British citizenship for my daughter

Hello
Hope you are doing well. I need your help please.

I was naturalised British citizen in 2023, I work and live in the UK. However my girlfriend lives in South Africa (she works and lives there and not planing to relocate in the UK).

My gf is pregnant and will give birth soon. And I have few questions:
- will my daughter be British citizen straight after birth?
- what documents I need to submit and where For the first passport? Please note that they live in South Africa.
Basically I just need guidances to apply for her first passport after birth and guidance on what to do.
Thank you.

Daughter will be British by descent. You can apply for her first passport by answering the questions in this form - input details based on your circumstances and you will receive the right instructions. https://www.gov.uk/apply-renew-passport

Note that passports from abroad take notoriously longer to be processed.

Thank you for your support. I went through the link and had a simulation and provided the data.

At the end they requested some documents that make sense and some don’t make sense like:
- grandparents birth/ adoption certificates?
- my girlfriend grandparents marriage certificate????

I’m confused what’s the above documents have to do with my child? Plus I don’t have them and can’t provide as they passed away ages ago.

The other documents required like: birth certificate/ my naturalisation certificate/ hospital records make sense. But documents about grandparents do not make sense in my case. Any advices please??? Thanks

The form caters for all scenarios of British citizenship.
Your child's claim to citizenship is through you as British father.
Grandparents are not relevant in this case and you only provide documents relating to your circumstances.

I appreciate your support. Everything is clear now, however I have one last question:
- as they reside in South Africa, can I put my UK address on the online form where Home office will send back her passport and the documents?

Or I must put their South African address? For paaaport and documents delivery.

I’m thinking to put my UK address and then once I receive the passport I can take it to South Africa myself. Is that an option?

Thank you

Not sure about this... other may be able to comment further.
- The online application asks where the applicant (the child!) is located.
- also all documents must be submitted in original, not copies.
Maybe a call to the HMPO helpline might be useful? https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line

Thank you. I have emailed them. I appreciate your help. Enjoy your Sunday.

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:11 am

Not sure about this... other may be able to comment further.
- The online application asks where the applicant (the child!) is located.
- also all documents must be submitted in original, not copies.
Maybe a call to the HMPO helpline might be useful? https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line

The reply from the HO below

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email enquiry regarding applying for a passport.

I can confirm that the application will need to be submitted from the country your child is currently in.

You can apply for a UK Passport from overseas online here – https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

Our standard non-guaranteed turnaround time will be dependent on the country you are applying from.

Yours sincerely,

His Majesty’s Passport Office

Passport must be sent to where the child lives. You can't get it in the UK and fly there to bring it to her - she must get it from there. Worth exploring if she is eligible for a south African passport and apply for a ROA sticker on that, as the process may be quicker, and then apply for her British passport when she is in the UK.