please help me...US children coming back to UK with UK parents

We are from the UK and have been living in the US for nearly 7 years. we have 9 children, 4 of which were born in the US and hold US passports. we are moving back to the UK on the 24th MAY, bought our tickets, have a job, will have no house in the US anymore etc. we mailed off our US born childrens UK passport applications to Washington with plenty of time, and they turned up back at my door yesterday because 2 of the childrens birth certificates had been issued after they were 3 months old.urghhhh
anyhow Abtran or whatever its called the processing company said we have to get  the hospital i nfo which will take another 7 to 10 days and then send it all back. we have to send the US passports with it all. we are running out of time!! there is no expedited way of doing it, they will not do anything to help even if we turn up at washington
would you just use the US passports to come back over to the UK, we have 1 way tickets, but the 4 children are 5,4,2 and 7 months. what will they do to us at immigration would they make us have to take the 4 children with the US passports back???sorry this is complicated, any help i would really appreciate:o

I know the UK embassies in the US say they won't help with passport requests, but I'd try one in England and ask them to make a call.  The woman who did my hubby's citizenship ceremony was able to help us get his UK passport back in, I think, a little over a week.

Something to try.  I'd also include a letter with the application, or if there was any contact info on the letter you got back, call them and explain the situation.

Good luck!

Oh Emma, you must feel totally stressed.

There are two immigration advisors on this site, I am sure they can give you correct info.  However, I will tell you that I am an American married to a Brit, I have ILR.  Last month, I returned to the UK after a short visit in the US.  I forgot my daughter's British passport at home, so only had her US passport.  They did question it, but allowed me in after stamping her passport. 

I would wait for VictoriaS or Garry to answer this, they are the professionals....

Hope it all works out for you....as if you don't have enough stress moving 12 people....

sorry this is complicated, any help i would really appreciate:o

 

Terribly sorry, but it's not clear.  Can one of the regulars or the OP help get this into a coherent enquiry?  Are you planning to arrive without entry clearances?

From what I can tell- the OP and her husband are both British, but have been expats in the US for 7 years.  They're moving back home, but 4 of their 9 kids don't have Brit passports yet because they were born in America.    Everyone involved is a British citizen, but there's just the trouble of not having the passport for the four youngest ones (and having trouble obtaining them in a short amount of time.)  So what happens if they can't get the passports in time and turn up at UK immigration with American passports only (even though they're British citizens?)

I hope that's right- perhaps the OP can clarify further.

Oh, I just thought of something.  Garry (or Victoria), would it be possible to get right of abode stickers in the kids' American passports and then just worry about Brit passports later? Would that be quicker?

From what I can tell- the OP and her husband are both British, but have been expats in the US for 7 years.  They're moving back home, but 4 of their 9 kids don't have Brit passports yet because they were born in America.    Everyone involved is a British citizen, but there's just the trouble of not having the passport for the four youngest ones (and having trouble obtaining them in a short amount of time.)

I hope that's right- perhaps the OP can clarify further.

Thanks!

What that means is that the procedures for someone with a *claim* to British citizenship but having no travel document attesting to it will activate - and what that means in reality is that the IO, and all the other IO's on duty, are going to have to go and look up the rules on how to activate the procedure.  I abhor having to say it, but if you are not white, it could well mean a DNA test.  So if you can get one of those in the meantime, it helps...

It is not an insurmountable problem, but you would be advised to bring lots and lots of formula for the tots, extra nappies, and be ready for a harrowing experience.  And remember that they are going to be especially concerned about the housing for a family of 11.  

Best advice would be to get the travel documents sorted.  ROA stamps if necessary.  

sorry to be confusing everyone,  i called immigration in edinburgh where we will arrive and they said they doubted anyone would have a problem with us, if we have all our documents(ie birth certificates, marriage certificates) which we have. the only thing we are missing at this point is the hospital document because we never had the birth certs issued before 2 of the children had turned 3 months old.
the immigration guy said that there was some kind of stamp that we should have been offered, as the children can live in the UK on US passports anyway. it turns out it would cost around $2000 and still take 4-6 week processing.
we have accomodation organised in the UK and my husband has employment, 7 of us are UK citizens and 4 are born in the US. we are white scottish and no need for DNA testing
still thinking we should go with the US passports and all the documents, and just hope for someone nice.

the immigration guy said that there was some kind of stamp that we should have been offered, as the children can live in the UK on US passports anyway. it turns out it would cost around $2000 and still take 4-6 week processing.

Yes, the ROA stamp can work, and that's probably the best option.  Glad to hear there's no DNA requirement! 

thankyou Garry, and everyone else for your help, one other question i need clarified,  is the ROA stamp the one that i would have to get from the embassy, because they are telling me that it is very expensive because i have 4 to get, and it will still take 4-6 weeks. the immigration guy i spoke to said it is called something about entry clearance as an accompanying dependant child, can it be sped up?