British Expatriate Network

Hello,

I'm wondering how other couples work the 'international aspect' of your family. I have a few questions I'm hoping you'd answer, so I can see what people tend to do.

I'm mainly interested in those of you with an American spouse & an American born child, as that's my situation. I'm guessing it'd be different if we were both British and both sides of our family were in the UK. Though if you are both British, perhaps you could share any experiences of travelling with a baby / young child. Thanks.

Does your child / children have a passport?

If so, how old were they when you got them one?

Do they just have an American passport or a British one also?

Have you taken them back to visit family in the UK?

If so, how old was the child when you travelled?

How long was your flight and how did the baby / child cope with the long journey?

Thanks.

My detailed info is probably out of date but some things don't change. My wife and I were Brits with greencards. The children were 8, 6, and 3, all born here. We had registered them with the consulate when they were born. There is a more formal registration now. They could have been added to our passports but we opted for USA passports for them. I don't know how this would sit with you and spouse, or if it can still be done.
I would opt for an evening flight if possible for the long hop, it takes about 7 hours, but the jet stream can speed things up. Take food for little ones, so you can settle them down to sleep at a normal time, the meals are a long time coming. We had five seats abreast so we could stretch two out on the three middle seat and one on the floor. We had to wake them for some choppy air but got them down again.

I think the baby has to be by the bulkhead but I could be wrong. If so, your stuff needs to go in the overheads, early, when you go on.

I'm sure you will get more later info than mine from the younger members.

Good luck with the trip.

My kids are grown now, but both have had Am. passports since they were babies.

We travelled all over the place with them, since we were in the military.

When flying I would always ask for the front seat of the regular section of the plane, it usually gives you a little extra space.
We flew with baby and toddler, and with the front seat had a space for baby carrier to lay on the floor. (This was Delta flights) Have to hold baby on takeoff and landings.

Our kids flew commercial and military transport since they were born. They had no problems. It's just a little tiring on mommy, especially when hubby wasn't flying with us.

Agree with london... always take an evening flight if possible, that way the kids will sleep most of the way (hopefully). We've flown 8 hour flights and 14 hour flights with them when they were little.

Usually airlines will allow people with small children to board the plane first, or right after the first class dept.

Children are usually more adaptable than the adults wink
Are you thinking of going on a trip?

We're both British but one child was born here, Got him both types of passport within 6 months, first flew back when he was about 9 months. Would not like to be in a foreign country with a child without a passport, regardless of nationality of other parent.

Wholeheartedly recommend paying for a seat for the baby if you can, and strapping their car seat into it. Our sprogs fly without problem, but then they've done more of that than many adults and started young. Our flights are generally around the 10 hour mark.

Latch the baby on or give it a bottle on take off and landing -the sucking action helps prevent painful ear problems. Take a small umbrella fold stroller so you can take it to the gate and have it immediately available when you land. Bigger strollers sometimes get put in the cabin, but sometimes get sent to the hold which means they're not available the minute you land.

hth

Does your child / children have a passport? Yes, US only, although when they were born and allowed to be named on my UK passport they were on there too.

If so, how old were they when you got them one? About 3 months old.

Do they just have an American passport or a British one also? See above.

Have you taken them back to visit family in the UK? Frequently

If so, how old was the child when you travelled? Four months was the youngest.

How long was your flight and how did the baby / child cope with the long journey? 7-8 hours, and my experience matches those above.

Have fun - it is not as bad as you might fear!

We travelled out of the US when DD was 12 weeks old, so had to sort out the American passport straight away (it took almost 2 weeks to get her birth certificate, then the usual 6 week passport wait).

Both, but only got the British one just prior to moving to the UK

Young babies are fine on flights - they either feed or sleep. It's harder once they a mobile or require solid food.

Thanks for all the replies. It's good to hear other expats experiences.

I'm going to try to get passport photos taken of my daughter this week - she's coming up on 12 weeks old. So then she can have an American passport.

Probably won't be taking her 'home' anytime soon. My husband thinks it's too long of a journey. He wants to wait until she's old enough to appreciate the trip. roll

So I'm just settling for getting her a passport right now.

I'm still interested in any other experiences, if anyone else wants to share.

Thanks.

Congrats on your new baby girl, Jennie! grin
My best friend was just here on vacation from Scotland and she travelled with her 9 month old baby girl. She had no problems whatsoever; her baby slept for most of the transatlantic flight and quickly adjusted to the time difference on this side of the pond. smile My friend requested, and was allocated, a bulkhead seat (at the front, therefore more room) and a (complimentary) bassinet for the baby on both her outbound and return flights. She flew with Continental Airlines and found them extremely helpful.
.

To mean it does not hurt having both. Taking out county of nationality and all that. they both have advantages, not unless you like standing in very long ques lola

However, do teach your daughter to use spell checker :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Goose, who is Lola? :neutral:

Hi there and congratulations on the new arrival.

I have a 3.5 month old daughter born here in NJ. I got her an American passport (take a white blanket for passport photos and the photo has to have a white background.) They usually put it behind them in the infant seat and take the baby sat in there. The baby has to have eyes open and no parents to be seen on the photo so it can be a bit of a challenge getting a good photograph. I plan to register her as British but will probably not bother getting her a Brit passport unless she ever needs one as they only last 5 years and she will probably just travel on her US passport.

We went to Manchester 3 weeks ago when she was nearly 3 months and went with continental. We requested a bassinet and they book you in a bulkhead seat. However, the bassinets are very big and go over the other passengers(in a 3 seat), so if you get someone big in the middle seat you probably wouldn't be able to use the bassinet as they would be so squashed. However, I had a free seat next to me going and coming back. Scarlett slept the whole way there (it was unbelievable) She actually slept through every night in the UK and then came back home and went back to waking 1/2 times?? Not sure what it was about the UK that made her sleep but it worked for her. The flight back was fine and she cried a couple of times but was generally good - seemed to like the lull of the engine. I heard it is better to fly non_American when with a baby as the amenities are better. Heard Virgin is excellent and you have more room than with continental.

I'm really happy I took her to the UK so early as my family sometimes feel a bit left out seeing as she lives over here, and many of them had not yet seen her. Also, it was nice to finally put her in Winter clothes (it was bloody cold over there). Anyway, sorry for rambling. I plan to fly with her for Xmas - oh and both trips I have had to go alone due to hubbys work schedule, so don't let that put you off.

Agree with everything said above, same experiences here with my 2.
Would add that if you don't plan on leaving the country in the next few years then I wouldnt bother with the passport now, just a waste of money as they are only good for 5 years for under 16.
Get one when you are ready to travel, it usually takes less than 6 weeks to get one.

Disagree with that -If you have family abroad, you never know what may force you to fly over in a hurry. Passport fee is worth the peace of mind of knowing you can go and take sprogs at the drop of a hat. imo.

True to a point but you can get a US passport in a couple of days if you pay the extra $$$