canadian having a baby in uk....what to do next?

brenito
New Member



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Location: ullapool

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 2:13 am

 

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hello everyone! i'm just wondering if anyone knows what i'll need to do after my baby is born in december, regarding passports etc. i'm living in scotland and my husband and i are currently waiting for his canadian residency appliation to be processed. because of this, we're going to have the baby here- but don't know what we need to do in preparation for the move to canada. can the baby travel on one of our passports? who do we contact to register the birth of the baby? any pointers would be much appreciated! thanks!

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Jausman
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 07 Jun 2008
Posts: 50
Location: Ottawa

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:49 am

 

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Are you Canadian? If so, you should contact the Canadian High Commission in London and get the forms for registering the birth of a Canadian abroad. You should be able to apply for both citizenship and passport at the same time. (We did this in Geneva when our two children were born there in 91 & 93)

If you are both British and are in the process of immigrating, you'll need to contact UK authorities about including the baby on one of your passports.

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1582
Location: Calgary

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 9:07 am

 

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It's going to be tricky actually because the baby wouldn't have been listed on the list of dependents when they applied for permanent residency in Canada, so when they send their passports in when the application is approved the baby won't get a visa. You'd need to contact the Canadian High Commission and/or the CIC to amend the application after the baby is born.

Or if you can pull it off give birth in Canada.
_________________
Steve.

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brenito
New Member



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Location: ullapool

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:00 pm

 

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thanks for your replies guys!

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Sue-Zee-Q
New Member



Joined: 22 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
Location: Berkshire

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:35 am

 

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Hi there,

I had a baby in the UK, and basically this was what I did. I had to send my Canadian birth certificate, and apply for a citizenship card for her AND a passport. So, the Canadian High Commission granted her a temporary passport that was valid for one year so that she could travel, and then when I received her citizenship card, then I had to send that and her passport to the Canadian High Commission and they extended her passport for the full three years.

The baby must have their OWN passport, Canada doesn't do children as entries in parent's passports anymore.

As well, for the record, neither does the UK.

If one of you is Canadian, then you can get CAnadian citizenship for your baby based on this (you will need your birth cert, AND the baby's LONG form birth cert). The passport takes about 3 weeks to process.

Do you know someone to be a guarantor (must have known them for at least two years in the UK - doctor, dentis etc)? If not, you will need to get a statutory declaration in lieu of guarantor form that you take to a commissioner of oaths and you swear to them for your baby's passport photos. (I had to do this!)

As well, the Canadian passport photos are VERY strict and if you have not done it to the millimeter, they will send the whole thing back!

The places that do the photos, may be hard to find, as there was a recall on the cameras that had the setting for the Canadian passport photos (too much lead). Basically you can't take your baby to a photo booth.

If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a private message, and I will answer the questions I can about the process.

I submitted my papers for her citizenship in December and had her card back in February, BUT that being said, they do say it can take up to 9 months, hence the temporary passport. Again, that only takes a few days to get that done once you have your documents in place.

So when you apply for the card, make sure to specify to the Canadian High Commission EVERYTHING About your situation, such as that you are relocating to CAnada and ask them what they suggest doing. They are really good there. They are reachable by email, and you can ask someone to call you about it because getting through to them on the phone is a nightmare. going in person is best, but since you are in Scotland.it's a bit of a journey!

Your documents for the CAnadian citizenship card will go to Sydney Nova Scotia and then be processed there and sent back to you. It only took 2-3 months from when I sent it off, but they do say it can take 9 months as I said earlier.

Each situation is different, and yours is a different situation to mine (we are staying here not going back to Canada *frown*) and so to be honest, it is best if you contact them and ask them everything. Keep in mind that policies and practices do change and they may say you need another passport for him/her as they might not do extensions anymore. They don't change surnames anymore, you need a whole new passport if you change your surname since your passport was issued.

So again, I can't stress highly enough to speak to them in London about it. I did this 2 years ago, and in 6 months their policies changed about surnames in passports. They know what the current rules are and what the current forms are. They can also recommend someone to do the photographs too. They recommended someone in London, but they might have some choices of approved photographers in your area or at least closer to you than London. They will give you the paper with the measurements and you can take that to a passport photographer and they can cut your photos to size.

Good luck, and congrats on the upcoming arrival

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brenito
New Member



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 4
Location: ullapool

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:04 am

 

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thanks so much sue-zee-q for such a detailed response! i really appreciate it!

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lmercer
Junior Member



Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 13
Location: Birmingham

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:00 am

 

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Thanks for all that information Sue-Zee Q! I am Canadian living in the UK and my baby will be born here in November.

Here's a tricky one for you: I plan to visit my grandparents in the USA after the baby is born. As long as she's registered as Canadian I'm assuming I won't need a VISA for her. (I heard through the grapevine that UK residents will need a VISA to get into the states now!)

I'll check with London anyhow.
Cheers,

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zanthe
Junior Member



Joined: 11 Sep 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Mearsyside

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:04 pm

 

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If i could tag on, I'm currently on a WHM visa which expires in May, i am also pregnant and due at the end of march. My partner and i intend to go back to canada to raise our baby, but as my visa expires in May, and due to the info Sue-zee Q stated it'll take longer than that to register the baby, not to mention no one wants to fly 8 hours plus with a newborn, does anyone have info on what i can do about my status, do i have to do anything? any and all help is very much wanted.

thanks

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