Passport for son born in Canada

banjo wrote:Background: I was born in Scotland, our son was born in Canada, and we are residents in the US. I haven't had a British passport in 35 years. Son will be applying for his 1st British passport.

1) According to the gov.uk website the application will take at least 6 weeks and"you may have to attend an interview for a first adult passport". Does it really take this long? My understanding is that original documents must be sent so I'm concerned about being without them that long. Is an interview likely? We are 800 miles from the nearest consulate. All new adult passports require an interview, regardless of whether you apply within the UK or through a British Consulate/Embassy and originals have to be sent. It can take less than 6 weeks, depends on the volume they are processing and the time of year.

2) Son's Canadian passport is expired. Does he have to get a new Canadian passport and send that (and be without it for at least 6 weeks) or can he send the expired passport?
"If you are applying from a country that is not the country where you were born. - please provide the passport or travel document that you used to travel to your country of residence" Expired is fine and send his birth certificate as well.

3) Is vitalcertificates.co.uk a safe/reputable way for me to get a copy of my Scottish birth certificate? Please be very careful about using non official government websites (such as the one you have stated), they charge ridiculous amounts and often you get nothing or have to pay extra. For birth and marriage certificates etc, please use the http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ government website and they are very good at processing and providing what you ask for in a short space of time if you provide all the detail. I have used them many times and never had any problems or hassles.