John4301

Hi, this question has probably been answered in some form but I haven't quite found the answer yet, so here goes. Scenario ...

I am British by birth, parents are both British by birth, so my offspring are automatically entitled to a British passport.

I have a new little baby girl, born in California, October 2010, birth certificate issued just after 3 months was up. She has my last name on the birth certificate.

Mother is American and we are unmarried, we have plans to in the future.

I realise that a consular birth certificate is not necessary in order to get a British passport for my daughter but looking on this forum and elswhere it seems like it could prove useful in the future so I'd like to get one.

On the birth registration form checklist in the FAQ it says "Our child's claims to UK nationality is through the father and we are unmarried. Can we use this form?" Answer "No, please phone 202-588-7800".

So my question is this .... why can't I use this form and what do I need to do in order to get a consular birth certificate? Thought I'd ask here as its probably quicker than leaving an answer phone message at the consulate.

Thanks for any help.

John

ian-mstm

Largely, because you can't prove she's your daughter... at least, not without a DNA paternity test.


I suggest you phone the number.


Umm... probably not!

Ian

John4301

Ian, that sounds expensive and potentially hard to do as we are in different countries at the moment. Is not a declaration of paternity sufficient if signed by both me and the mother? I know that is not proof per se but neither is being married to the mother genetic proof, just presumption.

Thanks for your reply,
John

Bob

Don't have much to add to the above, because I don't really know.

You don't actually need the certificate, but doing the registration is worthwhile, if the hundred odd bucks extra means anything to you or not.

John4301

Bob, well you don't have kids to save money, as ppl delight in telling me. It does look like a worthwhile investment so I do aim to get one, didn't figure in a $400+ paternity test though!

Mummy in the foothills

You can include the hospital birth record thing with her foot prints on, showing you as the father as well as the birth certificate issued a bit late, they just want to make sure you didn't adopt. Any other proof?
Never mind I missed the unmarried part LOL.

Bob

Depends on the hospital...ours never did any of that.

Bob

Aye, but if you were already heading to the UK for a holiday for instance, the kid would need to travel on a US passport anyway, so you won't need a UK passport right away, but in the UK, you could then get that birth cert from any birth/deaths/marriages office for whatever they charge, a tenner I think, rather than the $100 on top of actually registering the birth in the US.

Congrats on the baby though!

ian-mstm

There are some states in the US where marriage to the mother makes you the de facto legal father whether or not you actually are the father! At any rate, being married brings a legal relationship into the mix that doesn't otherwise exist. I think calling the number would be cheaper than a paternity test.

Ian

JAJ

As long as you are shown as legal father on her US birth certificate, she is automatically British at birth and hence should be eligible for consular birth registration. Contrary to some other posts on this thread, paternity testing is not standard practice.

Prior to 1 July 2006, children of unmarried British fathers usually did not automatically become British when born. In some circumstances they could become British later on (eg if parents married, or if they applied for citizenship before age 18) but this was never retroactive to birth.

IF they want you to use a different form then that's ok - call the number and ask. However, if they tell you your child isn't eligible then that would of course be wrong and you should challenge it.

ian-mstm

I don't believe I said anything about it being standard practice. He asked why he couldn't use the form.

Ian

JAJ

And you told him he needed to do a paternity test. Which is not usually required, even when fathers are unmarried.

ian-mstm

With respect, I didn't tell him to do anything of the sort. Please read what I wrote... not what you think I wrote.

Ian

JAJ

You wrote: "because you can't prove she's your daughter... at least, not without a DNA paternity test". Which is an untrue statement.

ian-mstm

Actually, what I wrote is true... but please, go ahead and point out the bit where I tell him to get a DNA test... which is what you assert that I wrote.

Ian