Obtaining a UK passport for your child is something which all British citizens living overseas should consider a priority. Not only does it give your child a much brighter and easier travelling future but it can help to secure your rights in the event of any dispute.
Even if you have no intention to travel in the near future you should apply for the passport as soon as it is feasible for you.
The cost of obtaining a child’s British passport from overseas is £88.51 and you need two passport photographs of your child taken with a white or light grey background. The application must also be countersigned by someone who has known your family for 2 years and should preferably be a British citizen.
If your baby is not yet born and you or your partner are expecting then now is the ideal time to make sure that you have a copy of your full British birth certificate, this should be the one which also lists your parents name, not the short certificate.
In order to process the application you need to apply for an appointment by email at the HMPO office in Bangkok and attend the appointment with all of your paperwork. The passport will take around 6 weeks to be issued and then you will also need to pick it up from Bangkok. If you are unable to or it is inconvenient to travel to Bangkok then Key Visa can handle this process on your behalf. Simply email us at [email protected] for more information.
Most children born to British citizens outside the UK are eligible for a British passport, however there are certain circumstances where your application may not be straight forward. You do not need to be married to your Thai partner but your name must be on the baby’s birth certificate.
If you were born outside the United Kingdom and your baby is now being born outside the United Kingdom, they will not automatically be entitled to a British passport. In this type of circumstance you should seek the advice of the British passport office or an agent such as ourselves.
Having a child who is a British citizen can also help your Thai partner when it comes to visa applications to the UK, so there is really no reason not to apply.
