I successfully completed it several years back. It was a bit of a pain, not because of the docs required but because of the vagueness of the process and how long it took. I am married to the mum and still it took almost 8 months.
My main frustration apart from the elapsed time was that I completed all required docs - not really that difficult if you are organised. And took to VFS, VFS looked at it and said ‘where are the rest?’. I produced the list of required docs and told them i had everything, to which they said as but you need to prove the relationship is real with evidence. Clearly a marriage cert wasn’t convincing enough… so I was annoyed that they needed extra docs that they didn’t initially declare.
Anyhow I sent what I had prepared and several months later, I got a snotty email from HMPO to say that I had omitted key documents. These docs wouldn’t have been an issue to provide if they had actually asked for them!
So for me, submit docs, several months later submit further docs, several months later a telephone interview (dopey questions like what was the name of the clinic, doctor, how did you meet your wife, plus some other personal questions which i found weird and not relevant to the application. Not allowed to have a phone or notes or anyone else in room during this) then several months later passport approved.

We were desperate to travel back to meet grandparents but they would not give any indication of the stage of application or how much longer it would take.
I guess the application will be even more difficult for those not married or not residing full time in Cambodia.

Wow, that's crazy what you guys have to go through! Applying for Kids NZ Citizenship by Descent & Passport is a breeze, just had to send application and supporting docs via DHL to NZ, all approved and NZ Citizenship Certificate with Passport delivered to my doorstep in Cambodia in under 4 weeks from the birth. The main document required being the official Cambodian Birth Certificate listing me as the father and a NZ witness stating that they know me and have known the child since birth - no need to provide photos, evidence of enduring relationship with mother, DNA tests or any of that bullshit.

Yes, the HMPO are a pain but they are just ticking boxes, I doubt it is anything personal.

Things get more complicated when you have duel citizenship and all the entry visas/EOS are in the other passport! My UK passport is totally blank, which confused them somewhat.

Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:13 am

Khmu Nation wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:09 am

Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 8:49 am

Khmu Nation wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:19 am Im trying to get a UK passport for my son and its proving to be a nightmare.

While the excess of bureaucracy is a pain in the rectum, I don’t see their procedures being radically changed. Not in the short term.

You’ve not specified what the problems are that you’ve encountered. I and a few others have recently completed the process successfully. In my case I filled a 20 pocket plastic organiser with the various documents, and 90 photos. HMPO fucked up a lot, as did VFS global. But their fuckups are inconsistent, and some have sailed through.

This time, and this my 2nd submission, I didnt provide enough photos and I didnt provide my wife's birth certificate. Both of these items are surely IRRELEVANT?

My son is British through his DNA being of mine, not whether I am a present person in his life. Even if I had never met him he still qualifies for a UK passport.

What does my wife's birth cert have to do with the 'Britishness' of my son as he doesnt qualify through her. She doesnt have a birth cert and to get one she will have to go to the district she was born in - right up in the mountains of Northern Laos. It takes about 12 hours to get there.

As the UK establishment is so into righteous DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) schemes, along with London endless bragging about its multi culturalism, along with asylum seekers and immigrants being in every town of every county it seems surprising that to obtain a UK passport the HMPO start from a 'guilty until proven innocent' you're scamming us position.

And of course getting to talk to a human being at HMPO is utterly impossible.

They couldnt make this process any harder.

Hardly irrelevant. For a number of reasons, they do need to establish the identity of the child, and in any case it’s a required document. The choices are

- rally support, and petition to change the entire system
-politely decline, and accept the stance of people like Oricha
-or jump through the hoops

There are several recent disussions on the UK child first passport application. It’s not great, but it has improved recently.

I am a present father and have been throughout my son's life so I have photos, as well as photos and me and his mother before he was born, which I will now have to print and send even though these photos are private as far as I am concerned. However these photos, and I can provide hundreds if not thousands of them, hold no proof the boy in the photos with me is actually my son. It just proves I have been a regular part of his life thus far. But this isn't the issue; if I had never been present in my son's life for even a single minute he's still my son and, as a result of that, he's still elgible for a UK passport under UK law.

Therefore photos of family time is irrelevant.

I understand they need to establish the identity of the child as being a true likeness. This has been confirmed through the submission of recent passport photos, which I had to get signed by a UK recognised professional as 'a true likeness of the named individual'.

The issue is that the documents required are not relevant to the claim of citizenship - like my wife's birth certificate; which she is now seemingly going to have to travel about 800 km to collect.

Of course I am going to jump through the hoops to get the passport even though the process is utterly absurd and the hoops are pointless, idiotic, pedantic, authoritarian and display a complete lack of faith in myself as a British citizen to tell the truth, even though British law presumes everyone to be innocent until proven guilty. This ridiculousness is made even greater in the light of DNA evidence, which could be provided conveniently and simply and bury all doubt of if this claim is untrue. Compound this with the fact that UK in 2024 likes to make out its so mutli cultural and welcoming and yet it makes it this pedantic to get a passport.

Also after this stage has been completed, and due to the incredibly slow processing times of applications this has taken 10 months so far and cost me several hundred dollars, I have been told I will then have to attend an interview in person with my wife and son presnet. This interview will be held in Bangkok; so another 700km journey awaits me.

I agree with PR...whatever it takes....just do it.

IMO....for the op....pursue the dna route bc you are somehow on the "list" of people to mess with. Go for the cleanest approach...dna test from embassy approved method. I get that they wont share that info to do....tough spot and good luck.

USA was easy compared to Brit hassles...se la vie....we all got stuff to deal with, yeah?

Just do it you f...in wanker. Just joking....but not...do it...smartly...no matter what it takes...

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2024 2:49 pm

Guys whatever it takes , its well worth the hassle to give your kid (s) that western passport and rights to have a hopefully better life

For sure. The only reason Ive got this far is having 2 passports is a huge advantage and the British passport is one of the strongest in the world.

But fuck me, do they stretch your patience.

Grrrrrrrr