# Baby born abroad to UK citizens



## kersme

Hi All,

I feel like the Gov.uk website sends me in circles, so I was wondering if anybody had any experience with obtaining a citizenship/passport for a newborn overseas.

I am a UK citizen by birth, and my wife is a naturalised UK citizen. She is due to give birth any day now, and we hope to go back to the UK as soon as it is practically possible.

My understanding is that citizenship will be 'automatically' passed down from the parents to the baby in our case, but how do we actually go about making this official and applying for a passport for the baby from overseas. I read something about registering the birth but surely a foreign birth certificate means nothing to UK authorities. I saw that the GOV.uk website allows you to start a passport application online but surely some proof of citizenship is required for a first passport?

If anybody could share their experience or useful links I would be very grateful.


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## Harry Moles

Start by looking at consular services through the British embassy web site in your country of residence.


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## Crawford

Would presume you would upload similar documents to that for applying by post:

If you apply by post, you must send:


2 new photos of your child
the child’s full birth or adoption certificate (the one with parent’s details on it)
proof that your child has British nationality (for example a British registration certificate, parent’s passport details or parent’s birth certificates)
any valid passports from a different country belonging to the child
any court orders relating to the child (for example, that describe parental responsibility or residency arrangements)


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## Kankan

If you wish, you can register your child's birth and get a British birth certificate via the Embassy / High Commission where the child was born.
This is equivalent to a UK birth certificate. It does normally take a few months though, as the embassy has to do its due diligence and checks, etc. And there is a fee.

You can get further details here (and reasons why it may beneficial to register an overseas birth at the embassy):





Register a birth abroad


Parents must register the birth in the country where the child was born - find out if you can also register the birth in the UK




www.gov.uk





And here:





Application to register an overseas birth


Application to register an overseas birth.




www.gov.uk





As it says on the website, and as per the posts above, you don't need to register an overseas birth to obtain a British passport for the child if it is eligible for one.


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