Walter Mitty

Hi,

new here. I'm a UK citizen with a US green card, married to a US woman living in Florida. I am applying for my kids to get their UK passport and under section 3 of their C2 application form it states "if the child has had a previous British passport.....a foreign passport...you should tick Yes and complete the details". Seeing as they have US passports and have traveled to the UK under those documents, I figure they have the info. would scanning a copy of their passports and attaching it be ok? The reason I'm asking is that we travel quite a lot and can't send it their US passports for any length of time and it seems strange that i'm sending in their US birth certificate, signed photos, and all my info and the UK government needs to see a US passport. Am I missing something? TIA

lansbury

The form and notes definitely say send in the previous passport under which they have traveled.

Just because they have traveled to the UK using a US passport doesn't mean the information from those passports is on record in the UK, quite the reverse.

rew1000

The notes say
"If the child was born outside the country of application, you
should send the passport in which the child was included
when he/she previously travelled" which suggests to me that if the child was born in the US and you're applying in the US, you don't need to send their US passport. No idea if this is true!

lansbury

Interesting you looked at that way as I took it to mean you send in the US passport if they have previously traveled on it. As the OP says it doesn't make sense but what when dealing with government departments usually does.

HunterGreen

Don't send in their passport... it is property of the US government and you're not really supposed to hand it over to a foreign government. Make copies.

marcelle38

do you have to involve the us passport at all? what if i dont mention that? also if we want to move back to the uk do i just apply for my sons national insurance number?

JAJ

And they only want to see the foreign passport to prove ID - not to confiscate it.

cranners99

The more ID that you can send the simpler the process. Send copies of the kids US passports, your ID too. You can never send too much ID when applying for a passport, especially a first time one.

Be aware that on 1 April 08 the new bit about no refunds for failed applications came in to force: http://www.britainusa.com/sections/a...0&L2=0&a=29144
"On April 1 2008 the new Consular Fee Table was introduced. Passport fees have been frozen across the board. However, in order to keep costs down from April 1 2008 no refunds will be issued for unsuccessful or fraudulent passport applications.

Previously British Citizens entitled to UK passports were subsidising time spent by staff dealing with spurious, fraudulent and ineligible applications. This will now cease, and everyone will pay the fee."

HTH

C

HunterGreen

Yeah, I didn't mean they could/would confiscate it, but mailing in a passport is never a good idea if it's not for a replacement, and then a foreign one at that. The only thing they want is to see it so copies would definitely suffice.

Walter Mitty

update: they sent everything back and including a "declaration of marriage" form to fill out. Why didn't they say anything about this before? i sent in my marriage certificate (original) :curse:

jczeroman

Walter, get used to sending applications back and forth ad nauseum. I just got back my 7th attempt yesterday, and I am British (born in the US)! They will find the first error in documentation and then stop there and send it back.

Best of luck!

Colin

JAJ

Unclear why they asked for that when you sent in marriage certificate.

This kind of hassle can be reduced in future by getting children consular birth certificates:
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/a...=41016&a=25315

Shahlax

Wondering if you are sending in their 'full' birth certificates or the regular state one? I also have to apply for a UK passport for my son but he was born in NJ and has a birth certificate that does not have the hospital name, just the town and the application requires that. Apparantly you have to get a 'full' birth certificate from the state authorities.

aznewsh

My daughter was born in the US - I am British on green card and my wife is American, we have not travelled abroad with her yet. would it make sense to apply for her British passport before we travel anywhere abroad to save these problems?

jczeroman

goodness yes