British mum and Aussie dad takin aussie born baby back to uk

**lukedeej11** · 28-12-2011, 11:36 PM

Hi All,

Im writing this post with alot of angst and anger.
I am an aussie, born and bred here. I married a british lady a few years ago who is now an australian citizen. We had a baby boy 6 weeks ago.
We now want to move back to the Uk as we do not have family here and my wife has all her family and friends in the UK. My wife has her british passport still, I have a spousal visa granted for 2 years for the UK but our son does not have a british passport. My question is that we want to return on the 7th Feb 2012. We have been told he needs a british passport to enter the country as a british citizen but shurely can he not enter on his australian passport and we apply for his british passport when we are in the UK. My wife has her passport, birth certificate extract etc. has anyone done this or come across this issue? There is only 5 weeks and 5 days until we go and we have been told it will take atleast 6 weeks for his passport to come back. Please can anyone help out with some advice or if they have known anyone who went through this. We are thinking we will just get his aussie passport which will be back within 3 weeks and enter the country on that and then apply over there. Noone from the British consulate/embassy/Uk border agency will give us answers. They all give us the run around and direct us to the other agency etc. Noone can give us a straight answer and that is frustrating and costing us money for phone calls etc.

Thanks everyone
Luke

**Newmummy** · 28-12-2011, 11:58 PM

Hi Luke,

im really confused as to why your baby needs a british passport! Your baby is Australian.
My Partner and i are both from the uk and had our baby girl 3 months ago here in brisbane. we had to get our daughter a british passport because my partner and i were not permenant residents when she was born. We had one sent out to us within 2 weeks which was really fast but given the time of year now the post probably will be much slower...so it just might take 6 weeks. However you should be able to get the baby a ozzy passport and so you will need a visa for your baby to enter the country.

as for the british passport, you might not be able to apply for it in the uk unless you have a permenant house address!

it took a long time for us to work out how to get our daughter her passport! we spent a lot of money on the phone. If you go to the australian post website and to applying for the british passport it should have some info..

Sorry i cant help more, i know i you feel :/

**Guest31881** · 29-12-2011, 12:07 AM

I think you will find he needs a British passport before entering the country or he will be classed as a visitor and subject to a time limit on staying. Telling them that you intend to apply for a British passport once home probably will not be allowed, once there you may not bother applying and then he would become an illegal immigrant. Laws about moving children from one country to another are very strict. You know its all genuine but immigration need the proof. That is why a passport is needed. . I think they will need proof he is a British subject before entering the UK permanently.

**whichway** · 29-12-2011, 12:20 AM

I got my baby a British passport while in Oz and it literally only took a few weeks. If your child doesn't have a British passport on entry, they will ask a lot of questions, regardless of whether your wife is a citizen. Of course your child should get in on a visitor visa but they will expect you to tell them you are coming back to Oz in a short time, and if not it will be a drama. When my child first entered the UK she only had an Oz passport, they were ok cos they knew I was coming back in a few weeks. Have you booked your flights, if not, I suggest you don't until you have the passport. You can pay a higher amount to have the passport prioritised and to get it quicker from memory.

**whichway** · 29-12-2011, 12:22 AM

I also got her British Passport without a permanent UK address.

http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/...stralia#Urgent

MAYBE i AM WRONG ABOUT THE getting it quicker thing,.

**guest32487** · 29-12-2011, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by whichway

I got my baby a British passport while in Oz and it literally only took a few weeks. If your child doesn't have a British passport on entry, they will ask a lot of questions, regardless of whether your wife is a citizen. Of course your child should get in on a visitor visa but they will expect you to tell them you are coming back to Oz in a short time, and if not it will be a drama. When my child first entered the UK she only had an Oz passport, they were ok cos they knew I was coming back in a few weeks. Have you booked your flights, if not, I suggest you don't until you have the passport. You can pay a higher amount to have the passport prioritised and to get it quicker from memory.

We're going through the process of getting a UK passport for our little one - who did you use in Australia to countersign the passport photos? I can only find info relating to who can sign them when you're in the UK. Also, there is no one here who has known the baby from birth - as she was born in the UK.

**whichway** · 29-12-2011, 12:38 AM

I have an Aussie Citizen friend who is a registered nurse.

http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/res...m-c2-notes.pdf - note 6 section 8

**Jurls** · 29-12-2011, 12:43 AM

I've recently got British passports for my New Zealand born children (British by descent). It was amazingly quick actually, only took about 2 weeks from lodgement with Australia post to receiving the passports.

Peach, see the form C2 notes for child applications. It says:
If you do not know a British national or other Commonwealth citizen locally with those qualifications, a citizen of the country in which you are residing may complete and sign the form, provided he/she has a similar standing in that country, has known you for two years and the Passport Manager considers his/her signature to be acceptable.

We were lucky in that one of my husband's friends had known me for 2 years, is a teacher and was able to countersign. Otherwise I think I would have had to send the forms to someone in the UK (or NZ) for them to countersign, get them to return them to me and then submit them............

**parleycross** · 29-12-2011, 12:51 AM

It is more expensive to get your british passport in Australia, but I think given your circumstances I would apply for it here asap.
I presume you haven't booked your flights yet. I expect you can't book a flight without a passport for your child.
I don't think you can book your flight until you have your passport, so I would apply asap and book flights when the passport arrives. You might have to delay your travel plans though.

I don't think there is any chance your baby could be considered and illegal immigrant. He is a british citizen by entitlement which means he has entry right to the UK without requiring permission from a border agent. You need proof he is a citizen though.

My advice would be to order a british passport here asap even if you need to delay your flights back.

**Jurls** · 29-12-2011, 01:02 AM

OP - is there someone locally to you who has known your wife for 2 years and can countersign the application and photograph for you? They must be a professionally qualified person such as a lawyer, engineer, doctor, schoolteacher, police officer or person of similar standing?

If you have someone who can do this, you should be able to get the paperwork completed and sent off fairly quickly. It's finding the person to countersign that can be tricky, depending on how long you've been here etc.

As the others have said, much better you get the babies passport first and then book the flights. Good luck.