which nationality?

J

jodymo

Registered User
Can't believe I only just thought of this! If i'm British and the hubby is Canadian and we are having the baby in Hong Kong - what nationality will the baby be?

I'm planning to take her back to the UK soon after birth, and know Brit babies need a passport, but will she actually be British?

Where do I look to check this stuff?

Cheers
 
She can be British because you are British. Britain allows dual nationality but I dont know about Canada, if Canada allows dual nationaliy, then your baby can have 2 passports. If Canada doesn't allow it, you'll have to decide which country you want your baby to hold a passport of!
 
canada allows dual nationality, as does britain...i have both passports. your child shouldn't have any rights to HK PR if neither of you have it.
 
Cdn Nationality

Can't speak for UK, but do know for Canadian passport ... i JUST did this for my boys, so the memory is FRESH

Canadian parent has to apply for cdn passport AND cdn CITIZENSHIP for child. If you can prove you need to travel shortly (just give them an itinerary for ANY travel --don't have to prove it's paid for), they will issue the passport within 14days or so. BUT it's only good for 1yr, as the child is NOT TECHINCALLY a Canadian Citizen (yet).

You also have to "apply" for citizenship, which takes (in my experience) a minimum of 6mths. This application gets sent off to Halifax adn then back (if approved) to HK. Child gets a credit-card sized Citizenship card. ---SHOCKING to me that they'll never get a Cdn birth certificate --- ahh..oh, yah ... they weren't BORN in Canada!! --had to remind myself of that one!!

NEXT, once you get the letter from the consulate that the citizenship is in, you take the 1yr passport back in, collect this new *card* and immediately apply for the *extension* on the 1yr liminted passport. Now they'll extend the passport for another 2yrs (so it becomes a legit 3yr infant passport). Once again, this will take a min. 2wks

Don't bother renewing your child's canadian passport BEFORE tehy're 3yso if you can manage, cuz after that, the passports are good for 5yrs. If under 3, it's only good for 3yrs. ... just a $$ and convenience issue

and YES Canadians can hold dual citizenship. I have it, my boys all have it and i'd suspect over 250,000 HK-Cdns have passports from Cda and HKSAR , and maybe even another to boot. i remember reading somewhere that Canadian passport holders are teh largest "foreign nationals" in HK ... ..

BE AWARE tho, that if your (Cdn) child is born outside of canada, HIS/HER children may have NO CLAIM to Cdn citizenship, if THEY THEMSELVES are NOT born IN canada ... May or may not be an issue, ... and as one consulate official stated, "you're worrying about your grandkids!! that's likely 30yrs down the line... by that time maybe NONE of us will have passports as we now know them." ... ?i don't know .. but something to be aware of

oh, and you'll have to provide proof of your (or dh's) canadian citizenship ... not just your passport ... like a birth certificate, i suppose

HTHs!
 
Oops

SORRY for the double reply ... but there was anotehr bit of info about Right of Abode at teh bottom i forgot to type (it was in my head as i hit submit)
:-)
 
RebeccaMB said:
SHOCKING to me that they'll never get a Cdn birth certificate --- ahh..oh, yah ... they weren't BORN in Canada!! --had to remind myself of that one!!
Click to expand...

You can get a UK birth certificate for a child born outside the UK if you want. No legal requirement to do so and it is not automatic - you need to apply and pay. The same may be true of Canada - you''d have to check.
 
Kashismum,
how did you get a UK birth cert if your kids weren't born in that country? I know i was at first shocked/anxious about my boys not getting the same birth cert as i have (Canadian/BC birth certificate), but it was the consulate that pointed out that they weren't born in Canada and in fact already had a birth certificate from HK. They did, however, get a Canadian Citizenship Certifiate instead.

I'd be VERY interested to hear from any moms who were able to get a Canadian birth cert for thier kids born outside of Canada. It'll give me amunition on my next Consulate visit :-)

Rebecca
 
RebeccaMB,
I haven't got the UK BCs, but I investigated the possibility. I downloaded the forms from the HK British consulate but am reluctant to pay the $1,500 per child.

It's a service provided by the UK registry - registration of British citizens born overseas. A 'UK style' birth certificate can be purchased at extra cost. This is not required to apply for a UK passport; a HK BC is sufficient.
Canadian authorities may not offer the same service, if that's what they have told you.
 
jodymo:

To add to what RebeccaMB has said, yes, the Canadian parent needs to present his ORIGINAL birth certificate or Certificate of Citizenship at the time of application.
 
Kashismum,
i get it ... thanks for your clarification. I was excited for a moment there ;-)

yes, i forgot to add, the Canadian parent must bring ORIGINAL proof of Citizenship (birth cert or citizenship certi / card) ...

i do think Canada is by far, rather strict and "inconvenient" when it comes to applying for and/or renewing passports ... and they ain't cheap neither ... (but then haven't *applied* for tooo many other passports -)

Good post tho ... at least will clarify a lot for dual citizenship (specifically where UK and CDNs are concerned)
 
Thanks to everyone who answered. How long does it usually take to get the birth certificate completed? I have no idea of the process
 
Just to add to this that being a British citizen does not automatically mean your child will be British....unless you were born in Britian. If you were born in Britian and are British citizen then child will be British.
If you are British and were not born in Britain then your child will only be considered British (for the purposes of a passport) if they were born in Britain, or if their Father has British passport.
 
And of course if either of you is British or Canadian but of Chinese descent then your babe can get a HK passport too. Of course my all-white baby, despite being born in HK to PR parents, cannot. Boooooooooooo!
 
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