Issue with UK child passport application from the US

Not sure if I should have posted this here or in the travel board, sorry! About a month ago I sent in the application for my son's first UK passport from the US, where we are living. Just got an email with this message included:

Thank you for submitting a passport application for William. Unfortunately you did not enclose all
necessary supporting documents.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Please send the following documents: Paternal grandmother's full birth certificate.
Please note we cannot accept photocopied documents and we can only accept laminated
documents where the lamination was completed by the issuing authority as a matter of routine.
For further information please see www.gov.uk/apply-first-adult-passport/photos-and-documents-
you-must-send

The problem is, we submitted this application for our almost 2 year old, and they seem to think this is for an adult. The form we filled out specified that it was a child passport, we put his DoB in correctly, and included the required two photos of our son, who anyone can see from looking is very clearly a toddler. Any grandparents' birth certificates are not supposed to be required for this type of application--we included my husband's (UKC since birth) original birth certificate, and our marriage certificate for good measure even though my son is past the cutoff date for needing that as evidence. Also included my son's full birth certificate, which shows both my husband's and my names on it, as well as full, color copies of all three of our passports (my son already has a US passport). They have a general enquiries (UK- based) phone number listed, but I'm not keen to waste a bunch of time or potentially money calling in to someone who can't actually help us sort this out. Anyone have any guidance?

From what I can see in the required documents tables, if this is your son’s first passport AND his father (your spouse) was born AFTER Jan 1st 1983, you must send the grandparents’ birth certificates as well (I assume this is to prove that your husband is a UK citizen otherwise than by descent and is therefore eligible to pass his UK citizenship down to your son born abroad).

See Table D:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/564950/OS_Guidance_G1_10.16.pdf

For First Time Applicants:
If your parents were born on or after 1 January 1983
• evidence of your grandparents’ claim to British nationality by providing their birth certificates
• and, in the case of grandfathers, the marriage certificate to your grandmother.
This does not apply if your parent’s British Nationality is based on registration, naturalisation or their immigration status. 


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Thanks ksand24, I must have missed that. Sigh, it has just not been my week this week

Hi AliG,
I am also in the process of getting our kids British passports,
from what you said, you made a copy of all of your passports, each page? We have 5 passports in total, oy vey!
Also, did you have to send expired passports? I though I read somewhere that you had to.

Thanks in advance! And good luck!

Hi AliG,
I am also in the process of getting our kids British passports,
from what you said, you made a copy of all of your passports, each page? We have 5 passports in total, oy vey!
Also, did you have to send expired passports? I though I read somewhere that you had to.

Thanks in advance! And good luck!

We did make a copy of all of our current passports, every page :\ But I did not include any expired passports, or my husband's US passport (he is a dual citizen). That was my understanding of the requirements, and we got my son's UK passport back with no issue! Well, apart from me having to send in grandparents' birth certificates afterwards, which was my own fault.

Here is a list of everything I sent in the end:
Full color copies of our passports (My US passport, my husband's UK passport, my son's US passport)
Son's Birth Certificate (original)
Husband's Birth Certificate (original)
My Birth Certificate (original)
Our marriage certificate (original)
My MIL's birth certificate (original) -- she is the only one on my husband's BC, if both your spouse's parents are listed you need both of their BC's I believe

Good luck!