If your child is born in Colombia and is a British Citizen, registration of your child's birth with the Embassy is not obligatory. However we do recommend registration of the birth as this will provide your child with a British style birth certificate and proof that he or she is a British Citizen.

A consular birth certificate is the only Birth Certificate issued by the British Government that states the holder is a British Citizen and under which section of the relevant Nationality Act this citizenship is derived. Please note that Birth Certificates issued in the United Kingdom do not have these features. Unlike Birth Certificates issued by British Missions, a Birth Certificate issued in the United Kingdom does not confer on its holder British Nationality.

There are two main ways in which a child may be a British Citizen. They are by birth (eg by being born in the United Kingdom of a British Citizen or a settled parent) or by descent (eg one of the parents was born in the UK and the child was born overseas after 1 January 1983). The consular Section staff will be able to tell you whether or not your child is a British Citizen and whether it is by birth or by descent.

If you wish to register your child's birth you should provide all the following documents:

• Completed application form

• Parents birth certificates.

• Parents passports

• The parents' marriage certificate *

• The child's Colombian birth certificate issued by the local authority (not the hospital certificate)

• Parents' British registration/ naturalisation certificate if applicable

• The birth registration fee and the fee for the certified copy of the entry in the Birth Register

All these documents must be the original documents. We cannot accept photocopies. We will, of course, return your original documents to you at once.

* Different document may be required if parents are not married - please contact us for further information