Applying for british passport/problems with brit. consulate

[spike]

Hello!

I have got a few questions concerning the following facts:

A person born in 1970 in germany to a british father and a german
mother, who had not yet been married at that time, applies for a
british Passport. In 1975 the parents got married and the father
legitimated the child soon afterwards to the responsible german and
british authorities. The father was registered within the child´s
birth certificate and the child within the father´s british passport.
The parents got divorced in 1989.

Now that the person (a german national) wants to apply
for a british passport, he told by the responsible british consulate
in germany that the father is about to apply for a legitimation
first, although the person was already legitimated as a child to all
responsible authorities. Unfortunately the register number of the
legitimation at british authorities is not available. The consulate
wrote that a naturalization is impossible without an attested copy of
the father´s birth certificate and passport. But the person did not
have any contact to the father for years and his whereabouts are
unknown.

So now my questions are:

What are the possibilites to do for the person if the father´s birth
certificate and passport can not be obtained?

Is it even required to obtain them because the person has already
been legitimated by the father to the british authorities even it was
several years ago?

Any ideas what to do, who to ask and any helpful links would be higly
appreciated!

Thank you for your time,

greets spike

[John]

Spike, can I ask this .... does the person have a British-style Birth Certificate? It sounds very much from what you have posted that they should have such a document. If they have it appears to me that it should now be extremely easy for the person to get a British passport, using that British-style birth certificate.

If it is possible that the person was registered with a British-style birth certificate, but that certificate is no longer to hand, it should be possible to get a further copy of that British-style birth certificate. And following that, a British passport.

[spike]

Hello John,

first thanks for your fast reply. I have to ask for if the person does have a british-style birth certificate. I will post the answer as soon as I got it!

greets spike

[spike]

Ok, I got an answer now:

He does not have a british-style birth certificate. The difficulty is, that ALL his documents are german-style because he was born in germany. Also all registrations within his documents (and the registration within his father´s passport) were made by german authorities on german ground.

So what can he do now?

greets spike

[John]

Spike, I don't think it is as simple as :-

ALL his documents are german-style because he was born in germany

Here is a page from the website of the British Embassy in Berlin :-

Nationality Section

An extract from that says :-

Consular registration of births overseas is not a legal requirement to ensure British nationality. If parents wish to take advantage of the service, a record of the birth is afterwards held at the General Register Office in the United Kingdom (see contact details below). Copies of the birth registration can be obtained after one calendar year from the Registrar-General, at the same cost as if the child had been born in the UK.

In other words it is totally possible that a British-style birth certificate exists, even though the birth occurred in Germany, if the child has a British parent.

Reading the words you used, Spike, in your opening message in this thread, I certainly think that it is worth checking with the General Register Office to see if the birth was registered with the British Embassy/Consulate.

[spike]

Got to check that out, thanks a lot so far!

greets spike

[spike]

Hi!

First of all I have to correct my previous posting: of course the
child was included into the father´s passport by british authorities,
not by german. That registration took place in 1972.

And he told me now, it is possible, that a British-style birth
certificate exists, but the problem is: the register number of the
legitimation is not available. So the question is, has the british
consulate the option to say, that they need that number first before
they accept the legitimation and give him the okay for the
application? What if they disagree? What If he forwards the completed
application forms and the consulate replies that they need that
number first before anything is done by them? Could such a reply
really mean that the success of his application to get a british
passport depends on their will and a register number?

What can he do then??

Thanks and greets spike

[John]

Spike, I think the thing to do next is to apply for a copy of the birth certificate! If it exists, well that is the end of the problem. Armed with the British-style birth certificate the person can easily get a British passport.

If however the General Register Office cannot trace the birth registration they will just retain the small search fee and then return the cost of the certificate.

How to apply for a birth certificate online? Go to Certificate ordering service.

Out of interest, why is the person so keen to get a British passport? As German and therefore an EEA Citizen they obviously have a right to live and work in the UK.

[spike]

Well, is it even possible for a german to apply for a copy of the british-style birth certificate? And what happens in case the birth certificate does not exist (besides the fact that the costs are returned)?

The reason why the person wants to have a british passport is because he is far more british than german and finally wants to live up to that with all consequences.

greets spike

[hsmphopeful]

Spike,

Data Protection Act may help that person - under this Act anyone is entitled to a copy of information held about them. Just let him contact the GRO.