Uk Passport And/or Register Birth For Kids Born In Thailand

[srgoldie]

Hi,

I've looked around the forums and people seem to be saying you do not need to register a birth to get a passport for British kids born in Thailand.

My son is 4 months old, born in Thailand. I am British and his mother is Thai. We are legally married.

The Embassy website states:

• 'Please complete a C2 passport application form in full and return it to us with payment and evidence of the child's British nationality ie either a British birth certificate or full documentation as for a birth certificate (as listed above).'
  

So you look above and the information is ... last one:

• Completed registration of birth application form.
  

It doesn't say you have to enclose both fees so I guess they just will use the info but not issue a BC?

Next question. Do you NEED a birth certificate?

UK Embassy website states:

The advantages are that:

• A British style birth certificate is available as proof of identity and proof of nationality;
  
• A record of the birth will afterwards be held at the General Register Office in the United Kingdom. Copies can then be obtained in the future from the General Register Office.
  

Does this make any difference to rights of citizenship for my son. Obviously I want him to have full rights to citizenship. If it is neccessary then 9k baht is money well spent. However, if he only needs a passport, then a birth certificate is just an expensive piece of paper?

If I don't get a BC now. I assume one can be got at a later date providing we present all the paperwork?

[Mario2008]

I would advise to register the birth now. You don't have to do it, but it will make things much easier in the future, as you don't have to legalise the Thai birth certificate if you ever have to use it in England as it is registerd in the Uk already.

[Jacqqq]

My philosophy is ... no, it is not just an expensive piece of paper. It is your child's birthright. Do it now while you're still alive and kicking. You wouldn't want your child to go through the rigmarole of bureaucracy of proving that he is a British citizen by descent (through you, the British-born parent) when you're up there drinking happily at the Pearly Gates.

Mind you, his rights as a British citizen by descent may be gradually limited as he grows older and continues to reside abroad. For example, uni fees will be based on overseas student's rate, unless he can prove that he is a resident in the UK for 3 consecutive years prior to application.

[srgoldie]

My philosophy is ... no, it is not just an expensive piece of paper. It is your child's birthright. Do it now while you're still alive and kicking. You wouldn't want your child to go through the rigmarole of bureaucracy of proving that he is a British citizen by descent (through you, the British-born parent) when you're up there drinking happily at the Pearly Gates.

Mind you, his rights as a British citizen by descent may be gradually limited as he grows older and continues to reside abroad. For example, uni fees will be based on overseas student's rate, unless he can prove that he is a resident in the UK for 3 consecutive years prior to application.

Thanks.

Is that the university situation already then, about overseas student's rates?

3 years. It may well be a good idea to go back for a while.

[Jacqqq]

Yup, as of now ..... Huge difference in uni fees ! For example, an international student pays about 90,000 quid for the entire degree while a British / EU student will have to fork out 12,000 quid only. Change those figures into Thai Baht and you'll feel the pain even more !! Our long term plan is to take the little lad back to stay a few years before his GCSE O's or A's Level.

Edited June 12, 2009 by Jacqqq

[ArranP]

If ever you need to apply for your childs british passport whilst in the UK I think you will then need the British Birth Cert.

[cmsally]

I just renewed my daughters passport (in BKK) and was asked to produce the British birth certificate.

[torrenova]

If ever you need to apply for your childs british passport whilst in the UK I think you will then need the British Birth Cert.

Why ?

I just renewed my daughters passport (in BKK) and was asked to produce the British birth certificate.

Was your daughter born in the UK ? If so, then perhaps. However, I've never been asked to produce a UK birth certificate to renew my passport wherever I've been as I just show the old passport. That includes Bangkok.

[DMCGARRY]

Hi,

I've looked around the forums and people seem to be saying you do not need to register a birth to get a passport for British kids born in Thailand.

My son is 4 months old, born in Thailand. I am British and his mother is Thai. We are legally married.

The Embassy website states:

• 'Please complete a C2 passport application form in full and return it to us with payment and evidence of the child's British nationality ie either a British birth certificate or full documentation as for a birth certificate (as listed above).'
  

So you look above and the information is ... last one:

• Completed registration of birth application form.
  

It doesn't say you have to enclose both fees so I guess they just will use the info but not issue a BC?

Next question. Do you NEED a birth certificate?

UK Embassy website states:

The advantages are that:

• A British style birth certificate is available as proof of identity and proof of nationality;
  
• A record of the birth will afterwards be held at the General Register Office in the United Kingdom. Copies can then be obtained in the future from the.
  

Does this make any difference to rights of citizenship for my son. Obviously I want him to have full rights to citizenship. If it is neccessary then 9k baht is money well spent. However, if he only needs a passport, then a birth certificate is just an expensive piece of paper?

If I don't get a BC now. I assume one can be got at a later date providing we present all the paperwork?

Rather than starting a new thread with the exact same issues I thought i would use this post and expand on some of the questions.

What forms do you need to register the BC? I have a BC in English from the hospital and would like to get the UK BC and passport. I have the C2 form but i definately need to register the birth prior to completing this document. Can somebody give a step by step breakdown on what is required to register the birth, obtain a UK BC and finally obtain a UK Passport.

DMCGARRY

[cmsally]

If ever you need to apply for your childs british passport whilst in the UK I think you will then need the British Birth Cert.

Why ?

I just renewed my daughters passport (in BKK) and was asked to produce the British birth certificate.

Was your daughter born in the UK ? If so, then perhaps. However, I've never been asked to produce a UK birth certificate to renew my passport wherever I've been as I just show the old passport. That includes Bangkok.

My daughter was born in Thailand. I am presuming it needs to be shown as she is a British national born outside UK. We also had old passport.