British passport for British citizen child born in India

[hemachandra]

@Darsh24
Thanks for providing details of your interview. Update us once your passport is received. Many thanks.

[darsh24]

@Darsh24
Thanks for providing details of your interview. Update us once your passport is received. Many thanks.

My son's passport has come. I have to collect it from VFS

Now exit permit...

[reddy009]

Congrats, how many weeks its been?

I am on 24th week now..no response yet!

[darsh24]

Congrats, how many weeks its been?

I am on 24th week now..no response yet!

I applied on 28th oct.
When did you apply?

[reddy009]

i applied on 19th of Nov

[H_manatee]

An update from me (the original poster ). Apologies for not keeping in touch.

Finally there is good news from my side - today my wife collected our daughter's passport from the Bangalore VFS office i.e. nearly after 250 days - more than 8 months.

Since my last post - There wasn't any update until mid March (where as we had applied on 28.08.2014). Our couple of follow up emails prior to that only resulted in their standard reply saying the application is "under process" and is currently undergoing "global security checks". So in mid-march VFS emailed my wife asking for more scanned photographs showing the pregnancy. She emailed a couple of them she had taken previously. And then on 1st of April they asked for a personal interview of my wife (they did not insist on bringing the baby to the interview though my wife did).

The interview at VFS Bangalore was more of a con-call between someone from British embassy in Delhi, VFS staff and my wife. They asked all the routine questions they normally ask for passport interview.... mainly about the mother, not the baby - question about her UK employment, how she got British citizenship, husband's details etc. At the end of the interview they asked her to wait for another 5-6 weeks to hear back from them.

So yesterday we received an email from VFS to collect the passport and my wife collected it today.

PS. They did not contact the counter-signatory at all.

[darsh24]

An update from me ............
PS. They did not contact the counter-signatory at all.

H_manatee
Will you be applying for exit permit now or OCI?

Is there anything else to be done ? eg registration, British style birth certificate etc. or all that can be done in UK?

I will get exit permit and go back to UK as I have to resume work. Then apply for son's OCI from UK.

[H_manatee]

An update from me ............
PS. They did not contact the counter-signatory at all.

H_manatee
Will you be applying for exit permit now or OCI?

Is there anything else to be done ? eg registration, British style birth certificate etc. or all that can be done in UK?

I will get exit permit and go back to UK as I have to resume work. Then apply for son's OCI from UK.

Not decided anything as yet but inclined to apply for OCI from FRRO in Bangalore. May take a couple of months. If that's a dead end, then we will apply once the baby arrives in the UK.
Exit visa should be half day affair in Bangalore just before boarding the flight.
As regards the UK birth registration, we will apply for it. That should be an easy process as most of it can be done online.

[hemachandra]

Congratulations @Darsh24 and @H_manatee, we have applied on 29th of October and been waiting.
We hope we will hear soon.

@H_manatee, has your child born in India or UK??
You have mentioned about registering your child in UK.

Thanks.

[H_manatee]

Congratulations @Darsh24 and @H_manatee, we have applied on 29th of October and been waiting.
We hope we will hear soon.

@H_manatee, has your child born in India or UK??
You have mentioned about registering your child in UK.

Thanks.

No the baby was born in India. But as far as I have heard even though not mandatory but it's nice to have the UK birth registration certificate for the baby.

[darsh24]

Congratulations @Darsh24 and @H_manatee, we have applied on 29th of October and been waiting.
We hope we will hear soon.

@H_manatee, has your child born in India or UK??
You have mentioned about registering your child in UK.

Thanks.

No the baby was born in India. But as far as I have heard even though not mandatory but it's nice to have the UK birth registration certificate for the baby.

H_manatee,
Is registration online process? I meant british style birth certificate.
I read that need to send passport and other docs to British high commission India.
https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth/y/i ... me_country

Can you please let me know the details please.

[H_manatee]

Congratulations @Darsh24 and @H_manatee, we have applied on 29th of October and been waiting.
We hope we will hear soon.

@H_manatee, has your child born in India or UK??
You have mentioned about registering your child in UK.

Thanks.

No the baby was born in India. But as far as I have heard even though not mandatory but it's nice to have the UK birth registration certificate for the baby.

H_manatee,
Is registration online process? I meant british style birth certificate.
I read that need to send passport and other docs to British high commission India.
https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth/y/i ... me_country

Can you please let me know the details please.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... seas-birth
https://www.gov.uk/register-a-birth

Even if the baby was born in India, once you get the British passport for the baby you can easily register the overseas birth from within UK itself. It should't take more than 5 working days if the baby already has the British passport. I don't really think the baby has to be in the UK during this process. This works out well for those cases where the mother and the baby are in India while the father is in the UK as he can apply for it himself. They don't need the original passport of the baby for this purpose.

Most of the process is online (payment etc.) after which you will need to send the documents and application by post.

Again, this information is based on what I have read on gov.uk website. Once I do it I shall share it with you. It may take another month for me to get hold of all the required documents after which I plan to apply.

[darsh24]

@H_manatee
Thank you very much. That should be easy then.

[sojan]

Guys, great news for you and thanks for the updates..
Me also waiting for passport.. almost 5 months now .. So still have hope

[hemachandra]

Timeline:
############
Applied for first child passport on 29th October 2014 at chennai VFS.
Payment was debited on 3rd November 2014.

Received call followed by email confirming interview on 2nd of June 2015 at Chennai. According to the person called few officials were coming from London for this purpose.

One of my friend also received call and his interview is scheduled for 4th of June 2015.
It seems they are trying to sort the backlog - finally

Regards,
Hemachandra

[hemachandra]

http://www.indiamike.com/india/for-citi ... ost1889865

[H_manatee]

OCI update: - Applying from within India through FRRO

Since my last post, we recently contacted Bangalore FRRO in connection with applying for OCI for my daughter. We were told we would need to apply for a visit visa ("New Visa") first.

Visit visa:

This is a 2-step process - First you need to apply through their website online. Print out the form and then book an appointment on the same website (I think they still allow people at FRRO without an appointment as long as you have the printed form though I am not too sure. It's always safe to have one appointment in hand. You can get the nearest date possible, so nothing to worry).

On the appointment day, along with the application form and all the supporting documents (the site has the check list -it's much simpler than OCI), go to the FRRO (In Bangalore it's near Wilson Garden/Shanti Nagar in the BMTC complex, 5th floor). The staff are courteous (which is a surprise!). You will be given a token at the reception. You wait for your turn. The whole process once started, takes about 2 hours and you will get the visa stamped by then. You can pay by Debit card (we were charged nearly Rs.7000 for the visa fee + $30 for the late penalty). My daughter was granted 1 year visa from the date of issue of the passport.

Note: While applying online (i.e. the first part of visit visa application process) you need to upload scanned copies of all the required documents. The documents should be less than some upper limit and it's a challenge to get them right. You have various websites where you can merge and compress PDF files but I nearly lost my cool in the process. It's a rickety system they have in place.

Uploading of the thumbnail photo of the applicant (the baby) is another challenge where you not only have to get the size right, you should also get the dimension right. Slightly over the limit and the website rejects it. I had to go through several tries and couple of times the session expired and I had to redo the whole thing again.(I would like to go out with the person who designed that website on a pub-crawl one day.)

Along with the other documents (British passports of parents and the baby + OCI of parents + birth certificate, India residence proof etc.), always take the old Indian passport of both the parents (revoked) with you as they help immensely with the application. I also carried a letter from my father in law as a supporting document for the residence proof for my wife as she was staying with my in laws during maternity.

Overall, it's a hassle-free process to obtain visit visa for the baby.

Note: Along with the visit visa stamp on the passport, they also issue a visit visa letter which I am told need to be handed over to the emigration officer the first time the baby exits India.

OCI:

On the same day of applying for the visit visa, I visited the OCI counter. There is a really helpful lady. She gave me a checklist of all the documents needed as part of the OCI application.

You will still need to apply through their online portal and take 2 printouts.

For submission,

You need to prepare 2 sets of documents (i.e. 2 whole applications + document sets) including the photocopy of the Rs.15000 DD. You also need to carry all the originals with you. After verification they will return them back to you. Monochrome photocopies will do though the content should be clearly visible else they will reject them. When it comes to passport copies, only the identity + OCI visa pages should suffice. And also the page showing arrival stamp on mother's passport to prove she entered India from abroad on such a date.

I did not have a couple of documents with me - 1) Local residence utility bill (in Bangalore). They asked me to email a copy to their address. While emailing, you need to quote the OCI application reference on the subject line.

2). Marriage certificate: I had the copies with me but not the original. They asked me to arrange for some one to produce it. My wife will visit FRRO to do it soon.

Note: The lack of above documents does not delay your application. It will be progressed until they can't continue. The processing starts on the day of the application. They have an SLA of 45 days (if I am not wrong).

The other documents (along with the 2 copies I had with me) were:

1. Mother's Indian passport surrender certificate (it's a must). I did not have mine with me but they said it was ok.
2. Father's and mother's old Indian cancelled passports
3. marriage certificate
4. Rs.15000 DD along with one photocopy.
5. Baby's 51mm x51mm photograph taken against light background.
6. India utility bills (private ones such as Airtel bill, HDFC, ICICI etc. won't do).
7. Letter from the owner of the residence where the mother and the baby reside (in our case my wife's parents) stating she and the baby were living with them throughout the maternity
8. Parents' OCI
9. Parents' British passport with the OCI visa page + mother's arrival stamp page.
10. An affidavit stating you are not Pakistani or Bangaldeshi citizen or ancestry. They will give template. You need to go to a notary to get it attested after affixing Rs.20 court stamp.
11. Baby's local birth certificate
12. Baby's visit visa document

Can't think of anything else, but if something comes to me I will update this section.

As baby can not sign (I don't know about yours but mine flatly refused),we had to apply the left hand thumb impression on both the application forms (just below the photograph). It looked cute but we had to wait until the baby was asleep to do it. Ended up wasting 2 application forms.

Mother should sign at the guardian's section of the application form (not at the applicants signature section).

All the photocopies will need to be self attested with the text "self-attested" followed by signature, name and date. My wife did the self attestation as she was the main applicant.

Neither the baby nor the mother need to be at the FRRO for applying either the visit visa or OCI. Father can do it.

FRRO will be in contact with you over email (the one you entered in the application form) for any further information or to collect the OCI when it's approved. You do not need to monitor the Delhi OCI website to track the application status. FRRO will email you.

When we receive the OCI I will let you know.

[passportguy]

Hi H_manatee

Hope you are fine. I am in a similar situation to yours. I and my wife have ILR since April 2013 and we have a son who was born in Dec 2012. We are all in India now due to certain family reasons and we want to apply for our son's British citizenship and passport and then OCI.

I am currently in the process of applying for his registration using MN1. Once this is approved, I will be applying for his passport and OCI. I have seen in this post that you have gone through this process and I was thinking if you could PM me your e-mail id and/or other contact details. This will help me get any doubts clarified during the application process. Hope you don't mind.

Thanks a lot.

FYI, We are in Bangalore too

[H_manatee]

Another update on the British Overseas Birth registration:

I have now applied for the baby's overseas birth registration. In fact I had contacted them over email to ask if it's ok for me (the father of the baby) to apply from within the UK when the baby was in India. They replied it's no problem. I then downloaded their online form (.doc), filled it, paid the fees (GBP 105 + 65 + 4.5) online and then sent all the documentation by post to their Milton Keynes address. As the baby already has the British passport (which is highly recommended) it should be done in a couple of weeks.

Documents sent -

1. Application form (filled it digitally and then printed out, only signature was additional)

2. The print out of the online payment receipt

3. Marriage certificate Original (By the way it can vary depending on individual circumstances . civil partnership etc.. Read the guide at the end of the application form). As we were married in India (before becoming British citizens) we submitted Indian marriage certificate.

4. Parents' naturalisation certificate - Original

5. Baby's, and parents' photo identity page photocopy from the passports

6. maternity records Original - I sent both the NHS file containing records before my wife went to India for delivery, as well as Indian maternity records including discharge summery etc.

7. Baby's original Indian birth certificate issued by local municipal authorities.

Hopefully I will hear back from them in the next 10-12 days. Once I have an update I will let you know.

[sojan]

@ H_manatee, thanks for your updates.

How long did they say OCI to be issued? Could we just travel with the Indian Visa (which is valid for 1 year) to the UK and then apply OCI from the UK?

[H_manatee]

At the time of applying the FRRO said it should get approved within 45 days though at that time they were apparently facing slight delays. That was 3 weeks ago.

The 1-year "New Visa" is a multiple entry one. So you can exit and enter India without needing OCI within that period. You can also apply for OCI from the UK but I felt applying from FRRO was way easier than from UK (which I had to do for my own OCI).

If you intend to apply for OCI from UK why bother with the visa then? Can't you just get the exit permit?

Also, Has the HCI London outsourced the OCI to VFS as well? VFS are much better than dealing with HCIL staff.

[passportguy]

Hi H_manatee

I received a notification that you have sent a PM to me. Thanks very much for that. But unfortunately when I logged in to read it, I was told that I am not authorised to view it!!!
""Information
You are not authorised to read private messages.""

Can you please send the same message to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry to bother you.

Thanks a lot.

Note As this is a public forum, I have removed all personal identifying details from your post so as to maintain your privacy & security.

Ref forum T&Cs (click)
- Board Moderator

[Faru666]

Hi
I have been following this blog since Dec 2014 when I applied for my daughter. On 21st May 2015 they called for an interview and on 8th June I received a letter from the examiner saying all checks are cleared and they need a new photo as the previous one is 7 months old.
I have send the photos 2 time with recorded delivery which has been recieved by their officers and signed for and still on ever phone that I do to them they say it's pendibg .
I am fed up and don't know what to do now???
Can any1 help here or is any1 in the same situation.

[chandanprakash2002]

Hi,

any document that we supply for child's passport such as employer's letter for proof of employment, ( however, I doubt it will be required but still ), whom do we have to address? HM passport office ? one office? whichever, what is the address that we need to mention for the agency?

[H_manatee]

Just to give an update on the Overseas birth registration in the UK -

Today I received the registration certificate along with all the original documents I had sent with the application form.

The whole process was completed within 1 full week (i.e. 5 working days). So having the British passport of the baby in hand before applying for registration really helps with the process.