Question about wife's first british passport application

[quadisking]

My Thai wife has British Citizenship already and wants to apply for her first British passport.

I just used the post office's passport checking service and was told that she will need to send her original birth certificate which she doesn't have.

I think that the guy behind the counter might have got it wrong because according to the table of supporting documents that I read, it was my understanding that if she already has a British Citizenship certificate then she just has to submit that with her Thai passport and the application form (and the birth certificate is not necessary).

Can anyone confirm whether the birth certificate is needed as well or not, please?

[quadisking]

This link appears to confirm what I think:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-adult-passport/documents-you-must-send-with-your-application

My wife was born outside of the UK (Thailand) and her parents are both Thai too, so therefore I think she would only need to send her birth certificate as supporting evidence that she qualifies for British Citizenship IF one or both of her parents were British (which they're not) and she DID NOT have a British Citizenship and she was born before 1983 (which she was).

I don't want to challenge the person doing the passport checking service if I've misinterpreted it and end up with egg on my face, so I would be grateful if anyone knows for sure and could confirm this. Thanks.

[7by7]

As it says on that page, all she needs is her naturalisation certificate and the passport she used to first enter the UK.

I suspect the person who dealt with you doesn't get many applications from naturalised citizens and didn't bother to check!.

Maybe print that page out and take with you in case you have this problem again.

[Waterloo]

just getting ready to make the Wife's first application as well, I agree with your understanding of the situation and suspect that 7by7 is correct that the person in question hasn't done one of these applications before

[Richard W]

I hope the birth certificate isn't needed, but ExPratt is having trouble getting a passport for his British child because he can't supply the mother's birth certificate. The only relevance of the mother is that he was married to her when the child was born. The last I heard, he'd been told it was 'policy' that both parents' birth certificates be provided.

[wooloomooloo]

... or avoid the checking service altogether. We didn't bother.

I can confirm, having recently filled the application out for my wife, that she doesn't need to submit her birth certificate as the above link states.

[MAJIC]

As it says on that page, all she needs is her naturalisation certificate and the passport she used to first enter the UK.

I suspect the person who dealt with you doesn't get many applications from naturalised citizens and didn't bother to check!.

Maybe print that page out and take with you in case you have this problem again.

It is not just a question of producing the necessary paperwork, there is a question of a personal interview,with no husband present. The Spouse answers personal questions known to husband and wife,this only takes place on a first Passport! in most cases the British Passport is forwarded within 2 weeks! of a satisfactory interview.

[quadisking]

Thanks very much everybody. I'm going to go with Wooloomooloo's suggestion and just post it directly by special delivery myself. I'm certain that the photos are acceptable and the rest of the application form is relatively easy to complete and I've double-checked everything several times. I'll just send it at a different post office because I use this one a lot so I don't want to tell the guy that he's wrong because he was so adamant that he wasn't. Thanks again.

[Donutz]

Why wouldn't you want to politely inform the guy so that in the future he can help people in the same situation more properly?

[7by7]

I hope the birth certificate isn't needed, but ExPratt is having trouble getting a passport for his British child because he can't supply the mother's birth certificate. The only relevance of the mother is that he was married to her when the child was born. The last I heard, he'd been told it was 'policy' that both parents' birth certificates be provided.

I vaguely recall the posts on this; but how is it relevant?

The OP is asking about documents to be submitted with a passport application by a naturalised British citizen; not proving that someone is British by birth.

[7by7]

As it says on that page, all she needs is her naturalisation certificate and the passport she used to first enter the UK.

I suspect the person who dealt with you doesn't get many applications from naturalised citizens and didn't bother to check!.

Maybe print that page out and take with you in case you have this problem again.

It is not just a question of producing the necessary paperwork, there is a question of a personal interview,with no husband present. The Spouse answers personal questions known to husband and wife,this only takes place on a first Passport! in most cases the British Passport is forwarded within 2 weeks! of a satisfactory interview.

Indeed, as discussed in Interview for a first Adult passport

Officially, all first time adult British passport applicants* are supposed to attend an interview. My wife did when she applied for her first British passport over 10 years ago.

But this is not the first time I have heard of people not having to attend one; so maybe in practice it's random?

Or perhaps they had a period of not interviewing when they had that huge backlog of applications to clear?

Anyway, the interview is quite painless and is intended to prevent fraud and identity theft.

4. Your passport interview

You’ll be asked to confirm facts about yourself that someone trying to steal your identity may not know.

* Unless born on or before 2 September 1929.

Edited May 22, 2015 by 7by7

[Richard W]

I hope the birth certificate isn't needed, but ExPratt is having trouble getting a passport for his British child because he can't supply the mother's birth certificate. The only relevance of the mother is that he was married to her when the child was born. The last I heard, he'd been told it was 'policy' that both parents' birth certificates be provided.

I vaguely recall the posts on this; but how is it relevant?

The OP is asking about documents to be submitted with a passport application by a naturalised British citizen; not proving that someone is British by birth.

The connection is the request for irrelevant documents. In ExPratt's case, it seems to be a demand rather than a request.

[wooloomooloo]

The connection is the request for irrelevant documents. In ExPratt's case, it seems to be a demand rather than a request.

Are we all on the same thread, Richard? I recall ExPratt's thread but it's not this one.

[7by7]

Indeed.

IIRC, ExPratt's topic was about the requirements for a first passport for a child born outside the UK who has inherited their British nationality from a parent, and table C of the supporting document checklist for overseas applications does say that both parent's birth certificates are required.

This topic is about a basic error by a Post Office clerk when using the Post Office check and send service for an in UK application for a first passport by a newly naturalised British citizen.

Not the same at all.

As shown by the link in post #2, when applying for their first British passport naturalised British citizens do not need to supply any birth certificates; theirs, their parent's, anyone's.

The table of supporting documents in the application form guidance says the same; no birth certificates required if a naturalised British citizen.

Edited May 23, 2015 by 7by7