Consulate General Belfast

Consular Report of Birth Abroad

Eligibility for Citizenship

To determine if your child has a claim to citizenship, please read Claim to U.S. Citizenship. If, having read the information, you have any queries regarding your child's possible claim to citizenship, please telephone (028) 9038 6104 or email your query to consularbelfast@state.gov.

If you determine that your child has a claim to U.S. citizenship, the U.S. citizen parent who is transmitting citizenship to the child must attend an appointment at the Consulate General to execute an application for a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad", Form FS-240, before a consular officer.The CRBA is evidence of U.S. citizenship. We recommend that you register your child's birth as soon as possible, but you must do so before his/her eighteenth birthday or before his/her first visit to the U.S., whichever comes first. U.S. law requires that U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, travel to the U.S. on valid U.S. passports. We cannot issue a CRBA on or after the child's 18th birthday.

To schedule an appointment, please telephone (028) 9038 6104 or email consularbelfast@state.gov . Appointments are scheduled between 1:30pm and 3:30pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon with the exception of all American and local public holidays.

While we require that the child and the U.S. citizen parent transmitting citizenship attend the appointment, we recommend that both parents attend regardless of the second parent's nationality. If you intend to apply for a passport for your child at the same time, please refer to the section below "Applying for a Passport for the Child" for information about parental attendance requirements.

Note: If only one parent is a U.S. Citizen, and that parent is not presently in this country, please telephone (028) 9038 6104 or email consularbelfast@state.gov for further instructions.

Documents Required to Register the Child's Birth

• British Birth Certificate: Please bring the child's long-form birth certificate, which is issued by the local authorities. This document shows both parents' names.



• Marriage Certificate: Full copy issued by the local authorities. If married in the United States, please provide a marriage certificate issued by the State Registrar's office in the state where the marriage took place. If you do not have such a doucment, you can apply for one by following the instructions on www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm.



• Both parents passports.



• Divorce Decrees/Death Certificates: It will be necessary to show termination of all prior marriages. Note: If divorced in the U.K., please submit Decree Absolute and Decree Nisi.



• Proof that the American citizen parent(s) meets the physical presence requirements for transmission of citizenship. Please refer to Transmission Requirements for U.S. Citizenship for details. Such proof might include but is not limited to elementary school records, high school transcripts, university transcripts, tax records, social security records, U.S. and foreign passports bearing entry/exit stamps which comprise a complete travel history.



• Form DS2029: Application for Consular Report of Birth. You should complete but not sign the form prior to your appointment.



• Social Security Administration form SS-5-FS is an application for a Social Security Number Card for your child. It is important to note that your names as on file with the Social Security Administration must match the names used on the application for a number for your child.



• Fees: The Consular Report of Birth fee is $65.00. We do NOT accept personal checks. We accept cash, either dollars or sterling. We also accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Novus/Discover and Diners Club credit cards and debit cards that bear the Visa or Mastercard logo.

Applying for a passport for the child

At the time you register your child's birth, you may also submit an application for his or her U.S. passport. If you intend to do so and the child is under 16 years of age, both parents must attend except in the following circumstances:

• If only one parent can be present, the other parent must sign a statement of consent authorizing passport issuance for the child. The statement must be notarized by a notary public. In addition to the statement of consent, the absent parent will be required to submit one of the following: a valid U.S. or foreign passport or a good notarized photocopy of the identity and signature pages of the passport; or a valid driver's license with a photograph; or a valid military ID with a photograph; or a valid US Government ID with a photograph; or a Certificate of naturalization issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or an Alien Resident Card (green card).



• A parent with sole custody or who is the sole parent of a child under the age of 16 must be present with the child, and must submit primary evidence of sole custody or that s/he is the sole parent, e.g. a U.S. or foreign birth certificate or a U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad naming the sole parent, the death certificate for the non-applying parent, a court order granting sole custody to the applying parent, a court order terminating the parental rights of the non-applying parent.

In addition to the documents required to register the birth, you will also need to submit the following:

• Two passport photographs that conform to our specifications.
  [Download as PDF with list of photographers]



• A completed, but unsigned application form DS-11.



• A prepaid Special Delivery envelope for the return of the passport.



• The fee is $85 for a child under the age of 16 and $100 for a child aged 16 - 18. We do NOT accept personal checks. We accept cash , either dollars or the sterling equivalent. We also accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Novus/Discover and Diners Club credit cards and debit cards that bear the Visa or Mastercard logo.

Please use the attached “Checklist” to ensure that you have all the necessary documents prior to attending an appointment at the Consulate General.

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