Hello all,
Just wanted to say thanks for posting on this thread. I had never heard of CoE/RoA before and I had spent almost 10 months searching for the solution for our baby while still unborn and then now coming up to 7 months old. I even called the UKBA and asked specifically "He is British AND Indian but can't have a British passport because of Indian nationality rules. Is there another document I can get to allow him to travel and return?" the typically rule lady on the phone that I waited 20 minute to talk to just said "If he's Indian he's not British so he needs to be added as a dependant on his parent's visa with a SET(F) application form". Completely ignorant!! We nearly spent about £1500 to get a same day appointment for the visa, which would have been automatically rejected!
Anyway here's what I recommend is the process:
0. Baby is born in UK, to 1 parant British Citizen, 1 Indian with Limited Leave to Remain.
1. Make appointment at local registry office to register birth. Both parents should be there, makes it easier, though if not arrangements can be made too.
2. Get UK birth certificate (took a few official copies, I recommend taking at least 4!)
3. Send off immediately for Form NQ:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ip-form-nq. Sign and write "Signed by parent {xxx} on behalf of {x} month old baby".
This took 2 weeks for us. We used a different payment address to the delivery address. They sent it to the wrong address, so don't do anything to confuse them!
4. Got passport photos for baby (better do this when baby is so small they can't squirm and make if difficult!!). Get many, at least 8 should do.
5. Make a scan of baby passport photo and ask for a copy that meets the requirements for the form in step 7.
100(Width) * 120(Height) Pixel, 20kb or less jpg file when last checked
6. Make a scan of Indian parent's signature(s) to meet the requirements of the form below.
140(Width) * 60(Hight) Pixel up to 20Kb jpg file when last checked
6. Fill out online form for Indian birth registration
http://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/I ... ublic.aspx, last option:
"Registration of birth of a minor child at an indian consulate under section 4(1) of the citizenship act, 1955". Upload scanned passport photo and Indian parent's signature. Save form as a PDF and print out 3 or more copies. More info here:
https://www.hcilondon.in/birth_registration.html
WAIT FOR Form NQ to Arrive
7. Collect documents to register birth:
https://www.hcilondon.in/birth_registration.html
You will need:
- UK Birth Certificate
Passport of both parents + certificate of Indian citizenship of parent if needed
Marriage Certificate of the parents.
Form NQ
Photos
Paid Special Delivery envelope to return documents in if not collecting
The Fee
Make sure to take copies of everything, and keep a copy yourself in case they get lost.
8. Fill out passport application: See here:
https://www.hcilondon.in/passport.html "First Passport for Children born in the UK"
9. Go to Indian High Commission at opening time in the morning, or as early as you can anyway. In London there are separate queues for passport/visa/citizenship you need the counter at the back upstairs, they will tell you where to go. Take a ticket, wait an hour or so and fill forms. This queue is generally shorter, but be prepared for a couple of hours wait.
Ask about passport application forms, they may take your completed forms on the day and agree to pass the Indian birth certificate over to the passport desk, or may ask you to come again and do it yourself. Be nice to them!
10. Wait for Indian birth certificate and passport to be ready (up to 2 months).
11. Go online, fill out CoE RoA form:
https://www.gov.uk/right-of-abode/apply ... ntitlement pay fee.
12. Print form, sign again as "Signed by parent {xxx} on behalf of {x} month old baby". Post with UK birth certificate, parents and baby passport, 2 passport photos and marriage certificate.
WAIT!
The RoA form goes back to the same place as the NQ form, so I expect the wait time to be similar, 2-3 weeks. Ours is in now.
If you don't have a marriage certificate, life will be hard at step 7. The Indian High Commission is not authorised by law to give birth certificates without a marriage certificate. There are options, but all are not good, i.e. travel to india with 1 way emergency travel document for baby, register birth and get passport in India, then apply for RoA certificate from India and get this before returning.
Hope this helps, at least making it easier to find on google!!
