If your child is born outside the UK you can register the birth at British Embassy Phnom Penh. You don’t have to do this, but if you do your child will be given a British style birth certificate and the birth will be registered at the General Registry Office in the UK as well as in the consular district where the birth occurred. We recommend consular birth registration because it means you will be able to get extra copies of the certificate from the General Register Office in the future.

Please note that the British Embassy in Phnom Penh does not issue Birth Certificate. All registrations are accepted for forwarding to London for processing.

Birth outside of Cambodia will need to be forwarded to the relevant Post for registering.

Birth registration is not compulsory, but we recommend it. The advantages are that
(1) A British style birth certificate is available as proof of identity and proof of nationality.
(2) A record of the birth will afterwards be held at the General Register Office in the United Kingdom. In the future, copies can be obtained from the General Register Office.

The fee for registration plus one certified copy of the entry is £151 (£92 + £59). Additional copies of the entry can be obtained at a cost of £59 per certificate.

Before processing the application for a child's birth registration, we need to see evidence of the child's nationality status. Original documents are required (all documents will be returned to you after it has been seen by the Officer). Photocopies are not accepted in any circumstances. We require certified translations of any document(s) not in English. The following documents are required:

1. Child's official birth certificate, issued by the Cambodian Authority. We will follow the names as they appear on the local document.
2. Evidence of father and/or mother's nationality status: UK full-length birth certificate (*) or naturalisation or registration certificate.
3. Parents' marriage certificate. Evidence that any previous marriages of the parents have been dissolved (ie divorce) or death certificates as appropriate.
4. Both parents' passports (and child's Cambodian passport, if applicable).

* We require the long form birth certificate of the parent transmitting nationality (ie with both parents' names on it). If you do not already have your long form birth certificate, you may obtain it from the General Register Office.

If you wish to apply to register your child's birth, please complete the enclosed application form and return to Consular Section, with payment and documentation as specified above.

Registration of birth application form [PDF, 67KB]  

Child's passport application

You may wish to apply for a first passport for your child at the same time as you apply to register their birth. Please note that children can no longer be added to their parents' passports; they must have separate passports. The fee for a child's passport (valid for five years) is £76.

Please complete a C2 Passport Application Form in full and return it to us with payment and evidence of the child's British nationality (ie either a British birth certificate or full documentation as for a birth certificate). We require two recent, identical photographs (35mm by 45mm), one of which must be countersigned on the back. (This is explained in detail in Note 5 of the "Notes for Form C2".)

Birth registration/passport applications may be made in person or representative at the Consular Section at the following hours: Monday to Friday 09.00 - 11.30 & 13.30 - 15.00.

Notes on British nationality

You will be able to transmit your British nationality to your child born overseas if you acquired your British nationality "otherwise than by descent". If you were born in the UK, naturalised in the UK or (in some, but not all cases) registered in the UK, you acquired your British nationality otherwise than by descent. If you are not sure, please ask us for further advice.

If you were born overseas to a British parent, you acquired your British nationality "by descent" (unless your father was in Crown Service at the time of your birth). Your child born overseas will not automatically have a claim to British nationality but it may be possible to register him or her as a British Citizen at the Immigration & Nationality Directorate, Home Office or ask us for form MN1. If you intend to settle in the UK you are advised to apply in the UK.

If you and your partner are not married

If you are a British man and your child’s mother is foreign you can apply for Consular birth registration only if the child was born on or after 1 July 2006. If you are an unmarried woman who has had a child abroad whose father’s name is not on the local birth certificate and you would like the father’s details recorded on the British certificate, you will need to swear the declarations in front of a consular officer from British Embassy Phnom Penh.

British fathers cannot transmit their nationality to illegitimate children automatically (see below). If the parents marry after the child's birth, it is possible that the child's birth will be "legitimated" by its parents' marriage. In order for us to establish whether or not legitimisation has taken place, we require both parents to sign paternity declarations in person at the Embassy and the father to complete the "Domicile Questionnaire".

Paternity declarations (father) [PDF, 10KB]

Paternity declarations (mother) [PDF, 10KB] 

Domicile questionnaires [PFD, 29KB]  

An appointment is necessary for the Declarations and Domicile Questionnaire. All declarations and documents should be submitted prior to the appointment date. The purpose of this is to establish whether the father has retained a domicile in the UK (this basically means close connections) and can therefore benefit from the provisions of British nationality law. The completed domicile and documentation will be sent to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Those applying should expect to receive a decision in 8 weeks.

British mothers, whether married or not, may transmit their nationality to their children. However, in order to include the father's name on the birth certificate we require either the parents' marriage certificate or paternity declarations signed by both parents in person at the British Embassy.

British Fathers, who are not married, can now lodge an application, for a child born outside the UK, for Registration of Child under 18 as a British Citizen by using form MN1, with the Home Office. Please note that the decision is at the discretion of the Home Office Secretary. Those applying should expect to receive a decision in 12 - 15 months. The fees are £400 payable to the Home Office, plus £59 payable to the British Embassy. Please note that fees are not refundable.

All fees are payable in US dollar using Consular Rate of Exchange, please visit the Consular fee for updated fees and rate of exchange.