Really need help with passport issue! Home Office asking for so much information!!

GinoGileli

Hi All,

I am experiencing a really stressful experience regarding a passport application. To sum it up:

My wife, who was born and raised in the UK, has an older sister who was not born here but was naturalised here as a child over 25 years ago. Her sister essentially suffers from severe bipolar and mental disorders and is extremely unstable, violent and often locked up. Her sister had a child 7 years ago and my wife fought to keep custody of the child as the government deemed her sister incapable of caring and were going to put the child in a home. 

My wife managed to gain sole custody of the child as the father is totally unknown (the sister has no recollection of people she has been with when she has a bipolar episode so finding the father is impossible). 

Fast forward 7 years later, my wife and I are trying to go on holiday with her niece and the passport office are making it totally impossible to get a passport. To put it into perspective they are asking for the below:

The biological mother’s naturalisation certificate, passport number, passport reference number, immigration reference number, proof of right to remain at the time of birth. 

They also want the maternal grandparents naturalisation and marriage certificate. The paternal grandparents naturalisation and marriage certificate. 

We have explained to them the below:

the mother is severely bipolar, she is at this moment in time in prison for attacking a police officer so even contacting her is not possible. 

My wife’s father does not live here, my wife’s mother has also passed away. 

The paternal side is completely unknown and I don’t think it is something we will ever find out. 

I really need some advice here because I feel like they are condemning the little girl to having no passport as the list of things they need are totally impossible to get. 

For reference, the little girl was born in a UK hospital and has a UK birth certificate, as well as attends a UK school and went to UK court for custody. 

user1977

Presumably some of the information is available e.g. the grandparents' marriage certificate (assuming they were married)?

Isn't any of the mother's information publicly available? (I don't know where naturalisation gets recorded). Did she have a UK passport?

Prisoners can be contacted, though I appreciate she might not be helpful.

GinoGileli

user1977 said:

Presumably some of the information is available e.g. the grandparents' marriage certificate (assuming they were married)?

Isn't any of the mother's information publicly available? (I don't know where naturalisation gets recorded). Did she have a UK passport?

Prisoners can be contacted, though I appreciate she might not be helpful.

The parents were not married here, but back home nearly 40 years ago. 

Regardless, of the mothers information being publicly available, they want the actual naturalisation certified with is nearly £500 and in order to replace it you need information that she doesn’t have (such as issue date, reference number etc). She had a UK passport yes. 

Although prisoners can be contacted, she has explicitly said she will not help + even if she wanted to, the home office want passport number and reference etc and in order to get a new passport, she would need a photo taken which right now is not possible. 

Voyager2002

Have you tried contacting your MP?

And a different set of issues, but have you considered adoption? That would make life so much simpler in many ways.

elsien

Is there not a children’s social worker involved who could help with this?

brianposter

These people have been known to be helpful

https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line

Flugelhorn

they should accept that the paternal side is unknown and not listed on the birth cert - that at least limits the info needed. 
Does the sister have a passport ? 

Agree with @brianposter above - try the advice line, they are the ones suggested as being the correct route for foster children

user1977

GinoGileli said:

user1977 said:

Presumably some of the information is available e.g. the grandparents' marriage certificate (assuming they were married)?

Isn't any of the mother's information publicly available? (I don't know where naturalisation gets recorded). Did she have a UK passport?

Prisoners can be contacted, though I appreciate she might not be helpful.

She had a UK passport yes. 

...in order to get a new passport, she would need a photo taken which right now is not possible. 

I would have thought the Passport Office only want to know that she had a UK passport (and can check their own records for that). Whether she has a currently valid passport doesn't seem relevant to her child's status.

DullGreyGuy

Did she not adopt her niece? That would have solved many of the problems 

user1977 said:

Isn't any of the mother's information publicly available? (I don't know where naturalisation gets recorded). Did she have a UK passport?

Naturalisation isnt public record. Where they are held depends if its pre or post 1986, presumably its after in which case it will be with the UK Visa and Immigration Service.

Voyager2002 said:

Have you tried contacting your MP?

Ours made a chocolate teapot look like a fantastic thing by comparison. Several calls initially that seemed like they were taking it seriously, a month later managed to solve matters myself, a further 3 months later get a letter from the MP that simply said "see enclosed response from HMPO" and in it was a second letter saying they couldn't discuss matters with an MP; well worth the 4 months wait. 

Flugelhorn

user1977 said:

GinoGileli said:

user1977 said:

Presumably some of the information is available e.g. the grandparents' marriage certificate (assuming they were married)?

Isn't any of the mother's information publicly available? (I don't know where naturalisation gets recorded). Did she have a UK passport?

Prisoners can be contacted, though I appreciate she might not be helpful.

She had a UK passport yes. 

...in order to get a new passport, she would need a photo taken which right now is not possible. 

I would have thought the Passport Office only want to know that she had a UK passport (and can check their own records for that). Whether she has a currently valid passport doesn't seem relevant to her child's status.

they need to know that she was a british citizen or had right to remain here when the child was born - otherwise the child is not a british citizen 

hopefully you have an efficient MP who may be able to help - this is quite a specific set of circumstances and the usual "help" systems can't cope

heatherw_01

The information they need is non-negotiable as they have to have the information they need as issuing a passport to a country is always a big thing, so they have to get it right.

With regards to contacting your MP, you can try, but they won't be able to circumvent these requirements.