British Passport for Aussie born daughter?

[Guest Sereena]

Hi all

Wondering if anyone can help....

We have a 3mth old daughter, born here in Oz to two British Citizens here on a permanent residency visa. Now, as far as we understand it she should get automatic rights to getting a British Passport being that we are both British. Can anyone confirm this & also advise on how we would go about getting her a passport. I've been searching on the internet, but it's a total mine-field & I'm getting thoroughly confused by all the rules & regulations! I'm hoping there is someone out there who has had the same issue & got their Aussie born child a British passport.....help!

Thanks

[Quoll]

Download and fill in form C2 as far as I know - and send off all the documents they require. It should be straightforward as long as you are British by birth. Passports these days have to go through Australia Post and you have to make an appointment. http://www.travisa.com/UK/c2new.pdf That's from a Hong Kong site but I think the form is generic.

[Guest chloew]

A friend of mine in the same situation found it easier to get the UK passport than the Aussie one. The UK is not as strict with the photos for babies!

[Quinkla]

I knew someone once who was Australian born but had a British mother; she had an Aussie passport with a full page sticker in it to conform British citizenship. I don't know what the story is for getting that or even whether it is still available but it might be easier and cheaper than having two passports.

[Guest NeilEB]

From the British Gov website:

 

Eligibility for a British passport through your mother, partner or where you live : Directgov - Travel and transport

 

At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK.

 

At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK.

[Quinkla]

From the British Gov website:

 

Eligibility for a British passport through your mother, partner or where you live : Directgov - Travel and transport

 

At present, only children born on or after 1 January 1983 can automatically be British solely because of their mother's birth in the UK.

The person I knew would qualify under this. My own search turned up a "right of abode" label which costs £230. I think this is more than a UK passport and if so, it is probably not a good investment.

[Guest NeilEB]

More info - no idea if this helps you or not:

 

Applying for a first child passport

 

To apply for a first five-year child passport your child must be under 16 and one of the following:

 

• a British citizen
  
• a British overseas territories citizen
  
• a British overseas citizen
  

The rules can be complicated. There is more detailed information in 'Nationality groups who are eligible for a British passport'. You can also contact your Regional Passport Office or call the IPS Passport Adviceline 0300 222 0000 for help.

 

Non-UK residents and those temporarily outside the UK

If you do not live in the UK, you can apply in person for a passport for your child while visiting the UK.

IPS cannot accept applications sent from overseas. If you would like to apply for or renew your child’s British Passport while outside the UK, you should contact your local embassy, high commission or consulate.

[2tigers]

Yes, no problem. I got my child a uk passport, born in au, I'm British. Dead easy, only issue is getting someone proffessional to countersigning the photo, maybe your dr could do it. Got the passport really quickly too. Only needs mothers signature.

[Guest Skippyplus6]

I was born in Australia to British parents and my son was born in Oz. His dad is also British and we had no trouble getting him a British passport, so it therefore should be easy for you.

[Guest Sereena]

Thanks to everyone....2tigers - was it literally just as easy as downloading & filling in form C2 as mentioned by Quoll?

Thanks again

[Quoll]

Thanks to everyone....2tigers - was it literally just as easy as downloading & filling in form C2 as mentioned by Quoll?

Thanks again

 

I was going to get one for my granddaughter and that was all they told us to do except we had duff advice in the first place because my son was by descent (he was born 1981 so had been registered as British but wasnt born there, unlike his brother) - otherwise it would have been just fill in C2 and provide your evidence. It really isnt complicated. Getting the photo can be the trickiest bit but there are specialist photographers who will get a UK size photo for you - dont get them done at Australia Post but ask around at specialist camera shops who say they do passport photos - they usually have the requirements. I cant find the site that actually lists photographers who will do them for you in Aus.

[pommekate]

I know that before 1983 you could not aquire british citizenship through your mothers citizenship, only the fathers. I think they then realised that this was sexual discrimination so that is why it says since 1983 you can aquire british citizenship through your mothers, but only if you were born after 1983. It is easy to get a british passport, also register the birth with the british consulate, it is not compulsory but even easier to get a passport. You can get a right to abode stamp in your childs aussie passport, or just get a british passport. When my eldest son was 10 months old we flew back to the uk for a holiday and he only had an aussie passport then, Although I was travelling on a british passport I had a to go through the international immigration line which was ages after a long journey. The immigration officer said get him a british passport that will make life so much easier for.

It is also worth thinking about, if (god forbid) anything was to happen to you or your husband, and you wanted family in the uk to take care of your daughter, it makes things so much easier having a british passport. I just googled the british embasy in australia, got the website, downloaded the forms completed them and sent them off. If you can get them countersigned by a british national in australia (who fits the criteria) as that makes the process a little quicker, it can be an aussie of similar standing but takes a little longer to do the checks.

[Quoll]

I know that before 1983 you could not aquire british citizenship through your mothers citizenship, only the fathers. I think they then realised that this was sexual discrimination so that is why it says since 1983 you can aquire british citizenship through your mothers, but only if you were born after 1983. It is easy to get a british passport, also register the birth with the british consulate, it is not compulsory but even easier to get a passport. You can get a right to abode stamp in your childs aussie passport, or just get a british passport. When my eldest son was 10 months old we flew back to the uk for a holiday and he only had an aussie passport then, Although I was travelling on a british passport I had a to go through the international immigration line which was ages after a long journey. The immigration officer said get him a british passport that will make life so much easier for.

It is also worth thinking about, if (god forbid) anything was to happen to you or your husband, and you wanted family in the uk to take care of your daughter, it makes things so much easier having a british passport. I just googled the british embasy in australia, got the website, downloaded the forms completed them and sent them off. If you can get them countersigned by a british national in australia (who fits the criteria) as that makes the process a little quicker, it can be an aussie of similar standing but takes a little longer to do the checks.

 

Actually there was a hiatus period in which kids born before 1983 could get descent through their mother - my 1981 born son had it from the get go - he had been registered at the BHC here and I travelled with him as British when he was 12 weeks old. However, I believe that the rules were changed again earlier this year and I believe my 61 year old husband is eligible for a passport as his mother is British born. We will be trying it shortly as it makes life so much easier.

[scousers]

Yes , we also did this for our daughter, no problems just make sure the photo's are the right size, as they are a differant size to the Aussie ones.

[Guest Shihabudheen Helpline]

Download and fill in form C2 as far as I know - and send off all the documents they require. It should be straightforward as long as you are British by birth. Passports these days have to go through Australia Post and you have to make an appointment. http://www.visitingvisatoqatar.com That's from a Hong Kong site but I think the form is generic.

[tisme]

Download and fill in the form, book an appointment at a Post Office that handles the UK applications, not all do. Make sure you take in all paperwork to back your claim for the passport. As previously mentioned make sure you get the right size photo's the UK ones are a slightly different size. It is dead easy, I got one for my son and had it within 3 weeks even though they said it could take up to six weeks. All paperwork is sent to NZ for processing.

[Lisa&Martin]

The information about filling in the C2 is correct, from memory the paperwork doesn't go to the UK and back, it only goes as far as New Zealand (the address will be given on the forms) so it may not take as long to get back to you as you'd think. The only hiccup I found is that the form asks for specific documents and ID for parents and baby, but when you get to your appointment with Australia Post they have a checklist that they have to go through and their list is slightly different, if you don't satisfy their list you get rejected and you've wasted a visit. I can't remember what the differences were, I'm afraid, I have a suspicion that it was something about taking both the parents passports AND birth certificates, I think form C2 only asks for one or other. So take more ID than you think.

The Australia Post website has a page which lists which POs deal with the passport applications.

[Parley]

This was a very old thread. They probably sorted it out long ago.