at any time e.g. when originals are lost or destroyed. The document requirements are here:

http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/res.../form-c2-notes

Bob

It might not be a requirement, but if your birth cert is from the US and if it isn't an original and older than 3 months, there is nothing to say that the info hasn't been changed such as an adoption. So further proof is needed, which is why a consular birth cert is very handy.

MarylandNed

That makes no sense. A long form birth certificate lists the child's natural parents. That info doesn't change with an adoption. So how is a consular birth certificate any different from a regular birth certificate in this scenario?

A birth certificate is just a document that certifies an entry in a birth registry - the long form will have details of the parents. You apply for a birth certificate and they send it to you. If you lose it or it's destroyed, you apply for another one and they send it to you again. There's no difference between the first ("original") and second ("replacement") documents - both are simply certifying an entry in the register of births.

The UK passport application instructions say that a consular birth certificate or a long form birth certificate are both acceptable. There's no real distinction between the two - either is acceptable. The only additional requirement is that you have to submit a parental long form birth certificate with the passport application if you don't have a consular birth certificate (because the consular birth certificate already proves the child's UK citizenship). And there's no mention of whatever your "3 month" requirement is.

A consular birth certificate is expensive and not necessary.

JAJ

You've heard of it now ... there is a reference to US birth certificates in this IPS document:
http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/files/ips/...TO_PUBLISH.pdf

MarylandNed

Well, I used a US birth certificate issued almost a year after my daughter's birth to obtain her UK passport. We were originally given a short form birth certificate that did not have full details of the parents so we had to obtain her long form birth certificate almost a year later (when we decided to get her a UK passport). We were able to obtain her UK passport without any questions and without the need for a consular birth certificate.

The 3 month thing you mention does not mean that US birth certificates issued more than 3 months after birth are not acceptable for passport applications. It just means they might ask more questions - but only if status is in doubt. In my case, no questions were asked at all.

Here's the text of the policy you mention:

United States adoption and birth certificates
A recent case was highlighted where there was a United States "birth certificate" that did not indicate the child was adopted.
Staff dealing with such certificates should:
• Compare the date the birth certificate was issued to that of the child’s date of birth.
• If there are discrepancies between these dates of 3 months or more discreet enquiries should be made to the person making the application to explain the discrepancy between these dates.
Please note that this procedure may only be adopted when status is in doubt.
All cases of doubt should be referred to an HEO or above for a decision to be made or for consultation with a member of HQ Policy Team.

However, notice that they have "birth certificate" in quotes in the text above. In the US, an amended birth certificate can be issued after an adoption. I'm guessing that's why they have "birth certificate" in quotes above - they are probably referring to an amended birth certificate (after adoption).

Bob

It all depends on the state, not all birth certs are the same in the US. It's covering all their bases.

MarylandNed

Yep - although not all birth certs are the same in the UK either. Mine differs from my wife's birth cert. My son's birth cert is different again. The format depends on the issuing district - and on when it was issued (I have 3 different versions of my own long form birth cert).

I checked my daughter's Maryland birth certs. I'd forgotten that I had ordered extras in 2006 (5 years after her birth). Her birth cert has 3 fields for date:

- Date of birth
- Date info rec'd by registrar (received? recorded?)
- Date of issue

The "date of birth" and "date info rec'd" (the day after her date of birth) are constant on all her birth certs. The "date of issue" is different.

I'm guessing that if the info on a Maryland birth cert was amended, then the "date info rec'd..." would also be amended. This could be a flag for the UK passport people to inquire about a possible amended birth cert (e.g. after an adoption). However, as you say, maybe other US birth certs are different e.g. maybe they only have "date of birth" and "date of issue".

Bob

The UK, the info is still all the same, regardless of format.

Over here, it isn't.

Where I am, there is no long/short birth cert, it's just a town hall print out listing date of birth, hospital and parents names at the date the certificate was issued.

MarylandNed

Interesting. Is that sufficient for a UK citizen born there to obtain a UK passport? I think the "long form" birth cert is required for UK passport applications - listing parents' names and dates of birth.