Adoption orders and getting a passport?? Anyone's experience and timelines

[Aammgg123]

We have our adoption hearing on 26th March. We were not able to obtain a passport as birth mother was not a British citizen. Passport office says we need adoption order to be able to apply on our adopted daughters behalf.

Does anyone have any experience of this. As we have travel plans for 2 weeks after the adoption hearing. However I have read it takes up to 4 weeks for the order to be registered and then 1 week (priority) to order a new birth certificate. Plus an additional week to get fast track passport.

My questions are:

1. has anyone done this?
2. do you need the birth certificate or will passport office accept the adoption order from the court on the day?
3. what has been your timeline and the quickest you have been able to do it?

Any help or advice will be greatly welcomed..

Thank you!!!!

Adoption certificate replaces birth certificate but I think 2 weeks is cutting it fine and possibly unrealistic for travelling.
One time for renewal a teenage child was called in for a interviews ( don't know if they still do that) and no passports were sent for any of the children until the interview was conducted.
Had to renew last year and took less then 2 weeks but if your is a brand new one not sure of time scales.

We had a similar situation. I cannot remember the exact time frames, but I do remember that we needed a long adoption certificate for the passport (first British passport for my child). At the time, we contacted the court or whoever issued the long certificate and they were incredibly helpful. They put an "urgent" stamp on the application, so we got it in a few days.

So, I have spoken to the Passport office. They said that an adoption order is fine and that the adoption certificate isn't necessary. However, does anyone know how long it took to get the adoption order? Is that a separate document they give at the end of the court hearing?

Are you sure they have given you the correct information at the passport office -
you’d be surprised how ill informed most of the public sector are about adoption. We’ve received the adoption order in the last couple of months and there is an attached FAQ from the passport office where it states you need the full certificate for a passport application. It’s similar to the below link - if I can get it to work.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5cd56058e5274a3fda50df22/Note_for_parents_Mar_2019__4_.pdf

That's exactly what I was thinking.. so I called 3 times and spoke to 3 different people.. haha! Didn't want to risk it.. but still I'm only half convinced.

There was another post i read somewhere that another family was doing it and the judge said to them the adoption order would be fine If they need it in a rush. They still waited for their AC so I guess they never found out if it worked.

I'm going to email and do the Web chat tomorrow with the passport office, just to add to my peace of mind..

We needed the full adoption cert for both of our children to be issued British passports. We did send our daughters adoption order, they disposed of it as it wasn’t required.

This is the official governmental information. "You must send your child’s adoption certificate showing the British parent’s details." Only the long adoption certificate names the parents.

source: https://www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/adopted-fostered-children

We did it many years ago, so in theory rulres could have changed, but it doesn't look like they have.

Yep, I verified it once again in writing from the passport office. The Adoption Order can be used if the certificate is not available. Fingers Crossed it should work!

I will write up a full summary on what happens to us and everything we went through just so other parents will have the real 'truth' about the process, because if it doesnt work, other people may be told the same info by the passport office.. and well it would be wrong!

Im still trying to get a straight answer on the Adoption Order paperwork.. and how long that comes through - if we go to the hearing can we get it on the same day?

We're also applying for a passport for my son's first adult passport who was adopted by my husband, a British citizen. They refused his passport and asked him to apply for naturalisation instead. The process took so long because of availability of the courts. The adoption order was granted after my son turned 18. According to the government website, if the person is adopted in a UK court by a British citizen, they become a British citizen. Has anyone else had any experience similar to ours? Thank you.

@Aammgg123 I think our adoption order paperwork took about 3-4 weeks to come to us through the post, then the certificates came a month or so after that if memory serves correctly. I suppose you could call the court and check whether they would print it out and post immediately given the circumstances. It is literally just a printed bit of paper, although we couldn't really use it for much, everything had to be the adoption certificate, which did take longer.

Also, dumb question, but I'm assuming you know for sure there will absolutely be no delays, no turning up at court of BPs etc? Don't feel you have to answer, but if there is even a vague possibility I would be cautious.

It also depends on where you are travelling- if it is to Ireland and you are going by ferry, you might not have as much of an issue due to the freedom of movement, flying or going to the continent may be significantly different. I assume she already has a passport generally if you have booked to go away so soon after the adoption hearing, I wonder whether she could use that one? Might be risky though, and depending on the age it could get complicated.

I must admit, 2 weeks to try and get paperwork through not one but two notoriously slow British institutions seems ambitious, especially because nobody knows what adoption entails it seems, but I'm rooting for you! Please do keep us updated.

AAMMGG123 - I just came across this post and was wondering if you could share your experience. We are in a similar situation, where we are waiting for court hearings and we would like to travel this summer, but not sure if we will have passports in time for our children. Was the adoption order enough for your or did you need the adoption certificate? Thanks for your help!

The adoption order is acceptable as long as it's made by an UK court and the examiner has no concerns. I suggest bringing printed evidence of the guidelines as not a everyone at the passport office is fully aware.

We applied a few months ago and they also asked us for a letter from nursery or GP stating the child was physically in the UK based on recent immigration guidelines. I suggest attaching the letter to the application if you want to reduce delays.

Pages 24-25:
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66b4d4690808eaf43b50df2d/Adoptions+v8.0+for+GOV.UK+publication.pdf

Thanks! and at this point will their birth certificates need to be also updated with their new family names? Meaning, can we book a fast-track appointment a week after or so after receiving the adoption order, with their current birth certificates?

Regarding the letter from nursery / GP, do these follow a standard format?

Thanks again for your guidance

Original birth certificate won't change. You will later on request the Adoption certificate from the GRO which replaces birth certificate.

We booked a fast track appointment in the afternoon of the same day we had the court hearing. That's because we agreed with the court beforehand that they would have handed us a printed order on the same day due to travel urgency. I would check with court the timing needed to receive the court order. You can reschedule the fast track appointment for free at least 24h before the appointment.

No particular format for the GP/Nursery letter. They advised the name on the letter should be the new name, but not sure how strict this is.

In summary we successfully went to the fast track appointment with:

• Birth certificate (with birth surname)
• Printed adoption order (no worries if it's not signed/stamped)
• Your British passport as adoptive parent
• Letter from GP/Nursery
• Printed guidelines

Passport arrived by post 4 days later.

Thank you so much this is very helpful. fingers crossed we will get some information around our court hearing. The social workers have been saying last few court hearings had took as long as six months which was much longer than what we had heard from other adoptive parents or seen online...

Again, super helpful guidance!

@Wilber13 We are currently experiencing a similar situation. I am just wondering how your family solved the situation. Hope you had a smooth process.

@fredlondon - Quick question we are coming up against. One of the requirements to get a passport is that there needs to be someone that can confirm the identity of the children, and ours, for more than two years. However this doesn't make much sense as the only common person between us and the children might be the Local Authority, and they haven't known us for more than two years... Did you face this? and what did you do? Thanks for your help.

I don’t remember that, just someone that could confirm DS identity and a teacher at his nursery did it as he’d been going there for a term by then.

@ForRubyCat that's a standard requirement for any new passport applications. We've asked a couple of friends and they were ok to confirm the identity as they know us since a long time, and also new the child from the date of placement.

If I'm not mistaken, they need to know YOU from at least 2 years, not the child.

"Your countersignatory must: have known you (or the adult who signed the form if the passport is for a child under 16) for at least 2 years"

www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications

Thanks @ForRubyCat - A person on the HMPO line confused everything, saying that they needed to know both us (parents) and children. I called again and talked to a much more helpful lady that confirmed that it was only us, so I do have now asked a friend to confirm as they have know us for longer.

Yes it’s you they need to know, otherwise children in the UK wouldn’t be allowed a passport until their second birthday.