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AIBU?

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Original poster

.... to take a newborn to Australia?

38 replies

HeartofAss · 07/04/2022 21:09

I'm having a baby in the UK, and want to take the baby home to my family in Australia as soon as I possibly can after the birth.

I'm trying to figure out how soon after the birth I can realistically travel. Currently thinking around 4-6 weeks old.

This is my 3rd baby so I am feeling confident about the birth side of things. Obviously the unexpected can happen but I am happy to change my plans if need be.

I know I will need to get passport sorted but looks like with fast track service that can be done easily in the first month.

Biggest stumbling block I can think of is the 8 week vaccs. I'm hoping I can just get these done in Australia... Has anyone had experience of doing this (as a visitor baby, albeit with a mum who is an Australian citizen)?

Would love to hear if anyone's done similar -- especially regarding the vaccinations but also overall timings

OP posts:
VIPNanny · 07/04/2022 21:44

Will your baby get a UK passport rather than an Aussie one?

If your baby will get an Australian passport it can take quite a while and there is quite a few hoops to go through. Your baby will need to have their citizenship approved first which can take a few weeks in itself and then you will need to have that number before you can get to a passport appointment, passports for Australia currently take 6 weeks on average to get back to you currently after the appointment where I am at.

Gloschick · 07/04/2022 21:40

Can he not take his paternity leave later? Say 2 weeks straight after the birth then 6 weeks later on when you are all ready to travel?

givethatbabyaname · 07/04/2022 21:39

Hmmm. Can you ask your GP if the baby can have the 8wk shots earlier?

Have to say, the point of vaccinations is to protect. Not sure undertaking such a journey would further those ends. Its a risk:benefit thing.

User363957392727 · 07/04/2022 21:39

Baby was born in November 2021 - we couldn’t get an appointment to register her until January 2022, and that’s with booking it almost immediately after her birth. For the passport we had to send off the birth certificate so that may be a stumbling block

Original poster
HeartofAss · 07/04/2022 21:37

@thecapitalsunited

Baby needs to be registered before you can sort a passport and there’s all sorts of delays in some areas with registration. I booked to register my DDs birth the same day she was born and she wasn’t registered until she was three weeks old which is pretty quick compared to some areas right now. Getting the one week fast track will obviously depend on appointment availability.

I really wouldn’t book such an expensive flight until I had the passport in my hand just in case you have any delays in registering baby or getting an appointment for the passport.

All good considerations, thanks.

From what I can tell, you can book the passport appointment before the birth even happens. If baby was born today, the wait for a birth certificate appointment in my area is currently 6 days. So I am hoping that we can book it the day of the birth, get a birth certificate about a week later, and then do the passport appointment a few days after that. It's then 1 week turnaround. So, all in a month

OP posts:
Original poster
HeartofAss · 07/04/2022 21:35

@givethatbabyaname

If you’re thinking of going at 6wks, why not wait another fortnight for the 8wk shots and go after that?
Because I want to maximise the overlap with my partner's paternity leave. He gets a little over 2 months -- so if I wait 8 weeks we essentially can't do the trip at all
OP posts:
SummerInSun · 07/04/2022 21:35

What citizenship will your baby have? Because remember that if the baby is entering Australia on a British passport, you need a visa too, which you can't apply for until you have the passport, and apparently that's not the super quick process it used to be pre-covid.

To get an Aussie passport, you will need to register the birth, then get the U.K. passport, then get the baby's Australian citizenship by descent certificate, then apply for the Aussie passport. That all took about 6 months when I had my DS about 5 years ago. Admittedly I wasn't trying to rush it, though.

On vaccinations, ring whatever GP in Australia your family use and just ask about the vaccinations. What's the schedule and will they do it for babies with no Medicare number? (If that's still what it's called - I've been in the U.K. a long time!)

Original poster
HeartofAss · 07/04/2022 21:34

@LIZS

Can you fasttrack a first child's passport?
According to the passport page on UK gov, yes you can
OP posts:
Original poster
HeartofAss · 07/04/2022 21:33

@mrsmuddle2, That's great to hear. Did you get vaccinations done in the UK early, in NZ, or wait until you got back to UK?

OP posts:
givethatbabyaname · 07/04/2022 21:33

If you’re thinking of going at 6wks, why not wait another fortnight for the 8wk shots and go after that?

thecapitalsunited · 07/04/2022 21:23

Baby needs to be registered before you can sort a passport and there’s all sorts of delays in some areas with registration. I booked to register my DDs birth the same day she was born and she wasn’t registered until she was three weeks old which is pretty quick compared to some areas right now. Getting the one week fast track will obviously depend on appointment availability.

I really wouldn’t book such an expensive flight until I had the passport in my hand just in case you have any delays in registering baby or getting an appointment for the passport.

Mrsmuddle2 · 07/04/2022 21:21

We took our 6 week old new born to NZ. Was great. He was number 3 too so we were pretty relaxed. It was a great trip. Just make sure you book the bulk head seats for the flight so you get the cot. Have an awesome time

LIZS · 07/04/2022 21:11

Can you fasttrack a first child's passport?