French authorities reject birth certificate as it does not say 'UK' on it

A British woman living in France told how she was struggling to obtain a DCEM travel document for her teenage son because his birth certificate did not specify it was issued in the UK. 

Karen Cavalier, 57, encountered the problem after applying on the Anef website for the document.

She received a message via the site saying the certificate’s sworn translation, which she supplied, did not include the country. 

She was told to submit a new certificate or the application would be closed in 30 days as ‘incomplete’. 

The Connexion flagged the issue up to her local Aube prefecture and the Interior Ministry. 

On September 19, shortly before the deadline expired, she was notified she would be able to collect the DCEM the following week. 

“What a relief: the whole process took me from July 30 when I submitted my application,” she said. 

Read more: Urgent foreign families in France apply for travel document

DCEMs needed by some for future EU travel

The British Embassy recently urged UK families – and, by extension, other foreign families in France – to apply for documents de circulation pour étranger mineur (DCEMs) for under-18s. 

Otherwise, they risk being incorrectly registered in the new Entry/Exit system for visitors crossing the borders from November 10.

 Read more: New EU border control checks to launch November 10 - official

This is because under-18s do not have their own residency cards unless required for work or study, which is unusual. 

Full UK birth certificates of Connexion team members also include only the county of the place of registration. 

We note that new certified copies ordered from the General Register Office do include a GRO stamp with wording ‘England and Wales’. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registries. 

However, we have seen original English certificates lacking this, and this was the case for Ms Cavalier’s son. 

Applications at Anef are sent on for processing by the local prefecture, which issues the DCEM. 

Translators can struggle with birth certificates

Mrs Cavalier, who has a cleaning business, said: “My translator said she can’t add to what is on the certificate, and the GRO said there is no room to add the country. 

“They said they put the county, but they only register births in England [and Wales]. Maybe the system needs to change?” 

After our initial contact with her, Ms Cavalier received an email from the prefecture saying it would contact the UK consulate for more information about UK documents, and a communication from the ministry asking her to write to the prefecture (which she had already done, on our advice). 

One sworn translator, Barbara Wright from Côtes d’Armor, said where there is a GRO stamp, she translates its wording. 

“If it is hopelessly illegible I write illisible, which they sometimes don’t like.” Another said he does not translate the stamp but he has not heard of refusals due to this.