Help - baby born in US, British parents, moving back to UK in 3 weeks

[Gkirton82]

So my husband and I are in the US on work/spousal visa. We are both British citizens. We had a baby in July and she has a US passport. We are now moving back to UK, flying on 12th October. I'm now panicking that baby won't be allowed to stay in UK without a visa or something. I naively thought that because her parents are British it wouldn't be a problem. Please advise!! It's not clear to me on the UK Border Agency website what will happen.
Thank you.

She needs a British passport. You need to ring your nearest Consulate or Embassy ASAP.

I have seen signs up when at A&E recently stating a child like your would have to pay. I am sure that once you register with a GP etc all should be ok.

This happened to friends of ours. She is entitled to stay in the UK for 6 months as a tourist. But if you tell them at customs you're moving back they will know she's going to be staying with you!
With my friend they let them through and said to register their son ASAP which they did with no problems.

When we registered our US born baby as a British citizen with the Consulate in Washington it only took two weeks.

Just get a British passport pronto, otherwise it's likely the airline can deny boarding, if they think you're likely to have trouble the other end.

There is no need to register the birth with the consulate, it might actually slow down the issue of a passport which is now done in the UK and posted back to the US. There is unfortunately a high chance 3 weeks will not be enough time to get back the passport.

You need full birth certificates for both parents at a minimum. Print off all the application instructions and read it all.

And if your baby has a US passport, well travel on that instead, but you'll need complete proof you are the parents. The British passport can be sorted out once in the UK and child will be treated as a visitor to the UK until such time as you sort it out, but you'll get a bit of a ticking off probably for doing it like this if you're moving permanently, if off on holiday to the UK, different matter, no obligation for British citizens who are dual nationals to use UK passport on entry to the UK, although highly desirable to do so.

Whatever, baby needs a passport.

If she has no visa, then you might get problems at boarding (unlikely) but you could get admin problems later when you have to sort out her immigration status in the UK.

What nationality do you want her to have? She is entitled to be recognised as British, and if you want her hold the documents which prove this (like passport) then you may as well do it at the Consulate now. And I bet they're easier to deal with than UKBA.

Call the Consulate.
Tell them your travel date
Request advice on best way forward, as I think it highly unlikely you will be able to apply for a Passport via the UK offices, and have it returned to the US in time to travel.

The airline do have the right to deny boarding if they believe there will be an issue with entry at the destination, so I would not recommend just crossing your fingers and hoping it will be OK.

I don't know about getting onto the flight but what I do know is that provided at least one of the parents was born in the UK your child is a British citizen (if that's what you're worrying about).

I don't believe (but you should check this with a lawyer) that she will be required to choose between British and US citizenship since she is in a position where she automatically acquires these two citizenships from birth - the conditions that you may not hold two citizenships generally apply to naturalised citizens, ie. people who voluntarily acquire a second citizenship during their lives.

Thank you. What would happen if we just say we are visiting my family? Will they demand to see proof of a return flight? Can we then sort it out in the UK and say we decided to stay? Thanks.
I'm desperate to go home because have been in hell with my mother in law who has made our lives a misery.

Try and ensure she has the opportunity to keep dual citizenship - my DH could have been born in the US but MIL rushed home to give birth & give him 'British citizenship' - he has never forgiven her for that . It will enable her to have wider options later on in life - I know that sounds a long way away now.

British nationality is a bit more complicated than some posters are implying. If your child is born British and US national, well that's it.

Anyone who is a British citizen who has no passport but is in the UK, visiting or otherwise, can apply for a British passport whist there, just need to be there officially during the process. All British passports are now issued in the UK anyway, even if applied for from abroad.

What is most important is that the baby has a passport proving a nationality and that nationality does not require a visa for the UK, assuming the baby is US nationality and British (no obligatory visa), without more detailed info, wouldn't be able to say.

I also think that you should talk to the British consulate and ask how to proceed. If you register the birth with the consulate then they should provide you with a certificate of registration of an overseas birth (basically a birth certificate for an overseas birth) which will specify that your child is a British citizen under the 1981 British nationality act. In your position I would ask the consulate whether that document (together with the American passport) will be sufficient for UKBA and how fast you can get it. You may need to spend money on getting documents very fast (eg your own birth certificate) but in my experience these things can often be speeded up if it's an emergency. I don't know if this might work but it's worth a try...

If a certificate of registration can't be provided in time, I would ask the consulate if the following documents :

your baby's American passport (as proof of identity) and
your birth certificate, the baby's birth certificate and your passport

will be sufficient for UKBA. They might be.

I definitely wouldn't try to fudge it.