Worth getting British passport for child with dual citizenship?

[Naomi from Manchester]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm wondering whether it would be prudent or pointless to get my child a British passport and keep renewing it so that it's always current. She was born in Australia to British parents and has an Australian passport.

 

I heard that I shouldn't assume that a child born outside the UK to British parents will always be able to get a British passport in the future, since eligibility criteria does change from time to time. (I understand that changes have been made in the not too distant past, but I'm confused about what these changes were exactly).

 

What are the advantages to keeping a British and Australian passport?

 

Thanks.

[Guest]

You absolutely should register for British citizenship for her but you don't need to get a passport or keep it up to date, unless you plan to visit the UK of course.

 

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/children-born-outside-uk

 

I have the same dilemma with my sons Australian passport - he will not lose his Australian citizenship if it lapses so is there any point in keeping it up to date? If he was to visit Australia he would need it (& it's likely he will visit) and a renewal is a much easier process than a fresh application several years down the line.

 

Rules on citizenship could change but once you are a citizen you are entitled to a passport and I cannot see that ever changing.

[Quoll]

I don't think you can register for British citizenship if you were born in Australia - you can, however, just get a passport for anyone born after 1983 (at least). If you are older than that, they recently removed the year of birth requirement for people with a UK born mother so there may be lots of older people who are actually entitled to apply (and that is through the registration process) for citizenship which would have been denied them before 2010 - my DH for example luckily fell into that group as his mother was Suffolk born but emigrated age 7 and he was born 1949.

 

Personally I would but that is just because I am a paranoid belt and braces kind of person and you never know when you might need it.

[ali]

You absolutely should register for British citizenship for her but you don't need to get a passport or keep it up to date, unless you plan to visit the UK of course.

 

https://www.gov.uk/register-british-citizen/children-born-outside-uk

 

I have the same dilemma with my sons Australian passport - he will not lose his Australian citizenship if it lapses so is there any point in keeping it up to date? If he was to visit Australia he would need it (& it's likely he will visit) and a renewal is a much easier process than a fresh application several years down the line.

 

Rules on citizenship could change but once you are a citizen you are entitled to a passport and I cannot see that ever changing.

 

Unless he reaches 18 then it's a whole new application. Like you (but the other way around), we've all let our British Passports lapse and have travelled on our Australia ones.

[Guest]

Unless he reaches 18 then it's a whole new application. Like you (but the other way around), we've all let our British Passports lapse and have travelled on our Australia ones.

 

Really? I didn't know that - actually that makes me less motivated to renew when it expires in 2 years as he is unlikely to travel before he is 18.

 

The pain for us is we have to go to London to even renew them and when you add the cost of the passport too it all seems a bit pointless! On the other hand I don't want 'having to get passports' a reason not to visit or take up work opportunities in the future - I have just turned down 12 days work in Melbourne, I wasn't free to do it but if I had been it could have been fun

[Bungo]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm wondering whether it would be prudent or pointless to get my child a British passport and keep renewing it so that it's always current. She was born in Australia to British parents and has an Australian passport.

 

I heard that I shouldn't assume that a child born outside the UK to British parents will always be able to get a British passport in the future, since eligibility criteria does change from time to time. (I understand that changes have been made in the not too distant past, but I'm confused about what these changes were exactly).

 

What are the advantages to keeping a British and Australian passport?

 

Thanks.

 

If you are intending to live in Australia for the foreseeable there are no advantages whatsoever in your young child having a British passport. She doesn't need it to travel to UK on, she always has the right to it in the future. For now it would probably just be an expensive for something that sits in the drawer until expiry.

[deryans]

Hi Everyone,

 

What are the advantages to keeping a British and Australian passport?

 

Thanks.

 

 

It's always useful to have as many passports as you can, my kids have both, I have three and my wife also has both.

 

In our current world, such as it it, brexit, Trump, Isis, aussie turn back the boats bernardi, I'd get as many valid travel documents as you can, if it's affordable of course.

[876taylormade]

Your children are citizens... having a passport is a decision only you can make given the circumstances. The following is from the guidelines given with the registration application form... So you do not need to register your child... But I suppose for peace of mind...

 

Automatic acquisition of British citizenship:

 

Children who have automatically acquired British citizenship do not need to be registered.

There are two ways a child can automatically be a British citizen without needing to register.

 

1. British citizenship otherwise than by descent A child born in the UK to parents one or both of whom are

 British citizens, or

 are settled in the UK at the time the child is born, or

 members of the UK armed forces

 

is automatically a British citizen otherwise than by descent and does not need to be registered.

 

 

A child born in a British overseas territory (see page 8) after 21 May 2002 will also be a British citizen if, at the time of the birth, either parent is a British citizen, or settled in the United Kingdom, or settled in that particular territory, or is a member of the UK armed forces.

[newjez]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm wondering whether it would be prudent or pointless to get my child a British passport and keep renewing it so that it's always current. She was born in Australia to British parents and has an Australian passport.

 

I heard that I shouldn't assume that a child born outside the UK to British parents will always be able to get a British passport in the future, since eligibility criteria does change from time to time. (I understand that changes have been made in the not too distant past, but I'm confused about what these changes were exactly).

 

What are the advantages to keeping a British and Australian passport?

 

Thanks.

it's just unnecessary expense and hassle.

[Wooba]

You never know when you might need it in a hurry. You might need/want to go somewhere last minute where you can get in visa free with you British passport. Brazil for example. Small fee for peace of mind imo.

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[warren&liz]

The pain for us is we have to go to London to even renew them

 

Why do you have to go to London?

Surely you can fill in the relevant forms and post them. We had our passports renewed from Oz by post, so why not Scotland.

[Naomi from Manchester]

Thank you All for sharing info and diverging opinions ... Hmmmm!

[Guest]

The pain for us is we have to go to London to even renew them

 

Why do you have to go to London?

Surely you can fill in the relevant forms and post them. We had our passports renewed from Oz by post, so why not Scotland.

 

I assume you mean your British passports? I am referring to our Australian ones which have to be renewed in person at Australia House - I am told they make occasional regional visits so we may be lucky.

 

http://uk.highcommission.gov.au/lhlh/Passports.html

[ali]

Really? I didn't know that - actually that makes me less motivated to renew when it expires in 2 years as he is unlikely to travel before he is 18.

 

The pain for us is we have to go to London to even renew them and when you add the cost of the passport too it all seems a bit pointless! On the other hand I don't want 'having to get passports' a reason not to visit or take up work opportunities in the future - I have just turned down 12 days work in Melbourne, I wasn't free to do it but if I had been it could have been fun

 

Yeah, had to renew the kids for our last trip to the US - my daughter had turned 18 so had to do an adult application for a new passport - couldn't just renew and them issue a 10 year one.

[Guest]

Yeah, had to renew the kids for our last trip to the US - my daughter had turned 18 so had to do an adult application for a new passport - couldn't just renew and them issue a 10 year one.

 

Well luckily there is a growing number of PIO members now settled in Scotland so I may be knocking on a few doors to get photos counter-signed!

[warren&liz]

I assume you mean your British passports? I am referring to our Australian ones which have to be renewed in person at Australia House - I am told they make occasional regional visits so we may be lucky.carry on to have to travel to London.

 

http://uk.highcommission.gov.au/lhlh/Passports.html

Seems awfully unfair you have to travel to London. When we had our medicals done when applying for Oz we had to go to London or Dublin. We are from Northern Ireland. Seems the powers that be don't realise the expense and hassle people have to go through simply because they don't live in the main city. Hope you get sorted.