Apologies for the long post. I have gone through a number of documents on the gov.uk website but could not get good answers to a few items about the process.
We are having a surrogate child born outside the UK. The parents are British and the surrogate mother is single. I understand there are two routes to bring the child to the UK
- Right to Abode or certificate of entitlement
- Applying for the British Passport.
From what I read right abode should be faster than the British Passport route. Baby will first need to get a passport for the foreign country and then apply for the Certificate of entitlement with necessary documents.
Question 1) I understand that if the baby has a British Passport he/she cant apply for the certificate of entitlement. Does the prohibition apply the other way also? Can I apply for a British passport for the baby when the Certificate of Entitlement process is in progress ( or approved)? Does granting of the Certificate of Entitlement prevent the baby from getting British Passport in future.
Question 2) How is the passport application made. Is it made at the British Embassy or are the documents sent to HMPO in the UK. The online documentation is not very clear on this.
Question 3) One of the surrogacy guides mention the need to have a Consular Birth Certificate. Is this required? Some of the documents just refer to needing an official translation of the foreign Birth Certificate.