Question about registering my daughters birth

[Silark 0]

Hello I have a 15 month old who is traveling back to the UK with my American wife. She was born in the US and holds a US passport. I would like to register her birth in the UK so she can take advantage of dual citizenship. Does anyone know how to go about doing this i.e. is it any different from registering any birth in the UK? Or is she even able to have dual citizenship? Does she have any rights as a child of a uk citizen? Is there a benefit to doing this?

Edited April 27, 2010 by Silark

[Lioncub4 4]

Hello I have a 15 month old who is traveling back to the UK with my American wife. She was born in the US and holds a US passport. I would like to register her birth in the UK so she can take advantage of dual citizenship. Does anyone know how to go about doing this i.e. is it any different from registering any birth in the UK? Or is she even able to have dual citizenship? Does she have any rights as a child of a uk citizen? Is there a benefit to doing this?

You are doing roughly what we are thinking of doing with our son - just that you are further down the road than us! This link is from the UK embassy in Washington regarding registering children born overseas to UK citizen(s).

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-usa/birth-registration/

Note the piece - "Although we welcome applications to register the birth of children born in the USA to British-born parents, you should be aware that this is not obligatory. A registration certificate is a useful document to help establish a child's British nationality, but it is perfectly acceptable to apply directly for a British passport, without first registering the birth."

I would advise to at least obtain a UK passport for your daughter before she is 18 years old. This would help show that she is a UK citizen (automatic through your nationality) and enable her to live and work anywhere in the EU. Of course, she will still need her US passport to re-enter the US.

[Silark 0]

Hmmm useful information. I didn't make this clear but we leave for England tomorrow and I am wondering if there is any benefit to me taking care of this whilst there if only to save some money. I know when I was applying for my passport the consulate in DC wanted a lot more than if I renewed the passport whilst in the UK. Thanks for the information though. Just out of interest as a uk citizen do you know whether you can also hold usa citizenship? Do you plan to apply for citizenship?

[Silark 0]

Also in case this is useful to you when the time comes:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=642700

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/children/britishcitizen/bornabroad/

[Lioncub4 4]

Also in case this is useful to you when the time comes:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=642700

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/children/britishcitizen/bornabroad/

I didn't realise your flights were so soon - I understand what you are trying to do now. I have never registered a birth in the UK before so cannot advise. Hopefully someone will help you more. As far as dual citizenship is concerned - this is from the same website I linked earlier:-

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/citizenship/

Dual Citizenship

Under present legislation the United Kingdom and the United States both recognise dual nationality, and, if you acquire UK citizenship, this does not affect your right to hold a US Passport.

I am taking this as read that as a UK citizen, if and when I obtain US citizenship (something which I intend going for) this will not affect my right to hold a UK passport.

Thanks for the links and have a safe journey over!

[Nicoxcx 1]

We are currently pregnant so have been looking into this alot. Keep in mind the USA does NOT recognise dual citizenship, they see you as either a US citizen or not. They won't take your passport from you but they won't recognize you as British if you choose dual citizenship they will only see you as a US Citizen.

I had my parents in Scotland call about dual citizenship and they were told that all we would have to do is register our babys birth at the registrar and then apply for a passport, I would imagine the british embassy in DC says you do not have to register the birth in the UK because they don't recognize dual citizenship anyway.