Uk born baby of work permit holder

[geneva]

I hope someone can help me. You seem a particularly smart lot.

My husband is American, I am Australian, and we are here on his work permit. We have just had a baby here in the UK, and she just received her US passport (not Australian yet, that is a nightmare of paper work, shan't even go into that here).

She has no work permit dependent visa in her passport. (Will they ask about port of entry?!? ha ha)

That is the situation, here is the question.

If we were to leave the UK for a weekend city break into europe, would we encounter problems getting her back into the country? Her passport states that she was born here. I am reluctant to go through the whole song, dance and expense of visa application for possibly only one trip out of the country, as we qualify for ILR in July and we both need our passports for work travel.

Possible, or impossible?

Thank you

[John]

would we encounter problems getting her back into the country?

Yes, you will, don't attempt it! Well that is certainly the safest answer! I appreciate that she is not a visa national, and therefore does not need a visa to enter as a visitor .. but she is not a visitor, is she! She lives here!

The fact that she was born in the UK does not automatically give her rights to live here. So that entry in her passport will not assist.

In order to save the cost ..... £335 by post or £500 in person at a PEO ... of a visa just until July, I suggest the baby makes no international trip until the ILR is in her passport from say July.

And when either (or both) you or your husband have ILR then as the child was born in the UK you can apply for her to be Registered as a British Citizen! That is, the child can be British before either of her parents!

[geneva]

Thanks for your super prompt reply John. I had forgotten about the possibility of a visitor's visa. Even though you discount it, I might research it a bit further. I shall consult my nextdoor neighbour/immigration solicitor/babysitter. Very useful guy.

Does anyone here get tired here of the endless visa juggling scenarios we put ourselves in? I have been doing this over four continents for nine years. I was reading over the weekend an article by an historian that the borders and passports that were established over the course of the nationalistic nineteenth century are one of the biggest encroachments on human rights ever perpetrated. It was a pretty extreme stance, but it did make me think about things from a slightly different angle.

[JAJ]

I hope someone can help me. You seem a particularly smart lot.

My husband is American, I am Australian, and we are here on his work permit. We have just had a baby here in the UK, and she just received her US passport (not Australian yet, that is a nightmare of paper work, shan't even go into that here).

Out of interest, why do you say the paperwork required to register your child as Australian is a 'nightmare'? Most Australian expats don't encounter problems.

Be aware that while your child was a US citizen from the moment of birth, and the passport and consular certificate confirm that, your child is not Australian until citizenship by descent is granted. It is granted upon application if the requirements are met.

If you need specific advice on Australian matters, contact Ian Harrop who should be able to help (he's UK based and has a good reputation) - http://www.ianharrop.co.uk

And as John says, if you get Indefinite Leave to Remain, then the child can immediately be registered as a British citizen. She'll be able to have triple citizenship without problems as the UK, US and Australia all allow dual and multiple citizenship.

[Kayalami]

geneva,

I concur with John that the trip be put on hold unless appropriate leave to remain is obtained and this at some cost. While the Immigration Officer at a Port of Entry has discretionary powers to confer leave to enter and would exercise such for the baby in question (so he/she is not effectively 'abandoned' at the airport) and likewise at ILR stage where no WP dependent LTR is held its best to approach the Home Office from an 'I meet the rules' as opposed to 'I don't meet rule A,B,C so request a consideration on compelling ground X,Y, Z'. If it helps AFAIK kids fly free till they are 2 years old so you have plenty of time to travel to your hearts content.

[geneva]

Yep

After some discussion with various people, I have resigned myself to domestic travel for the next few months. Meh, not such a big sacrifice, can anyone recommend a decent hotel around Loch Lomond? My solicitor friend said it would be up to the discretion of airport immigration and having her with us is too important a thing to be left up to the discretion of a grumpy underpaid, overworked airport immigration officer. Saying that, Birmingham officials have always been very pleasant, unlike their Heathrow counterparts.

Re Australian versus American Paper work

Getting American paper work was incredibly easy. The information was clear, the embassy website was very explicit, charges laid out clearly, paperwork required very clear, everything is done in a 30 minute appointment, we only had to wait three weeks for an appointment, everything done in those thirty minutes, 2 days later passport in the mail, a fortnight later her social security number.

The Australian situation

The high commission website has very llimited information, for what must be a very common request. No phones are answered, you just go through 15 minutes of voice prompt menus that still don't reveal what you need to do. The high commission website seems reluctant to give any informaiton at all, just linking to main givernment pages back in Oz. Simply finding out charges requires 4 steps to different sites, finally ending up at the oz governments bizaarely inacurate currency converter. Now I learn it is a two step procedure, first step establishing citizenship, this is done by mail only. Second step, go into HC with citizenship certificate, but there are no appointments allowed, and you could end up waiting there for many hours with a grumpy baby under your arms.

Compared to some countries Australian procedures probably seem fairly sound, but considering the Americans were able to do the same process based on one phone call and an appointment, the Australian High Commission does not impress.