Registering baby in Argentina- passport question!

[tori29]

Hi all, am currently waiting to give birth to my twin babies here in Buenos Aires and I was wondering if anyone could advise me on the following. I intend to sort out their DNIs, but do I need to get an Argentina passport for them? I am British so was planning on getting them a British passport so they can easily travel to the UK later on. Does anyone know if they can have both Argentine and British passports, or should I just get them British passport?

I am married to an Argentine and have permanent DNI, but was told I could not get Argentine passport, so I always use my British passport and show my Arg DNI when travelling.

If anyone has any tips on this, and can also point me in right direction for getting DNI for my babies next month, I would be so appreciative!

Thanks, Tori

 

[ben]

You are you and your children are your children.
If they are born here, they will not be able to depart the country on a foreign passport.
If you move away and come here for visits, that is an exception. But if you live here - they will need an Argentine passport to exit and reenter the country.

 

[ben]

Re DNI and passport - I'm assuming that you're giving birth in a private institution, in the City of Buenos Aires.
Assuming that's the case, here's the deal:

The office where you register the birth depends on the hospital where you gave birth.

Go to http://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/tramites/inscripcion-del-nacimiento and click "Iniciar trámite online".
Put in all the relevant info and they will give you the location where it gets done, and you pick a date and time for the turno.

You need to come in person, and present the following:
• Libreta de Matrimonio or marriage certificate
• Valid DNI for both parents
• Copies of both of the above.
Seriously, bring the copies. You have a better chance of concluding the process if you forget the originals but bring copies, than vice versa.
I kid you not: this happened to me.

You will have to declare in writing that both parents agree on the child's surname.

At the office, you will get the original birth certificate and fill out the paperwork for the DNI, which will come in the mail. If you miss it, you'll have to make a trip to Registro Civil to pick it up.

You can then apply at any passport office for a passport.

After that, you'll probably want a British passport as well. As I said, it will help for other countries, but not for Argentina - resident Argentines can only enter and exit the country on an Argentine passport.
Don't know how British passport works, Canadian embassy will not deal with you until the child has a DNI.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

What Ben says.

If your babies are born in Argentina to an Argentine parent then they will have Argentine nationality and an Argentine passport will be required if they want to leave the country. In your case, having DNI doesn't automatically get you an Argentine passport - that comes with Argentine citizenship. But as the wife of an Argentine citizen and the parent of two more of them (congratulations, by the way!) obtaining Argentine citizenship for yourself is pretty straightforward - well, as Argentine bureacracy goes, it is.

What I suspect is not so certain is whether your babies can obtain British citizenship. I hope I'm wrong about that and there may be someone on here who can offer an expert opinion, if not, then try britishexpats.com where specifically British issues are aired. You might not know this, if you don't follow the UK news but today, Monday 16th April, the British Government has finally recognised the scandal that they have been mistreating some British Citizens and the children of some British Citizens and may have accidentally deported some of them and they are now trying to undo the mess they have made. These are citizens of the Windrush generation. See the headlines on any British newspaper dated 17 April - the papers are out now and online as I type.

It's very tough to get British citizenship these days but if you are absolutely sure that your children will be entitled to British Citizenship then of course they will be entitled to British passports. There is no restriction on dual citizenship in either Argentina or Great Britain.

 

[tori29]

Thank you both so much! That is really helpful. Didn’t know that my children would have to have the Argentine passport so will make sure to get that. I guess I am worried that there will be an issue with having Argentine AND British passport. To make matters even more complicated I also have an Irish passport so am hoping to get them that too especially after Brexit!! I plan to call the embassies this week for more specific info on whether they are eligible. They should be- I was born in Northern Ireland and didn’t move to Argentina until a few years ago, so imagine that as a British citizen my children should be able to get British passports hopefully.
Thanks again for the info- I will report back once spoken to th embassies.

 

[ben]

There is no problem with having 2 passports. Our family travels with a veritable stack of passports.
Argentina they can only enter/exit on Arg passports, US/Canada visa-free only on the British one.
And even when traveling to Europe, they'll need to explain themselves much less to immigration officials when traveling with a British passport, than with an Argentine one.

If you were born in the UK, getting your kids British passports should not be a problem.
Citizenship is only passed down one generation, though - their children will not be British citizens.

 

[pedroC]

My son (born in BsAs) has both British and Argentine passports, so no problem. And as it has been suggested above, get all their Argentine documentation first.
Also, whenever you decide to fly out of Argentina with your twins, make sure that you also have their birth certificates with you, otherwise they will not allow you to take them out of the country – it’s a mistake that we made, so be aware.

 

[tori29]

Great info thank you again! Wouldn’t have known about the birth certificates so that is really useful to know thanks!
Do you know how long it takes to process the Argentine DNI and passports, roughly? We actually live in Bariloche so am keen to get paperwork in Buenos Aires sorted as soon as possible so we can head back to Bariloche!

 

[thebookcellar]

All the info about Argentina has been answered - I did the same with my son.
Rather than go through the lengthy process of sending off to the UK for their passport I recommend doing a fast track service while in the UK. From Argentina I made the appointment, prepared the papers etc. The fast track takes one week. You give the Argentinian passport and the rest to the passport office in the UK, a few days later everything arrives back. You pay a bit more but it is less aggravation. And you spend time with the family as well!
If you need any more info. send me a private message or email me: [email protected]

It's easy, tramites no mas...

 

[thebookcellar]

Also your marriage certificate!!!

My son (born in BsAs) has both British and Argentine passports, so no problem. And as it has been suggested above, get all their Argentine documentation first.
Also, whenever you decide to fly out of Argentina with your twins, make sure that you also have their birth certificates with you, otherwise they will not allow you to take them out of the country – it’s a mistake that we made, so be aware.