British! What a joke.

[overseas shrimper]

Just been to the British High Commission in Malta to apply for our baby's first passport. They accepted the papers etc. but then phoned me after saying that they had made an oversight.

It transpires that, even though I am Bristish and have always been such, the fact that I was not born in Britain means that my own son cannot inherit my nationality.

What a load of crap! To say I feel really ****ed off and let down by my own country is an understatement.

They even offered a totally unrealistic option; that I can apply to the wonderful Home Office at a cost of 450 GBP and it may be accepted then!

Thanks Britain. Guess my son's place can go to another [enter any number of nationalities flooding our country right now] you've just gifted a house and benefits to.

:mad:

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

That is truly shocking.
Surely if you hold a UK pasport then that should hold some sway?
More dodgy red-tape & PC gone daft I guess!

 

[Pubey]

Just been to the British High Commission in Malta to apply for our baby's first passport. They accepted the papers etc. but then phoned me after saying that they had made an oversight.

It transpires that, even though I am Bristish and have always been such, the fact that I was not born in Britain means that my own son cannot inherit my nationality.

What a load of crap! To say I feel really ****ed off and let down by my own country is an understatement.

They even offered a totally unrealistic option; that I can apply to the wonderful Home Office at a cost of 450 GBP and it may be accepted then!

Thanks Britain. Guess my son's place can go to another [enter any number of nationalities flooding our country right now] you've just gifted a house and benefits to.

:mad:

if they had made an oversight surely you could get them to waive the fee for the appeal because it was their mistake?

 

[fatshrimp]

Where were you born then? If it were one of the dominions, would that not be sufficient? What about dual nationality?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Just been to the British High Commission in Malta to apply for our baby's first passport. They accepted the papers etc. but then phoned me after saying that they had made an oversight.

It transpires that, even though I am Bristish and have always been such, the fact that I was not born in Britain means that my own son cannot inherit my nationality.

What a load of crap! To say I feel really ****ed off and let down by my own country is an understatement.

They even offered a totally unrealistic option; that I can apply to the wonderful Home Office at a cost of 450 GBP and it may be accepted then!

Thanks Britain. Guess my son's place can go to another [enter any number of nationalities flooding our country right now] you've just gifted a house and benefits to.

:mad:

Mark,

How old is your son?

Matt

 

[Wessex]

Just been to the British High Commission in Malta to apply for our baby's first passport. They accepted the papers etc. but then phoned me after saying that they had made an oversight.

It transpires that, even though I am Bristish and have always been such, the fact that I was not born in Britain means that my own son cannot inherit my nationality.

What a load of crap! To say I feel really ****ed off and let down by my own country is an understatement.

They even offered a totally unrealistic option; that I can apply to the wonderful Home Office at a cost of 450 GBP and it may be accepted then!

Thanks Britain. Guess my son's place can go to another [enter any number of nationalities flooding our country right now] you've just gifted a house and benefits to.

:mad:

Sorry to hear this although I can't say I'm at all surprised at the Home Office's incompetence. Seems rather off that people can apply for British passports after residing in the UK for 4 years but the children of genuine British citizens are denied citizenship.

 

[Cricko2]

Mark,

How old is your son?

Matt

Ridiculous Mark But...

Matt's on the case ....I feel the Power of the legal eagle at work :hilarious:

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Indeed. I think his High Commission is wrong, and hopefully I've pointed Mark to the right forms so that he can get this sorted.

It's something that theoretically could have affected me too, since I was born outside the UK; however, now that I've married a Scot, it would only be a theoretical rather than an actual problem, since any kids I may have could (if they were born outside the UK) claim nationality through their Mum.

One further thought - if you want a British birth certificate for a child born outside the UK, I believe you need to register the birth with the local embassy / consulate / High Commission within 48 hours of the birth - that's what my parents were told at any rate, when they rocked up with me a week after I was born... so I've only got a Canuck birth-certificate.

Matt

 

[overseas shrimper]

Thanks for the supportive messages. I wish the British government shared your sentiments and sense of solidarity... but they've been out of touch with their public for a long time now.

Matt has, as usual, been great with coming forward with helpful info and advice, but alas, this is the long and the short of it:

Even though I am British, because I was not British, my own son cannot inherit my nationality automatically.

Looking at the Home Office website, they are basically saying that if I match certain criteria, I can apply for his British nationality, but it'll cost us 450 GBP.

I feel that people are being held to ransom for something that should be their right. Why 450 quid? To me, that is just legalised extortion... daylight robbery. If they are laying out criteria that I match, why not just give us the nationality? They are basically saying that we have the right for my son, but we have to cough up.

Matt rightly pointed out that getting our baby a British passport is good for him in future and I agree, but the 450 quid, plus 50 for the passport itself is just too much right now with everything else we have going on and I also feel it is wrong in principle to pay so much for something we have the right to. Having said that, if I had the spare cash, I'd probably do it for his own good.

We will now opt for a Maltese passport. It is still an EU passport, so it's not all bad. The British passport is 50 notes for 5 years, plus the 450 GBP to apply for something we should have anyway... and the Maltese passport is 5 GBP for 2 years.

Rip-off Britain can sod off.

Sorry if I have offended any patriotic individuals on this board, but my blood is still boiling.

 

[steveo]

plus the 450 GBP to apply for something we should have anyway... and the Maltese passport is 5 GBP for 2 years.

Blimey! Whats the address, I'm gonna apply for Maltese citizenship. Never been there but the passports cheap and i've always liked Maltesers.

 

[overseas shrimper]

Blimey! Whats the address, I'm gonna apply for Maltese citizenship. Never been there but the passports cheap and i've always liked Maltesers.

It is 5 GBP for a child under a certain age. For an adult's passport is is a massive 18 GBP for ten years.

;)

 

[Wessex]

Thanks for the supportive messages. I wish the British government shared your sentiments and sense of solidarity... but they've been out of touch with their public for a long time now.

Matt has, as usual, been great with coming forward with helpful info and advice, but alas, this is the long and the short of it:

Even though I am British, because I was not British, my own son cannot inherit my nationality automatically.

Looking at the Home Office website, they are basically saying that if I match certain criteria, I can apply for his British nationality, but it'll cost us 450 GBP.

I feel that people are being held to ransom for something that should be their right. Why 450 quid? To me, that is just legalised extortion... daylight robbery. If they are laying out criteria that I match, why not just give us the nationality? They are basically saying that we have the right for my son, but we have to cough up.

Matt rightly pointed out that getting our baby a British passport is good for him in future and I agree, but the 450 quid, plus 50 for the passport itself is just too much right now with everything else we have going on and I also feel it is wrong in principle to pay so much for something we have the right to. Having said that, if I had the spare cash, I'd probably do it for his own good.

We will now opt for a Maltese passport. It is still an EU passport, so it's not all bad. The British passport is 50 notes for 5 years, plus the 450 GBP to apply for something we should have anyway... and the Maltese passport is 5 GBP for 2 years.

Rip-off Britain can sod off.

Sorry if I have offended any patriotic individuals on this board, but my blood is still boiling.

You've got every right to be annoyed mate, I work with loads of IT contractors from India. The ones that stay onshore for a long time can apply for citizenship after living in the UK for 4 - 5 years.

They're all good lads but I can't help feeling that this country makes it too easy for foreigners to become citizens.

It makes my blood boil to hear that the Home Office are obstructive when registering the offspring of UK citizens born abroad but they're happy to present a passport to Bob from Mogadishu who supports female circumcision, sharia law and a worldwide Islamic caliphate.

:thump:

 

[Dept36]

As a protest i will no longer pay any taxes to this rip off goverment,O.S. you are right to be angry.