SamuearlJackson

My wife and I are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, born in the USA last month. We just received her birth certificate and so want to now go about getting her US and British passports and registering her birth with the British Consulate.

I know there have been several threads on this in the past so apologies for bringing up old points.

One possible route to go is:
i) obtain birth certificate and SS#
ii) apply for US passport
iii) apply for British passport and register birth with Consulate

It seems to me that the fastest route to go to get both is:
i) obtain birth certificate
ii) apply for British passport and register birth with Consulate
iii) obtain SS#
iv) apply for US passport
due to the 6-8 week wait for a SS#.

Can anyone see any cons to the latter scenario?

Cheers,
Sam

British Consul

I'd go with route 1.

Visit www.britainusa.com/orlando and click on the passport and consular services tab on the left hand side of the screen.

Dean

penguinsix

I think we got our child's SSN within about 2 weeks of the birth last time. We did mess up the birth certificate (it wasn't sent to us in the mail for some reason) so I had to trudge down to the city hall and wait in a line to get it which was annoying.

Big D

i think there is something daft where if you apply for a US one you have to surrender all others -whereas Britain doesnt care!

Are you in a hurry?

Bob

Don't be daft...

Bob

They don't send it in my neck of the woods, so we had to go down and visit the little old knuckles to get a copy, $10 per certified copy as they don't give originals here....the SSN came in about a month though.

dh010447

Our baby is due anytime within the next two weeks and we want to get him a UK passport to. However - I dont see any hurry to get this as he'll have a US pasport - so we can at least use that to travel back to the UK for short trips.

However, in order to get a UK passport for him am I right in reading that we need the following documentation:

His US Birth Certificate showing names of both parents.
Full birth certificate of both parests
Parents marriage Certificate
Passport / Visa / I94 documentation of both parents

I dont feel too happy about having to send both of our passports + I94 + visa to New York. If they were to loose them - then we'd have issues. Anyone know if we're able to apply when we visit the UK at a passport office? We could have his passort sent to his grandparents and could be forwarded from there...

Also - the requirement for full birth certificates... Neither my wife our myself have the full version - only the small one. I am asuming that we will need to get a copy of these - even though our passports show us as being British and they should just be able to plug our passporrt numbers into their system to get any information that they need.

I also have to say - I am a little worried about the ability of the POE people to turn back anyone they want. As we're both here on temp. visa's - we could end up not being allowed back in the country and our son being stuck in limbo... I'm probobaly just over worrying about that though - unlikley to happen...

Chandler

I believe I am correct in stating that US individuals must travel on a US Passport. On flights from the UK to America 'Americans' have been denied entry on a UK passport.

I'm about to join this club for this first time also (due 8/14) with flights booked home in November. We are going to sort out the US Passport for travel and then obtained the UK one in due course.

dh010447

Hey - congratulations! We were due 16/08 - but baby is big and they might induce next weekend...

Your baby would have to travel out of the US and into the US on its US passport . Untill he/she gets a UK passport, he/she will obviously have to enter the UK on their US one. Once he/she gets a UK one, you should use that for the baby.

Chandler

Big also, so next week might be a go for us.

When you say use the UK one, you mean for entry into the UK only? For entry back in the US they will require their US passport. This begs the question, can you travel one way on one passport and the other way on another passport? It would be a big help at immigration.

JAJ

And you should be concerned. If they are asking for this, it is completely unnecessary and bordering on irresponsible. Send copies.

Or alternatively, bypass the bureacracy of the Embassy and get the child a British passport next time you visit the U.K.: http://www.passports.gov.uk

You might want to get the child a British consular birth certificate, anyway.

dh010447

Yeah - sorrry, didnt make that too clear. From what I understand, the only time your baby would use their UK passport is for entry to the UK. For US departure and UK departure (back to the US) - you should use their US passport.

Obviously, until you get the UK passport, you will need to use the US passport.

dh010447

Taken from their website:

"I want to apply for a new or renewed child passport (under 16s)
Please note, this option is not available to customers who do not reside in the UK." (https://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply-child.asp)

However, also taken from their website:

"Apply for a passport

If you live in the UK you can use this website for all your passport needs. If you do not live in the UK you can apply through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or contact your nearest embassy, consulate or high commission. Alternatively, you may apply in person for a passport whilst visiting the UK. In order to do this, you need to make an appointment at a passport office and you must provide an address in the UK to which the passport may be posted."

Seems to be a slight inconsistency Anyone got any experience with this?

dh010447

I see how this could be useful.

However, at a cost of about $200 for the registration of the birth and then another $200 ish for a copy of the certificate... I'm not convinced that its worth it...

JAJ

It's a once-off expense, small change in the greater scheme of things (when you look at the total cost of bringing up a child).

Consider it as an insurance policy against the hassle/delay of child dealing with a lost passport as an adult (consular birth certificate will make things a lot simpler).