Giving Birth Overseas- Certificate of Entitlement ROA- UK Parent

Hi All,

my wife is due to give birth in Pakistan and i am wondering what is the quickest way to bring the child back to the country safely.

i was thinking of the passport application route but seen that it takes 6 months which we don't have.

i've seen she can apply for a CoE ROA but was wondering what supporting evidence i would need before doing so.

we can get the pakistani passport within 2 days if we apply.

i am a UK citizen by birth and my wife is on a spouse visa.

i have the following documents i can share and was wondering if this would be enough:

Marriage cert,
my birth certificate
both passports
childs birth certificate
photos of our marriage
pictures of us with the baby from birth

we don't have any hospital records (other than hospital birth) as my wife didn't know she was pregnant until 5 months and we were already abroad by that point. the doctors we have visited did not have a great record system

When and where were you born?

ghully47 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 15, 2025 1:36 pm

we don't have any hospital records (other than hospital birth) as my wife didn't know she was pregnant until 5 months and we were already abroad by that point. the doctors we have visited did not have a great record system

That may cause any application made by you for the child, such as either a British passport or a CoE-RoA, to be scrutinised in more detail.

Hi

I was born in the UK so im British by birth
Ive managed to get all the following from the doctors there:
Our ultrasound scans
Blood tests
Doctors notes and letters

And then will also have the hospital records from the birth along with the vaccinations

Would that be enough?

Mere birth in the UK is not sufficient for you to be a British citizen otherwise than by descent, if you were born on or after 1st January 1983. That is why I asked when you were born.

If you were born on or after that date, you will also need to prove that either one of your parents was either a British citizen or a person with ILR at the time of your birth. And if that parent is your father, you will also need the marriage certificate of your parents.

It is also not impossible that you may have been registered as a British citizen (a process that is unrelated to your birth registration. The process I am talking of is to make a non-British citizen child a British citizen after birth). In that case, you will need your citizenship registration (not birth registration) certificate.

So, if you were born on or after that date, how did your parents acquire British citizenship (or ILR) and did their British citizenship/ILR predate your birth? And what documentary proof do you have of that (remember that the onus of providing the documentary proof is on you)?

Hi,

So I was born in 1990 in the UK

My parents migrated here from Pakistan in the 60s and have british passports.

We dont have any other documentation for their naturalisation as it was so long ago.

Ive seen online that as I am a British citizen then that would apply to my child at birth

The child passport would take 6 months hence the CoE route.

ghully47 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 16, 2025 5:39 pm

Ive seen online that as I am a British citizen then that would apply to my child at birth

Not all British citizens can automatically pass on their British citizenship to their children born abroad.

Your child will be a British citizen by descent because they are born abroad to a British citizen otherwise than by descent parent (you).

But you have to prove to the embassy and to HMPO later on that you, the parent, are a British citizen otherwise than by descent. And as mentioned above, mere birth in the UK will not be enough.

If you were born in 1990, you will need proof of your parents status in the UK at the time of your birth.

Check with the National Archives if they have a copy of your parents' naturalisation or registration certificates. You will almost certainly need them. And, as mentioned above, you will likely also need a copy of your parents' marriage certificate.

As an aside, because your child is born abroad, the child themselves will be a British citizen by descent and will not be able to automatically pass on British citizenship to their children (your grandchildren) born abroad. British citizenship is limited to only one generation being passed on outside the UK.