british passport for baby born in india

[joseprithvi]

We applied for British passport for our daughter on 26th August 2014 as both my wife and I hold a UK passport. The fee was deducted on 2nd of September. Needless to say we had submitted every document on earth you could possibly think of while making the application at the VFS Centre. We thought everything was going on track and will receive our passport in a maximum of 16 weeks. My wife received an email from HMPO on 10th of December asking for Indian passport of both parents and latest photographs (both of which were already sent as part of the application) Mind you that this email was originally sent on 10th of November to an incorrect email address and the person who sent it didn't bother to check whether the email bounced back. They sent the same email telling us that they haven't had a reply again on 10th of December but this this time it was sent to the correct address (of course we wouldn't have known about it otherwise) So clearly, they wasted a month's of our time due to their negligence.

I contacted my MP in the first week of Jan 2015 and requested him to make a representation as to why the application has taken longer than 16 weeks - to which he happily obliged. He sent a letter to the CEO of passport office requesting for a reply and the reply he received in his own words were "frustrating" as it was a standard reply saying they are doing routine security checks and they need to be sure any applicant is eligible for British passport before issuing the same. Every time I call the HMPO customer service it's a standard reply saying the application is still undergoing routine security checks. It's now been 23 weeks since we made the application and no light at the end of the tunnel yet. In the hindsight, I seriously regret taking a UK passport for my wife and should have stayed on Indian passport at least until after the baby was born and they arrived in the UK. In that case we had a choice to apply for Indian passport. So my advice to anyone planning to have the baby in India and applying for a British passport - it's definitely not worth the hassle.

Do you have OCI sticker in your British passport?

[joseprithvi]

We applied for British passport for our daughter on 26th August 2014 as both my wife and I hold a UK passport. The fee was deducted on 2nd of September. Needless to say we had submitted every document on earth you could possibly think of while making the application at the VFS Centre. We thought everything was going on track and will receive our passport in a maximum of 16 weeks. My wife received an email from HMPO on 10th of December asking for Indian passport of both parents and latest photographs (both of which were already sent as part of the application) Mind you that this email was originally sent on 10th of November to an incorrect email address and the person who sent it didn't bother to check whether the email bounced back. They sent the same email telling us that they haven't had a reply again on 10th of December but this this time it was sent to the correct address (of course we wouldn't have known about it otherwise) So clearly, they wasted a month's of our time due to their negligence.

I contacted my MP in the first week of Jan 2015 and requested him to make a representation as to why the application has taken longer than 16 weeks - to which he happily obliged. He sent a letter to the CEO of passport office requesting for a reply and the reply he received in his own words were "frustrating" as it was a standard reply saying they are doing routine security checks and they need to be sure any applicant is eligible for British passport before issuing the same. Every time I call the HMPO customer service it's a standard reply saying the application is still undergoing routine security checks. It's now been 23 weeks since we made the application and no light at the end of the tunnel yet. In the hindsight, I seriously regret taking a UK passport for my wife and should have stayed on Indian passport at least until after the baby was born and they arrived in the UK. In that case we had a choice to apply for Indian passport. So my advice to anyone planning to have the baby in India and applying for a British passport - it's definitely not worth the hassle.

Also what is the email ID from which you rec'd email?

[secret.simon]

@ILRTier1

If your child was born after you got BC, s/he is British by birth and therefore is ineligible for ILR. Your application will be declined.

What you can do is to apply for an Indian passport and then for a Certificate of Right of Adobe. Mind you, given that that is only given to British citizens, that may take as long as a British passport.

[joseprithvi]

@secret simon - the reason baby can apply for indian passport is because baby's mother has indian passport?

[secret.simon]

@Joseprithvi

Undeniably the baby can apply for an Indian passport through the mother. However, the baby cannot get ILR.

To enter the UK, the baby has two options.

a) Get a British passport. That automatically terminates the baby's Indian citizenship.

b) Get an Indian passport and a certificate to Right of Abode. That will allow the baby to have both full Indian and British citizenship. At 18 years, the child would need to elect which citizenship s/he wants to exercise.

[20shamat]

Hi All,
Have a similar query regards to obtaining Indian PP for my baby born in India.
I'm a BC and my wife is on ILR. When applied for Indian passport for my baby will the Indian passport authorities accept the application. Will they not reject on the basis that the baby is entitled for British PP.
I intend to apply for ROA and therefore the application for Indian PP.
Thanks

[dhanubs]

Hi Shamat

As long as one of the parents is Indian citizen it's sufficient for the baby to get Indian passport and once you have that you should be able to apply for ROA or ILR as per your choice.

[joseprithvi]

but before that get some clarification on when baby will be eligible to apply british citizenship..hope it;s not at the of 18 etc but where possible avoid applying BC for child from India as this is mental stress

[20shamat]

Thanks Dhanubs and Joseprithvi

In my opinion, the baby by default is already a British citizen since the father is BC & mother has ILR, therefore do not require either ILR or need to apply as British Citizen. Either I have to apply for British passport or get ROA on Indian PP. I have read the hassles in getting the British passport, it would also be good to know the story behind getting the ROA. Regards

[dhanubs]

Indian government cannot deny Indian passport as the mother is Indian just like how the UK can't deny British passport as the father is British. From what I know ROA takes pretty much the same time as passport. So if getting the baby back to the UK at the earliest is your concern, it might be quicker to get ILR on the basis of mother being Indian with ILR despite it being the expensive option.

[vinny]

ILR/ILE is not an appropriate option if they know that the applicant is British.

[joseprithvi]

British passport - As per HMPO at least 16 weeks but in real it is unclear. Response from liverpool HMPO will be like " application is currently going through routine standard security checks and therefore we cannot give a timescale for completion at present" - This kind of response is worst than response in 3rd world.
ROA - I read somewhere it's 6 months - If 16 weeks stretching to 6-8 months God knows how far 6 months timeframe will stretch to.

[secret.simon]

The UK, unlike the US, does not require a British citizen to enter the country with a British passport. You can enter using another passport. All you need to be able to do is to convince the immigration officer that you are a British citizen.

If push come to shove, the OP (I presume with a British passport) should be able to travel with their spouse (again, presumably with a valid UK visa or a British passport) and demonstrate that the child (probably on an Indian passport) was born after (with the birth certificate) the parents were naturalised and therefore is British by birth. This is going on a wing and a prayer and while not recommended, should work (I have no personal experience of this).

The fly in the ointment is that the airlines will likely not allow you to board the flight without documentation as they would be liable to fly you back for free if the immigration officer decides against you. Airport staff are not totally clued up on Home Office procedure. Not that I blame them. UKV&I phone support staff are not clued up about the advice that they give.