British Passport For My Daughter.

[elistu]

Does anybody know how I go about getting a British passport for my daughter?

My daughter was born on the 1st of June 2010 and I have been told that she is automatically a British citizen by decent, if that is the case then do I just need to fill out a British passport application form and take it with the relevant paperwork to the embassy?

If anyone here has any experience with this could you please point me in the right direction.

Thanks.

[Soutpeel]

You need to deal with Hong Kong, not the embassy/consulate in BKK, but yes basically fill in paper work and supply the documents required,

Your daughter is entitled to British citizenship, assume birth was registered at the BE ?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I'd guess you should start here: http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/how-to-apply/thailand/first-time-applications

Other info: http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/

And more at the Embassy: http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/

But, what do I know, I'm a Yank....

Mac

[daveyravey]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

[youreavinalaff]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

When did you do this please? As far as I know the Embassy in Bangkok will no longer accept applications. I was told they have to be sent to Hong Kong by the applicant.

[Monkeypants]

When did you do this please? As far as I know the Embassy in Bangkok will no longer accept applications. I was told they have to be sent to Hong Kong by the applicant.

First time applicants have to use Bangkok, they will check your documents and forward them to HK.

http://ukinhongkong.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/how-to-apply/thailand/first-time-applications

Edited September 22, 2011 by Monkeypants

[daveyravey]

When did you do this please? As far as I know the Embassy in Bangkok will no longer accept applications. I was told they have to be sent to Hong Kong by the applicant.

First time applicants have to use Bangkok, they will check your documents and forward them to HK.

http://ukinhongkong....me-applications

I got my daughters passport 3 months ago. First time applicants must apply in BKK british embassy.

[youreavinalaff]

OK. Thanks

Is a copy of my full birth certificate really needed? I haven't a clue where it is. Haven't seen it for years. Won't they accept a copy of my passport?

Thanks.

[elistu]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

Thank you so much for taking the time to write in such detail, this is everything I need to know. Cheers

[elistu]

I just ordered mine from England and had it sent straight here, 25 quid for the certificate and then whatever you pay for postage. It took around 3 weeks from me ordering it to it arriving here in Pattaya.

You can order it over the phone and I think you can also do it on line but don't quote me on that, and you will need a credit card to pay for it.

Just looked and you can do it all on line here http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

OK. Thanks

Is a copy of my full birth certificate really needed? I haven't a clue where it is. Haven't seen it for years. Won't they accept a copy of my passport?

Thanks.

Edited September 22, 2011 by elistu

[7by7]

OK. Thanks

Is a copy of my full birth certificate really needed? I haven't a clue where it is. Haven't seen it for years. Won't they accept a copy of my passport?

Thanks.

Whether you can pass your British citizenship onto your children born abroad depends on what type of citizenship you have.

There are basically two types of British citizenship; by descent or otherwise than by descent. See here for the full details.

If you are British by descent then you may not be able to pass your British citizenship onto your children if they are born outside the UK or a qualifying territory.

To determine what type of citizenship you have and whether you can pass it onto any children born outside the UK or a qualifying territory you do need to produce you long birth certificate.

See elistu's post above for how to obtain a copy.

[paulchiangmai]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

This is very interesting to me as I have a daughter born here and was under the impression you had to have the child registered first at great expense before you could get the British passport. So essentially you are saying just get the passport and all is hunkydory. Did I waste my money on getting her registered with the Australian embassy, I have both British and Australian passports. Thanks.

[bobrussell]

You can order a birth certificate on-line at http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/. I am not sure if they will send them overseas but I have just ordered one for my younger son.

[7by7]

This is very interesting to me as I have a daughter born here and was under the impression you had to have the child registered first at great expense before you could get the British passport. So essentially you are saying just get the passport and all is hunkydory. Did I waste my money on getting her registered with the Australian embassy, I have both British and Australian passports. Thanks.

I don't know about Australia, but as far as the UK is concerned it isn't necessary. From How to register a birth

If your child is born outside the UK and is British you can register the birth with the nearest consulate or with our consular department in London if you've returned to the UK. You don't have to do this, but if you do your child will be given a British document and the birth will be registered at the General Register Office in the UK. This is called Consular birth registration

This is not a UK birth certificate and should not be used as one. It should not take the place of the locally issued birth certificate.

Consular birth registrations do not confer British nationality and are not required to register your child as a British citizen or to apply for a British passport as British nationality is passed from parent to child. Your child will need to have an automatic claim to British nationality in order to register their birth.

There is no requirement for a consular birth registration to be done for any birth that has occurred overseas. The original birth certificate issued by the authorities in the country in which the birth took place, along with a notarised translation if necessary, is sufficient for all purposes in the UK (including passport applications).

(My emphasis)

[Arkady]

This is very interesting to me as I have a daughter born here and was under the impression you had to have the child registered first at great expense before you could get the British passport. So essentially you are saying just get the passport and all is hunkydory. Did I waste my money on getting her registered with the Australian embassy, I have both British and Australian passports. Thanks.

I don't know about Australia, but as far as the UK is concerned it isn't necessary. From How to register a birth

If your child is born outside the UK and is British you can register the birth with the nearest consulate or with our consular department in London if you've returned to the UK. You don't have to do this, but if you do your child will be given a British document and the birth will be registered at the General Register Office in the UK. This is called Consular birth registration

This is not a UK birth certificate and should not be used as one. It should not take the place of the locally issued birth certificate.

Consular birth registrations do not confer British nationality and are not required to register your child as a British citizen or to apply for a British passport as British nationality is passed from parent to child. Your child will need to have an automatic claim to British nationality in order to register their birth.

There is no requirement for a consular birth registration to be done for any birth that has occurred overseas. The original birth certificate issued by the authorities in the country in which the birth took place, along with a notarised translation if necessary, is sufficient for all purposes in the UK (including passport applications).

(My emphasis)

I was born outside the UK to British parents and am British by birth, not descent, because my father was in the service of the British crown abroad. I have no birth certificate issued by the local authorities of the country where I was born and have no entitlement to citizenship of that country. I have never had a problem in getting British passports but I do have to show an original copy of my consular birth certificate to establish my claim on citizenship because I was born outside the UK. The old passport office in Petty France, London, lost the original original but pretended they hadn't. So now I have only have a duplicate. I liked being able to apply in person at the embassy, as it was more difficult for things to get lost, but now I will have to risk having my birth certificate lost in Hong Kong.

[MrMo]

A BIG, BIG issue that I do NOT see mentioned is whether you are LEGALLY MARRIED to your daughter's mother and / or whether the mother is a British Citizen. <br><br>If you are legally married to the mother or the mother is a British Citizen then I believe that what others have advised you is correct.<br><br>However, if you are NOT legally married to the mother and the mother is NOT a British Citizen you first have to apply for British Citizenship for your daughter.   Technically, this may or may not be granted according to the Foreign Secretary's discretion when the application is made based on the father being British.   (It's interesting to note that if the mother is British the child has a right to British Citizenship - a touch of sexual discrimination perhaps.)   I provide this advice from having had to jump through the right hoops on behalf of my son.<br><br>There is also the issue of where you were born.  If you and the mother were NOT born in Britain your children there are other higher hoops you will have to go through.   Even Boris Johnson gave up on this on behalf of his daughter as she was born in Belgium and he in India.   She now has to live with a Belgium passport.<br>

[moonbarman]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

Gr8 info daveyravey but could i do the same for my daughter who was born in 2006, was just worried about the time frame thats all, only we were hoping to go to the uk for hols next year and a passport would be a lot better than applying for a visa, cheers in expectancy.

[bkk_mike]

Gr8 info daveyravey but could i do the same for my daughter who was born in 2006, was just worried about the time frame thats all, only we were hoping to go to the uk for hols next year and a passport would be a lot better than applying for a visa, cheers in expectancy.

There's no time limit on applying for a passport.

You just need the proof you're British and that your parents lived in the UK legally when you were born there (which is why it has to be the long form birth certificate.)

And your child's birth certificate translated showing you as the father.

The rest is the same as applying in the UK (witness for the photos, etc.)

[7by7]

A BIG, BIG issue that I do NOT see mentioned is whether you are LEGALLY MARRIED to your daughter's mother and / or whether the mother is a British Citizen. <br><br>If you are legally married to the mother or the mother is a British Citizen then I believe that what others have advised you is correct.<br><br>However, if you are NOT legally married to the mother and the mother is NOT a British Citizen you first have to apply for British Citizenship for your daughter

The law was changed in July 2006.

Fathers who are British otherwise than by descent now automatically pass their British citizenship onto children born outside the UK whether married to the mother or not. There is no need to apply to the Home Office, simply produce the birth certificate.

[Johnniey]

My children have British birth certificates and passports - Am I correct in thinking they have British nationality?

[7by7]

British birth certificates mean they were born in the UK; yes?

If they were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983, they are a British citizens if at the time of their birth one of their parents was:

• a British citizen; or
• legally settled in the UK.

Plus, if they are not British citizens, how did they get British passports?

[Farang0tang]

"You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter"

Is this a definate requirement?

[MANICMINER]

it has to be certified, but if you do not know a Brit or a citizen of the commonwealth to certify, you can get a Thai citizen of high regard to do it - normally a doctor or head teacher is sufficient.

"You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter"

Is this a definate requirement?

[hamishgillan]

get it done soon as rules can change, UK fathers now have same rights as mothers overseas as of 2006,

get as much as possible, birth certs passports, wifes/gf's bat prachachon, Id card and photos if you want a passport now too,

you can just ask for citizenship without passport yet.

my daughter was born before 2006 and it was about 600 pounds for applying and at the big mans discretion, thankfully he said yes.

but as far as I am aware british fathers now transfer nationality to their children automatically when born overseas and the mother is foreign.

Edited September 25, 2011 by hamishgillan

[Johnniey]

British birth certificates mean they were born in the UK; yes?

If they were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983, they are a British citizens if at the time of their birth one of their parents was:

• a British citizen; or
• legally settled in the UK.

Plus, if they are not British citizens, how did they get British passports?

My kids were born in Thailand. They have British birth certificates.

I read elsewhere in this thread that you can get the passport without the registering but I was told that I had to register the kids first before getting the passport or maybe it was the 'birth certificate' - I can't remember.

[hamishgillan]

registering a birth

There is a difference between 'registering a birth' and a 'birth certificate' according to the above website, not to be confused.

[JohnAllan]

There have been a number of changes over the years, but I wouldn't rely on 'by descent'. I would suggest you check with the embassy, same section as passports - ignoring that those are now issued through HK. You might well need to apply for nationality certificate, which you will need, anyway - about B25,000 - and wait for around 3 months for it to be processed.

[JohnAllan]

Yes, just did the same for my daughter. Go to British embassy website and download the forms for passport for child.

1. You will need your childs Thai birth certificate and need it translated

2. you will need your own birth certificate- the long copy which gives your parents names and occupations. Short copy not acceptable.

3 You will need your Thai marraige certificate and translation.( if you are not married, its still ok but i dont know the procedure)

4 your passport.

5. copy of your wifes id card. If her name is in English you dont need it translated.

6 Copy of your wifes tabien baan(house book) and translated copy.

You will need a fellow Brit to certify the pics of your daughter. Any kodak shop will take the passport pics of your daughter.

Armed with the above, go to the British embassy before 11.30 am as that is when they close. Go on a monday-thursday. Friday is dodgy.

They will take your money (just over 4000baht) and check your documentation. They then send it all to Hong Kong and you get the

passport sent by courier(DHL) around 3 weeks later.

Obviously take photocopies of everything and get your wife to sign the copies of all her stuff.

You might be asked if you wish to register your childs birth and get a british style birth certificate. In my opinion

this is bullshit as it costs nearly 10,000baht and serves no purpose at all. Passports show nationality, not birth certificates.

I asked an ebassy official what purpose it would serve and she basically said none. Your child has all the same

entitlements with or without this paper.And it is not a british birth certificate. As long as your kid can prove she is your kid she will always

be British.

Hope this helps

When did you do this please? As far as I know the Embassy in Bangkok will no longer accept applications. I was told they have to be sent to Hong Kong by the applicant.

The embassy will forward for you, and receive back - though you need to pay the courier fees.

[PattayaParent]

There have been a number of changes over the years, but I wouldn't rely on 'by descent'. I would suggest you check with the embassy, same section as passports - ignoring that those are now issued through HK. You might well need to apply for nationality certificate, which you will need, anyway - about B25,000 - and wait for around 3 months for it to be processed.

What is this nationality certificate, and why is it needed?