(edit title) Having a child in Sweden Registering birth in uk and passport Options

[t_annah]

Hi,
We are expecting our first child in august, and we are going to have it here in Sweden. Our plan is to return to England a month or two after the child is born to visit family and friends with the new "addition".

We were unsure about registering the birth. How do we go about it in Sweden? And do we have to register it in England as well to get a passport?

Also, I have seen stuff on applying for a passport for baby via Dusseldorf, but can one of us fly home and apply as normal from within the UK, and then get the passport sent to a family member? If not, has anyone got experience of how long a new application can take via Dusseldorf?

We are both from England, and dont have Swedish citizenship or anything.

Thanks in advance

[Puffin]

You will need to complete the registration in Sweden first before you can apply for a passport as you will need a copy of the person bevis

You can register the birth and get a UK style birth certificate via the British Embassy
http://ukinsweden.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-b...-register-birth

[Puffin]

You dont have to register in the UK in order to get a passport

[t_annah]

Thanks Puffin.
Wow, 1950 sek to register + certificate.... Not sure if it would be worth doing then, especially if it isnt needed for a passport...

[Mib]

Hi,

Just so you can judge for yourself...we applied for a British passport leading up to the Summer months for our new born baby and it took over 8 weeks, despite paying for it to be DHL'd over to Germany and back. The British Embassy in Sweden do not issue emergency passports either for babies. So, I would apply for everything asap. The personbevis arrives quite quickly. Download the passport application form the British Embassy and read the instructions carefully. Make sure you follow the rules for photographs and then pay an extortionate of money for a 5 year passport!!

If it's possible, see if someone can do it on your behalf in Englnad or do it yourself. It might even be the same price to fly to England and back and get a passport as it is to follow the bureaucratic way that all UK ex-pats have to follow in Europe.

I don't recall ever registering our baby's birth via the British Embassy and at that price, I think I would have remembered. The passport is enough, unless there is some kind of benefit you get registering.

Good luck!

[Puffin]

Obviously this is not something that you can plan in advance until the baby has come and you have registered the birth with Skatteverket (which can take a couple of weeks)

You may find that after the baby comes you won't feel like travelling for several months

[007]

i thought any human (from 1 day old up) must travel with a passport when crossing boarders. if the baby is not a swedish citizen too, then the only citizenship which could grant the baby a passport is the UK.

if the baby has swedish citizenship too (the other parent is swedish) then it's a very simple matter to get a swedish passport or national ID card.

[Puffin]

I think what OP is talking about is for one of the parents to take all the paperwork and jump on Ryan Air to the central London passport office where they may process it while you wait - although not always in August and I don't know whether they will do it if the baby is physically in a different country

However the UK Embassy no longer issues passports so all british expats from all over the world must send their apssport in the post to the central overseas processing centre in Germany where the paperwork disappears into a black hole for 4-8 weeks

[007]

what does the UK officials require for issuance of a passport? both the swedish and the US governments require both parents and the child to be physically present when applying for a passport.

[Puffin]

This was my reservation -that they may not issue on for a baby in a different country - although this of course is what we Brits have now as almost all expat Brits living aborad must send their paperwork to Dusseldorf so there is no longer any personal contact between the issuing staff and overseas UK citizens - I was reading a press article that UK citizens in the UAE were having similar problems getting their passports back and were waiting a couple of months

The other reservation I have about the "hop on a plane" solution is whether it is more complicated if you roll up to the London Passport office with a Swedish Person bevis - the baby wont be registered in the UK at all - and whether this may create delays

I really miss the Stockholm Embasy passports where you sent off your paperwork on Monday and got your new passport back on Thursday/Friday of the same week!

[t_annah]

Thanks for the replies.
I know my sister (who lives in the UK) applied for a passport for my nephew on her own (without nephew or her husband present) so I was hoping to maybe do as puffin says and jump on a ryanair flight and wait in line. I guess I could always get an application form next time im in the uk and fill it out ready, then when baby is born get a photo done and send application + photo to a relative in the uk to post for me.
I found this link which seems to imply you can live outside the uk and still apply for a passport while visiting the uk. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTrans...ation/DG_183772

[Puffin]

I guess I could always get an application form next time im in the uk and fill it out ready, then when baby is born get a photo done and send application + photo to a relative ... (show full quote)

I guess I could always get an application form next time im in the uk and fill it out ready, then when baby is born get a photo done and send application + photo to a relative in the uk to post for me. ... (hide full quote)

There is not much you can fill out in advance without date of birth, gender and a Swedish personbevis

I am also not sure whether it will be quicker or not to go to the London passport office in August rather than Germany- the absolute peak holiday time in the UK is august - also you may get caught up with delays caused by other issues
- backlogs caused by the Olympics
- industrial action by UK civil servants over the pensions issues

I found this link which seems to imply you can live outside the uk and still apply for a passport while visiting the uk. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTrans...ation/DG_183772

I think you should call them and ask their opinion - as the cases where I have known people do this they have been physically in the UK and usually it has been for a renewal where the basic checks have been done before rather than for a 1st passport for a baby that is in a different country


Im not sure that getting a passport in record time will be so useful - will you really want to travel within a few weeks of giving birth? Most new mums are still finding it hard to cope at home with being up several times every night

[byke]

Remember, by giving birth in Sweden you (if your partner is Swedish) are giving the child Swedish nationality without question, first and foremost. This opens up a whole load of legal differences compared with if you gave birth in the uk and what you may base many ideas around.

Obviously, you can apply for the child to be granted British citizenship after the birth.
But this can be confusing and time consuming (plus quite pricey)

So just remember, by giving birth in Sweden you won't be able to apply the same rules to the child in which you may think is normal (in comparison to the uk).

The biggest legality that usually comes up is separation or divorce, as the statistics show the first 12 months of a child's life have the greatest risk of the parents separating. If this was to happen, your partner could and many often do object to you returning to the uk with your child. And because the child has been given Swedish citizenship from birth, that child will be protected by the Swedish state and it's laws (you could be arrested for kidnapping even if you reached the UK). Regardless if you have a second citizenship. this is especially problematic with new settlers as based on my own years here in Sweden I have seen more people come and go than come and stay.

This can also affect the childs schooling later on if you decide to stay in sweden.
Our kids were born in Sweden, and have dual nationality UK/SWE and we have faced numerous problems because of it. While our kids were born in Swedish hospitals, it has often led to decisions regarding many aspects on their lives on how or what they can do. While our kids are fluent in both languages, when we tried to get our eldest into a English speaking school as he was unhappy with the Swedish / bi lingual school he was in. We were told that he was not allowed this since he was born in Sweden, regardless of his cultural upbringing or his residence since birth.

These type of scenario comes up quite often and can be quite annoying if not somewhat unfair.
Even when it comes down to private aspects of life.For instance, we eventually had to pay for our child to attend a private school to ensure he could get the education and environment which met their needs. And there are numerous other kids at our childs school who are somehow related or share a bond with "Sweden" which also condemned with unfair choices in their lives regarding the need to take certain subjects, regardless if they want or need to simply because of the legal bond to Sweden they may share.

And it's situations like this on how things are governed or ruled by law in Sweden that has led the US embassy to issue a warning to Americans in Sweden and how the law works in what they state is an unfair manner.

So be careful.I don't want to scare you, simply inform you that it would be a very good idea to do a little background research and ask around before giving birth if you are unsure.

[t_annah]

I might have given the wrong impression when saying to go back in a month or two; we know we might not want to travel too early on, but want to apply for the passport so we have it when needed. Our hope is to go back once between when baby is born and christmas, as we also plan to travel back at christmas as well. So we don't really need it urgently and could wait the 8 weeks people are mentioning.

I was just thinking about applying from the uk as an option (with a standard turn around time, not fast tracked) to save money really. Its £49 and as I say I could pick up a form next time im in the UK and when baby is born send the completed form + required documents to a family member in the Uk who could send it in for me. Then its just a case of travelling to uk to pick up the passport when it arrives or getting a family member to bring it over (or I guessing posting it to us).

Byke, we are both English, so I assume what you have mentioned wont apply? Baby wont gain Swedish Citizenship, but will become a British National I think?
Did the issue with the school apply also because your child was a Swedish citizen, or just because he was born here? That might be an issue for us, as we wont be able to teach the child Swedish easily (although we are learning)

[byke]

Byke, we are both English, so I assume what you have mentioned wont apply? Baby wont gain Swedish Citizenship, but will become a British National I think?Did the issue with th ... (show full quote)

Byke, we are both English, so I assume what you have mentioned wont apply? Baby wont gain Swedish Citizenship, but will become a British National I think?
Did the issue with the school apply also because your child was a Swedish citizen, or just because he was born here? That might be an issue for us, as we wont be able to teach the child Swedish easily (although we are learning) ... (hide full quote)

TBH - best to check with the british embassy and ask beforehand.
Many of the judgements regarding our children have been based on being born in Sweden followed by what is usually classed as "association" to Sweden. Its a very loose term to cattle opinions through if needed, regardless of human rights laws.

I know another British couple living here, who had children in swedish hospitals.
Not entirely sure regarding the status of the children's nationality, but it had been mentioned that if the couple split up and one wanted to return to England with the children. They would not be allowed if the partner objected. (even though they are both UK Citizens and share no other links to sweden) as the child is protected by swedish law.