Job Discussion Forums

[Deats]

Hi, hopefully someone out there can help me! I keep getting passed from pillar to post and still don't know what to do with regards to obtaining a British passport for my child. Maybe someone with first hand experience can help me!?

Here are the facts:

I am British (born and raised)
My wife is Russian
Our child was born in Russia and has just got her Russian passport
Now, we want to get her a British passport
We live in Russia at the minute

From reading online and calling several UK government offices, I am trying to piece together what is and isn't necessary.

From my understanding my child is British by descent. Thus a British citizen. Right? Do I need any document to prove this - is there such a thing as a citizenship paper for someone who is British by descent? Or can I just go ahead and apply for a passport?

Also, does anyone know whether my child is entitled to travel to England with us (my wife will get a visa) on her Russian passport as my dependent - for example with birth and marriage certificate? Or must she still get a visa? We would like to visit the UK soon and don't know if a passport application would be processed in time.

If anyone can offer any help it would be amazing as my head is spinning.

[nomad soul]

Did you look at https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth ?

[Deats]

When I wrote directly to the British consulate they told me I didn't have to register the birth with the UK. We have registered in Russia already. Even if I register the birth and order a certificate, does this is any way show my daughter is a British citizen? Or does it in any way alter the application process for a passport? It's all extra time to the process.

Also another problem is that our daughter is Sophie Isabelle. However, we first had to get a Russian passport and they do literal translation from her Russian spelling (the passport has her cyrillic name and latin name), so spell her name Sofi Izabell. Will this have to be her name in the British passport? I.e. all her Russian documents will say this (including passport)...

[nomad soul]

You really need to check out the link I provided. I suggest you also post on one or two of the numerous UK expat sites on the Internet; they reach a wider audience. Do a search for british expats forum russia.

By the way, I'm an American who was born abroad. My parents registered my birth with the US consulate in my birth country 18 months after I was born. That document was then used to get my passport issued. I suspect the UK process isn't that much different.

[Deats]

I did check out the link. I have seen it before, as I have looked at all the gov links. The link states you don't need to register the birth with the UK, but you do need to in Russia (which we have).

I will try and find an expat board to post the question, although I will check back here to see if anyone knows.

[HLJHLJ]

You don't have to register an overseas birth, but if you can, you should. It will make life (and the passport application) easier in the long run. Also, without it, your child only has proof of citizenship when they have a passport, If the passport is lost or damaged it can be a major nightmare, and if it's not renewed before expiring they will have to prove citizenship all over again. (So don't ever throw out their old/expired passport).

As your child doesn't automatically qualify for citizenship, you will have to apply for citizenship by descent with form MN1
https://www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/children-born-outside-uk

You will have to apply for citizenship first, then you can apply for the passport.

[nigel2]

1.Get a British birth certificate from your nearest embassy/consulate.
2. Apply for "Right of Abode" certificate to be placed in your child's Russian passport. This will allow your child to enter the UK without a visa. (multiple visits)
3. A UK passport will not be needed with the "Right Of abode".
4. If you still want a British Passport....apply in the UK.

How do I know? ....been there, done that already!

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-certificate-showing-right-of-abode-form-vaf7

[Deats]

Thanks for your advice guys, it is very useful.

The UK gov website is so confusing though.

It states:

"It’s usually quicker to register the birth with the UK authorities if you get a British passport for the child first."

So they recommend getting a passport BEFORE registering the child. They say the time also varies wildly depending on if you have the passport:

- at least 10 weeks if the child doesn’t have a British passport
- 5 working days if the child has a British passport

From the website you must send all your documents to Milton Keynes, and it isn't possible to do anything in the embassy any more. At least this is the info on the website.

Also they want all ORIGINAL documents (my birth certificate, which I don't have in Russia, her birth certificate etc etc) which we need in Russia to get other documents for her. We can't be without these documents for 10+ weeks.

Maybe I will just send her on a cargo boat to the UK and get her to seek political asylum - tell them Putin is after her. This way she'll get a passport, citizenship, housing and benefits, no questions asked.

[scot47]

Register her birth through the Embassy. Then in years to come after you are dead and gone she can access that record through UK govt website. I know wherof I speak. I have two daughters with dual nationality both born outside UK

There is a good forum on this and related issues

www.britishexpats.com

Just try to ignore the Blimpish comments !

[Deats]

Hey Scot. Do you know if it is still possible to register through an embassy? When I follow this link:

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/children-born-outside-uk

it says that you have to mail all the documents.

I will now sit down and have a thorough look through the British expats forum that you gave a link to.

Thanks for your help and I will post back here when things develop - maybe I will just call the embassy again on Monday to see what they say.

[Deats]

Will just give a quick update to what I have found out for anyone looking at this thread in future:

From July 2014 British embassies have stopped doing birth registration. You must now apply online at a cost of £105 and it takes a minimum of 3 months.

To apply for 'right of abode' takes a minimum of 6 months and costs nearly £300. It is only valid whilst your passport is valid, so for a child this would need to be purchased every few years (bear in mind it takes 6 months to get the damn thing in the first place!)

To get a British passport varies from country to country but it is all sent back to the UK. Gone are the days the embassies could issue them I'm not actually sure what embassies do nowadays... Average times would seem to be 3-4 months

Lastly, any person with a claim to British citizenship (even if they don't want to be a British citizen) is forbidden to apply for a British visa. Therefore the only way my daughter can visit England is to a) get a passport or b) right of abode. This seems VERY odd. She can't just get a tourist visa in her Russian passport.

So, as her name is mistranslated from Cyrillic to Latin in her Russian passport we must first apply to register her, then apply for a passport. Because we will leave Russia in a few months we can't even start the process as it won't be sent back in time (and they need original documents, which we still need to use here for her Russian stuff)

So, a child who is a British citizen is forbidden entry to her country via visa and to get all the necessary paperwork done will probably not be done before March 2016 - (get to China in Sept 2015, 3 months (minimum) to register then apply for a passport and taking into account the holiday period the best we can hope for is March 2016. My child will be one year old by then.

It seems hard to believe, but I shouldn't be surprised. I also recently found out that if I want to do an MA in England I must pay international tuition fees because I am no longer classed as a resident - you have to have lived for 3 consecutive years in the UK to qualify for home fees, even though I'm a British national. An asylum seeker or EU citizen qualifies for home fees though...

On top of that they won't renew my driver's license, because I'm not a resident... but Russia won't give me one either.

I'm pretty confident when I say I will never return to the UK other than to visit family and friends as I would be treated as worse than an immigrant. The world's gone mad... or at least the UK has.

[nigel2]

Really sorry for your situation My advice was out of date! If you want your wife to enter the UK then be warned. It will cost £1000s and the paperwork, red tape and legal hoops are a maze of troubles.

[Deats]

Hey Nigel, I appreciate the fact that you took your time to reply and offered me advice that was correct before. I hope it is useful for people to know the current shambles... sorry, I mean 'system' that the UK has, which is why I posted the update for people. By 2016 this will probably have changed again

We've looked into moving back to the UK and it is a joke. I've been with my wife for 8 years, but that doesn't matter by all accounts. Same goes for me living in Russia. Just hoop after hoop to jump through. ££££ after ££££ to pay. It makes me sick. If you can genuinely prove that your marriage is legit your spouse should be given a passport. End of story. We need to stop worrying so much about how to look after people ILLEGALLY entering the EU/UK on cargo boats and start worrying about LEGAL citizens who want to bring a spouse/family.