Babies And Dual Nationality When Not Married

[unclegrenv]

Firstly,thanks for the advice to those of you that responded to my previous request for help.

I have a two month old son,Thai mother and British father and I want to register him for dual nationality at the British Embassy.We plan to get married in the middle of nexy year.

I now know that it will be much more difficult to register my son at the embassy because we were not married when he was born,so are there any of you out there that have managed to get your kids British citizenship even though you were not married and how difficult was it,etc.

Cheers everyone and thanks,

Unclegrenv in Rayong

[TheAceFace]

I was in the same boat mate, my adivce would definatley be to wait until you are married as it is so much easier.

The waiting and procedures takes upto nearly a year anyway if are not married. If you want him to visit the UK before he is registered then the easiest way would be to take him on a visa...of which obtaining is no problem.

Just for your info, when registering when married for dual nationallity and passports make sure you have all your own personal docs including your marriage certificate and Birth cert all of which must be originals.

My son now has Thai and English birth certs and passports...its worth it in the end.

[unclegrenv]

I was in the same boat mate, my adivce would definatley be to wait until you are married as it is so much easier.

The waiting and procedures takes upto nearly a year anyway if are not married. If you want him to visit the UK before he is registered then the easiest way would be to take him on a visa...of which obtaining is no problem.

Just for your info, when registering when married for dual nationallity and passports make sure you have all your own personal docs including your marriage certificate and Birth cert all of which must be originals.

My son now has Thai and English birth certs and passports...its worth it in the end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for that mate.At least i now know that it's possible.

We were planning on getting married next October,family and friends coming over and all that,but would it be better to get married a.s.a.p so as not to upset the embassy.Not so sure how friendly they're going to be if i turn up some 14 months after the birth?What do you think?

Cheers.

[sbk]

You can always do the legal marriage now and have a ceremony later. Many Thais do it the other way round, obviously the important bit is the family and friends, not the piece of paper. (My in-laws got legally married when their oldest son was about 40 and my brother-in-law legally married his wife when their son was about 18--had a big wedding just never bothered with the paper).

[meemiathai]

My 2-baht worth new coin advice would be get legally married a.s.a.p. for the sake of your child.

[N&M]

Why would you suggest to get legally married for the sake of the child ?

UncleGren, I presume from some responses here that the british rules are somewhat different from Australian, but i thought they would have been very similar.

I am getting my child an Australian passort now and we are not married.

First step is Citizenship which is currently being proccessed, when that is done and document in hand we can apply for the passport. All relatively simple and straight forward as long as you have the right documents to lodge in the first place.

[meemiathai]

OK. Touch wood.

What if the father unfortunately dies in an accident?

What is going to be the future of the kid?

[phuketsiam]

when i was in this situation, i was told i had to register the child before she was 1 year old, or british nationality wouldn't be given, if you want more pm and will give you the contact info of the embassy official who advised me, she was a great help in explaining and facitiliting everything

[sbk]

Why would you suggest to get legally married for the sake of the child ?

UncleGren, I presume from some responses here that the british rules are somewhat different from Australian, but i thought they would have been very similar.

I am getting my child an Australian passort now and we are not married.

First step is Citizenship which is currently being proccessed, when that is done and document in hand we can apply for the passport. All relatively simple and straight forward as long as you have the right documents to lodge in the first place.

Well, since they are planning on getting married anyway, what difference does it make if they do it now? I didn't get the impression that they were getting married for the sake of the child, where did you get that idea?

[Gumballl]

I don't know anything about the UK's citizenship policies, but for the US, it was a cinch.

It took me about 45 minutes of my time at the American Citizen Services at the US Embassy (in BKK) to register the birth of my daughter (as a US Citizen born abroad) and to apply for a US Passport for her. Her mother is Thai, and we are currently unmarried.

Whether a man is married to the mother of his child is not really that relevant. What is relevant is that if you are the father (and not just biologically speaking), you must also prove that there is an ongoing relationship with the child (financial support, visits, etc).

I presented photos taken of me together with my daughter and GF (fiance), and also other misc information (that I have resided in the US). Although I did not have them on me, it would have been even more helpful to show photos of me and my GF when she was pregnant. I also present the child's Thai birth certificate (original and translated) which showed that I was the father. For the child's passport, I had to present a passport photo (2" x 2"), and fill out the passport application.

The cost for everything was $167 (about 6700 Baht). I bit steep, but nevertheless, my child is now a bonafide US citizen! This November I will return to the Embassy to collect her certificate indicating that she is a US Citizen, and also her passport.

With any luck, perhaps the British Embassy will have similar policies to that of the US.

[unclegrenv]

when i was in this situation, i was told i had to register the child before she was 1 year old, or british nationality wouldn't be given, if you want more pm and will give you the contact info of the embassy official who advised me, she was a great help in explaining and facitiliting everything

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Would be great to know who to talk to,if available of course,at the embassy.Always nice if you can get one of the officals on your side.

I think i'll take a day off work next week and go and have a chat with the embassy.I'll let you know what they say.

Is the embassy on the BTS line and anyone know the office hours?

Cheers

Unclegrenv