British Ex-Pats who got a British Passport for their Thai/British kids. Please describe your experience.

[smokieladdo]

Im looking for any tips from anyone who has "been there, done that"

 

Any pitfalls to look out for?

 

Anything you would do differently?

 

Please describe the process from start to finish from your perspective.

 

Its quite difficult to get a clear standard operation procedure from the UKPO and I have this dreading feeling that something will go wrong for me and I will have to start all over again. So any advice from my fellow Ex-Pats would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[hotandsticky]

Presumably their first British passport. What age is the child ?

[BritManToo]

8 years back, I dropped in the documents at Chiang Mai Brit consulate (he was a week old).

They checked the original documents then handed back everything apart from the application form and photo.

2-3 weeks later a passport arrived in the post at my house in Chiang Mai.

 

Then 3 years back, I posted off for a new one (from the UK), 7 days later it appeared in my letterbox (in the UK).

 

Now it's a bloody nightmare to get one for a newborn.

Edited July 16, 2020 by BritManToo

[hotandsticky]

 The Last list I saw went something like this:- 

 

 

Father  Documents
    Original Passport+ colour photocopies of EVERY page including  blanks
    Birth certificate  “must be long certificate with mum and dads name on” + colour photocopy

    Mother  Documents
    Passport “If have”  + colour photocopies of every page including blanks
    Identification card + colour photocopy+ translation
    Household book “tabien baan” + colour photocopy + translation Address and wife's page)
    Birth Certificate + colour photocopy + translation NB ( If no birth certificate then the house registration book will probably suffice alone)
    If married - original marriage certificate + colour copy + translation
    Change of Name Certificate  - if relevant
    Divorce Certificate--if relevant

    Childs  Documents
    Thai Birth Certificate + colour photocopy + translation
    Household Registration+ colour photocopy + translation
    Passport Photographs x 2 “must be white background”     

 

 

Passport cost (5 years) is £88.51 each payable by credit card

[brewsterbudgen]

Quite straightforward, as long as the British parent has their long-form birth certificate, and is British 'Otherwise than by Descent'.  You apply at the HMPO office at VFS, The Trendy, Sukhumvit soi 13 and the process takes about 3-4 weeks.

 

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

 

How to apply

Download the application form.

Use the ‘Applying for a passport if you’re outside the UK’ guidance notes to help you fill in the application form.

Include 2 identical new photos of you (or your child, if it’s a child passport application). Follow the rules about passport photos or your application may be delayed.

Check the guidance notes to find out which supporting documents you must send with your application. You must get documents that aren’t in English - including documents showing an address - fully translated by a professional translator.

Application form - applying for a British passport overseas

Guidance notes - applying for a passport if you’re outside the UK

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 The Last list I saw went something like this:- 

 

 

Father  Documents
    Original Passport+ colour photocopies of EVERY page including  blanks
    Birth certificate  “must be long certificate with mum and dads name on” + colour photocopy

    Mother  Documents
    Passport “If have”  + colour photocopies of every page including blanks
    Identification card + colour photocopy+ translation
    Household book “tabien baan” + colour photocopy + translation Address and wife's page)
    Birth Certificate + colour photocopy + translation NB ( If no birth certificate then the house registration book will probably suffice alone)
    If married - original marriage certificate + colour copy + translation
    Change of Name Certificate  - if relevant
    Divorce Certificate--if relevant

    Childs  Documents
    Thai Birth Certificate + colour photocopy + translation
    Household Registration+ colour photocopy + translation
    Passport Photographs x 2 “must be white background”     

 

 

Passport cost (5 years) is £88.51 each payable by credit card

I applied for my son in 2015.  Other than my birth certificate and passport, all I needed was my girlfriend's ID and passport (she has no birth certificate) and the child's Thai birth certificate, and counter-signed photos.

[smokieladdo]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Presumably their first British passport. What age is the child ?

Mine are 2 and 1 years old.

 

Im doing the 2 year olds first before trying my 1 year olds.

[blackcab]

22 minutes ago, smokieladdo said:

Mine are 2 and 1 years old.

 

Im doing the 2 year olds first before trying my 1 year olds.

 

It's going to save time if you do them together. Your countersignatory can witness both applications at the same time. You can get any required translations at the same time. You will only make one visit to various offices, not two.

 

The process is very straightforward. If you follow the instructions on the website the passports will be issued.

[remobb]

I was not married to my son's mother at the first application. I had to marry her and reapply. Got married tried again, no problem. I was on his birth cert, legit father but still had to marry. 

[Chicken George]

It was easy. Birth cert plus copy of mums ID. Fill in the forms and waited about two weeks.. Remember to get the British birth certificate st the same time. Costs a bit more but has to be applied for in country of birth. 

[JusticeGB]

The most important document is the original copy of your birth certificate. If you have lost it you need to apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate from the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the UK. You will also need the birth certificate of your child if she was born in Thailand you would have to have registered her birth at the British Embassy and got a certified copy of her Thai birth certificate written in English certified by the British Embassy. 

 

I personally took the lot to an agent in Pattaya who did the legwork. It might cost 5,000 baht more but going to Bangkok twice to ensure those valuable documents aren't lost is worth the money. The agent fills in these documents every day and is worth his weight in salt. A form wrongly filled in is rejected and you lose your passport fee and start the process again.

[Harveyboy]

hello mate ..well normally I've always done my own stuff marriage.birth of my son did all the things in BKK i was very pleased with my achievements..then i had a  bad experience a pre registered post containing my passport got lost ended costing me 70.000 baht lots involved lost flights ect  so i decided to go down the more expensive but safer route and got an agent to do my sons passport all paperwork ..taken to bkk posted to uk tracking .kept up speed with what was happening couple of weeks later i had s phone call come collect from office or we can send to you ..i went collected all in order job done .....as s lot of op on here have said its not to difficult .. just how you want to do it ...good luck hope all goes well

[jimmjam]

Sent mine off to key visa, they took care of everything easy.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

3 hours ago, remobb said:

I was not married to my son's mother at the first application. I had to marry her and reapply. Got married tried again, no problem. I was on his birth cert, legit father but still had to marry. 

When was that?  In 2015, there was no problem whatsoever in getting my baby a UK passport even though I was not married to his mother.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

The most important document is the original copy of your birth certificate. If you have lost it you need to apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate from the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the UK. You will also need the birth certificate of your child if she was born in Thailand you would have to have registered her birth at the British Embassy and got a certified copy of her Thai birth certificate written in English certified by the British Embassy. 

 

I personally took the lot to an agent in Pattaya who did the legwork. It might cost 5,000 baht more but going to Bangkok twice to ensure those valuable documents aren't lost is worth the money. The agent fills in these documents every day and is worth his weight in salt. A form wrongly filled in is rejected and you lose your passport fee and start the process again.

There was no requirement for my son's birth in Thailand to be registered with the British Embassy when I applied for his UK passport in 2015.  Just the baby's Thai birth certificate, officially translated, the British parent's long-form birth certificate and ID details for the mother.

Edited July 17, 2020 by brewsterbudgen

[oxforddiver]

Easy, I went to an agent, Easy Visa (Darren) in South Pattaya and he gave me a list of the docs needed, which I provided.

Paid him, and got them back around three weeks later. Easy.

[brewsterbudgen]

22 minutes ago, oxforddiver said:

Easy, I went to an agent, Easy Visa (Darren) in South Pattaya and he gave me a list of the docs needed, which I provided.

Paid him, and got them back around three weeks later. Easy.

Using an agent is a good idea if you can't easily get to Bangkok to submit the application and then pick up the new passport.  But if you're in Bangkok, using an agent is really unnecessary as the process is usually very straightforward.

[StevieAus]

As my father was born in the U.K. I obtained the passport for our daughter about 4 years ago.

I used Key Visa as to me it was worth the cost, it saved two trips to Bangkok including airfares and overnight stays.

The service was excellent.

 

[Rawairat]

Did my sons about 4 years ago, at the Trendy Building Bangkok, only issue was I filled the form out on a computer, they made me do another hand written one. 

[puchooay]

On 7/17/2020 at 9:24 AM, JusticeGB said:

The most important document is the original copy of your birth certificate. If you have lost it you need to apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate from the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths in the UK. You will also need the birth certificate of your child if she was born in Thailand you would have to have registered her birth at the British Embassy and got a certified copy of her Thai birth certificate written in English certified by the British Embassy. 

 

I personally took the lot to an agent in Pattaya who did the legwork. It might cost 5,000 baht more but going to Bangkok twice to ensure those valuable documents aren't lost is worth the money. The agent fills in these documents every day and is worth his weight in salt. A form wrongly filled in is rejected and you lose your passport fee and start the process again.

No need for anything with regards to British Embassy.

 

My daughter's birth was never registered with them. Her birth certificate was translated by a local translator. It was not certified by the embassy.

 

Passport applied for and received with no problems. No agent used either. Just follow the application online. Easy process.

[tso310]

Be advised that passport renewal and getting a first one has been affected by Covid-19 as the manning in the issuing offices has been reduced. The government website advises not to apply if you need one before September.

[7by7]

On 7/17/2020 at 11:41 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

On 7/17/2020 at 8:17 AM, remobb said:

I was not married to my son's mother at the first application. I had to marry her and reapply. Got married tried again, no problem. I was on his birth cert, legit father but still had to marry. 

When was that?  In 2015, there was no problem whatsoever in getting my baby a UK passport even though I was not married to his mother.

 

Prior to 1st July 2006 a British father could only pass his British nationality onto his children if he was married to their mother.

 

The law changed on the 1st July 2006 and since then a British father can pass his nationality onto any child, whether or not he was married to their mother. provided, of course, he can prove parentage.

 

See Nationality policy: children of unmarried parents for full details.