H_manatee wrote:Applying for British passport for baby born in India to naturalised British citizens of Indian origin holding OCI - The new VFS process
I recently applied for my baby’s British passport from India and hence thought of sharing my experience with the forum members. With the amount of help I have received from the online forums over the years, I only felt it right to share my experience so others can also benefit.
So, here it begins…
Both my wife and I are naturalised British citizens of Indian origin (OCI holders), both settled and working in the UK. With the intension of availing parental assistance during maternity, my wife travelled to India at 32nd week of her pregnancy this year (2014). She gave birth to an adorable baby girl in July. I was following up on various forums on the internet to get an idea about the British passport application process for some time now and it was really terrifying to learn of people’s horror stories of having to wait for up to 6 months to get the passport with many rejections in the process. We were mentally prepared for this eventuality hence my wife is going to stay in India for however long it takes for the passport to arrive (thankfully she has nearly a year of maternity leave).
We were planning to apply towards the end of August 2014 by sending the application to the British High Commission in Delhi but, to our surprise, it turned out, they changed the process from the beginning of August this year and the applications were to be submitted in person at one of the VFS centres. This in fact turned out to be a boon for us as it’s very close to our place of residence and with the new process we could get all our originals back on the same day. Only downside we faced was having to make a colour photocopy of every document –the maternity records really created a confusion for us as we had so many. The photocopy bill itself run upwards of Rs.2000 but in the end it turned out to be a nice experience.
We first booked an appointment at Bangalore VFS through their email address
bangalore.hmpo@vfshelpline.com. We received the appointment confirmation within an hour for an interview couple of days later –which was our first preference. The VFS staff are exceptionally friendly and never give a chance for you to panic even if something is not in order. As long as you carry every original document they will try to make the experience seamless. There is a photocopy booth outside where you can Xerox any additionally needed document. VFS did not charge any fee for the service and the whole process was over within 45 minutes. The passport application fee payment was done through the credit card mandate (£76.01) so we did not have to spend any money on the day (other than for a few photocopies). They also mentioned that since it’s a relatively straight forward application, they expected it to take 6-10 weeks of processing time, though, based on what I have read elsewhere, we are still OK with 4-5 months. They also said if there is anything more needed, they would contact us via email (not sure about the phone). The passport will need to be collected by one of the parents in person and they will email us when it’s ready for collection.
As I (i.e. father of the baby) had to return to work in the UK, the application was made on behalf of my wife. Once the passport arrives, I will try to do the overseas birth registration from the UK itself. But there is some time for that to happen as I will need baby’s passport for that apparently. And after the registration, we are planning for OCI either from India or UK depending on the time we have in India once the passport arrives.
For the passport application interview, I prepared a separate carry-folder for each set of documentation –Medical records, residency records, employment records, passport, naturalisation certificates, baby birth certificates etc. (along with one colour photocopy each). Also note, with the new VFS process, there is no longer any need for UK Notary-attested passport copy of either parent. Just the colour photocopy of the passports will do as VFS staff themselves will verify and attest them before sending it off to UK IPS (In fact I am a bit surprised by this level of trust the UK government has on VFS).
Below are the colour photocopy documents I ended up submitting to VFS (though you will also need the corresponding originals at the time of submitting – after verification they will give the originals back.):
a. Completed passport application form and the credit card form:
Read every piece of information on the application form and the guidance document carefully as you are most likely to miss out on something. Use black ink throughout. As regards the counter signatory, we ended up getting hold of one of my wife’s previous managers in India. VFS did not seem to have any problem with it. Also, I think in guidance document somewhere it’s mentioned that the counter-signatory’s passport copy (front and the back page) in colour need to be submitted but VFS were adamant that it’s not required despite my several requests. If they come back asking for it, we will submit it at that time. Something tells me VFS are not fully up to date with the process as it has just started.
b. Parents’ Identity proof (UK):
1. Father’s full British passport and mother’s full British passport
2. Mother’s old cancelled Indian passport (VFS asked for this specifically, though I had not taken a copy with me initially. It’s mother’s copy because she is the main applicant and it has her Indian residence proof)
3. Father’s and mother’s naturalisation certificate.
4. Father's and mother's OCI Card
5. Father’s and mother’s UK driving license - permanent or provisional (only the card was sufficient)
6. Father’s and Mother’s UK NI number card
c. Parents’ Identity proof (India):
1. Mother’s Indian driving license (to prove Indian residence address). Her old cancelled Indian passport above also had residence address proof.
2. Letter from my wife’s parents explaining my wife’s stay with them for maternity. We also submitted a copy of her air ticket with which she had travelled to India at 32nd week –just to further evidence the case.
Note: VFS refused to take my wife’s parents’ residence proof documents (aadhar card, passport copies) as they said it just complicates matters.
d. Baby’s identity proof:
1. Birth certificate issued by the local municipal authority
2. Birth certificate issued by the hospital where the birth took place
3. Baptism certificate (where the naming took place) – This is not mandatory in my opinion as it’s down to people’s customs
e. Maternity records (UK NHS):
As my wife was living in the UK up until week 32, we had an NHS file which had her appointment letters, scan reports, blood reports etc. We made a whole copy of this and submitted it to VFS
f. Maternity records (India):
This file included all the maternity records from the hospital in India where my wife delivered the baby. This also included a few bills, discharge summary, and other scan reports.
g. Other UK documents:
1. 3 bank statements of both the parents
2. 3 recent payslips of both the parents
3. Mother’s maternity benefits letter given by her employer
4. Any other employment related documents of both the parents
5. P60’s of both the parents (x2)
h. Photos:
1. 2 UK-passport standard photographs (45mm x 35mm with white background), one of which had to be attested at the back in black ink (as per how it’s requested –see guidance form) by the person countersigning the passport application.
2. There is a requirement to send a few photographs taken during the birth (at the hospital) as well as during the naming ceremony. As per the new process, it turns out, they do not want the physical copies of the photos, instead the VFS staff asked me to provide a colour photocopy of those (by placing 4 photos on an A4 paper and photocopying it). I provided 3 pages (i.e. 12 photos in total).
i. Covering letter:
We also included a covering letter on behalf of the main applicant (my wife) briefly explaining the circumstances of the application, her travel to India at 32nd week, her India and UK residence, legal status etc. We also mentioned about counter signatory familiarity.
Now the waiting game begins. Let’s see how long it will take. I will keep you posted. It’s not just this application but it is my overall experience with the UK immigration authorities over the last 10 years that as long as you provide sufficient quality documentation helping to build a strong case, clearly explaining the circumstances where there is room for doubt, while avoiding the chaff/fluff, it’s more or less a seamless experience. Any anomalies/inconsistencies in the documentation (such as some documents with previous residence address if you have moved home etc.) should be clearly mentioned on the covering letter.
As the application has gone through VFS after individual verification of each document we have a bit of confidence that there will not be any major setbacks. VFS has a checklist to go through before they officially accept the application. But then again you never know. As the process is at its nascent stage I am sure there will be a few hiccups.
All the best.
