Passport office wanting GREAT Grandmother’s birth certificate

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(edited by MNHQ at request of OP)
I’m trying to get a passport for my granddaughter. She lives with me permanently. I’ve had an email asking for MY mothers birth certificate because I was born after 01/01/1983 so my not automatically be a British citizen. My mum is abroad on an extended boomer retirement holiday and her house is 120 miles away. Sending off for a copy would take 15 working days and I fly in 4 weeks…

Has anyone heard of such batshittery before? I never had to send my mums birth certificate when I got my own kids passports!

AIBU to think that this is insane and this passport officer is clearly bonkers?

Can't you order from www.gro.gov.uk or ring the register office for where she was born for a copy?

I recently did a passport application for my mother (who is 80) and had to send details from her parents marriage certificate as proof of eligibility. It does seem like massive overkill. You can get replacement certificates from the GRO for a fairly small fee, I think it was £10 to get the one I needed. Might save a bit of time if your mum is away for a long while.

Also is it worth ringing them in case they have got confused and think you are the mother?

I sent an email for a copy of a birth certificate and they emailed a copy back within days.

Has your granddaughter not already got a birth certificate?

This. Clearly great parents don't prove nationality, parents, and in some circumstances grandparents do. Presumably you sent your own birth cert rather than her mother's.

The rule about pre 1983 is about citizenship rules, and whether the children are automatically entitled to a British passport or not. I regularly apply for passports in relation to work (I work with children who don't live with their parents) and it's a pain, but it's been the case for a long time!

Did you send her mother's birth certificate? Does her mother have a passport or are you not in contact? It should be her mother's birth certificate and your details they would need I would have thought

The onus is on the applicant to prove they are a citizen for the purposes of obtaining a passport. The home office guidance for passport applications can show what you need to provide.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/british-citizenship-caseworker-guidance/british-citizenship-accessible#customers-born-in-the-uk-or-qualifying-dependent-territory

I think you can get an accelerated service to get the birth cert but it’s expensive. It may be worth it in your circumstances though.

You could also try and check free bmd to see where the great grandmother's birth cert is held:

https://www.freebmd.org.uk/

I think the passport office have got confused. Its the mother's birth certificate and passport number that would normally show if British citizenship can pass to the child. They would then look to you if those details are missing or insufficient. I'm assuming you have a British passport?

You’ll be fine op if you do the fast track appointment, which unfortunately costs a lot more. We just got dd her first adult passport (which is the same process as a first child’s passport). Appointment 2 days ago, the passport arrived this morning.

To add to my post above, I would double check what the passport office needs, the first time I called them, they gave me incorrect information.

If she was born in England or Wales, there's a priority service which costs £38.50 if ordered online, certs are sent by 1st class post on the next working day. www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/faq.asp

The GRO has an index on the site which you can use to find the details needed.

So you are the grandmother trying to get a passport for your granddaughter? If that's correct that's why they're asking for your mother's nationality details( her grandmother).

If you were her mother, they would be asking for grandparents details(yours) to decide whether she's a British citizen or not.

Maybe the passport office is confused and thinks you are the mother.

Could either of the parents not apply?

(* Great grandmother)

But it's about grandparents, not great-grandparents, right?

This is bonkers, but very British.

I’m sure you’ve triple checked this. But do they definitely mean your mothers cert and not that they’ve got it confused and are emailing you but intending the read recipient to be your granddaughter so are asking for her mothers cert?

Thanks. I had never heard of freebie. I think it will be very useful

Contact the passport office - if you have a UK passport, presumably that proves your citizenship and they will be able to check this.
We had a similar nonsensical request for additional documentation - wanred grandfather's parents birth certificate and marriage certificate (they were long dead). Turned out there had been an error at their end when loading the information. Person we spoke to was very helpful and passport was received within the week.

It's not batshittery. It's because having a UK birth certificate doesn't imply you have British citizenship. One of the parents need to be a British citizen and having a passport is proof of that. Alternative proof is birth certificates of ancestors dating back to before 1983.

If the Op has a passport that is her proof of British citizenship. We don't know whether her daughter has a passport or not.

Yes but citizenship by descent is not "worth" as much as citizenship by birth and don't confer the same rights to children. The passport doesn't reflect that. My DCs were born in the UK and I wasn't, I had to show a ridiculous amount of documents to get them british passports.