An American in England: Baby's Got Two Passports

We've had a very busy few months. In January, we moved to a new home, and I restarted my Graduate Certificate, which I finished just a few weeks ago. Alexander has been busy with his teacher training, and he's got a job lined up for when he finishes. Baby boy is now a year old (where did the time go!), and we had a lovely birthday party to celebrate. I even made my first birthday cake...

During Alexander's Easter holiday, we were able to take a family trip to Dublin for a few days. It was really a lot of fun. We got to go to the zoo, have a pint of Guinness in the storehouse, tour an exhibit at the General Post Office on the Easter Rising of 1916, and lots of other cool stuff. It was a special time to be there since it was 100 years since the attempted revolution.

 

For me, the most exciting part of the past few months was getting our son's American passport. Not because the process of getting the passport was exciting, much the opposite in fact, but because it meant he had two passports before the age of one...fascinating for me as I didn't even have a single passport until I was 17! 

The actual process of getting the passport was fairly complicated. With his British passport, all we needed to do was send an application, photo, birth certificate, and reduced fee. A few weeks later, he had his passport, which is valid for 5 years. For the American passport, we needed to make an appointment at the embassy in London. Both Alexander and I had to go to the appointment, otherwise we would have needed to get an official document excusing the absent of one parent. In order to get the passport, we needed to also get a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). The passport was $105, and the CRBA was $100. Along with the fees and applications, we needed: Alexander's passport, my passport, Baby's British Passport, our marriage certificate, my divorce decree from previous marriage, Baby's full birth certificate, proof of my residence in the U.S. To prove I had resided in the U.S. I had to show my high school transcripts, university transcripts, tax documents. We also had to apply for a Social Security Card. The appointment took about an hour, and they had a nice little play area for babies, but it really seemed to be a bit over-the-top to get a document that is valid for 5 years and will only be used when travelling in and out of the U.S.

Regardless of the hassle, I'm excited that my baby boy is lucky enough to have dual citizenship. When he's older, he may choose to only have one, but I'm glad that he's the one who will make the choice!