Last week we regististered the birth of the Youngling, something which must be done within six weeks of the birth. There were a whole load of questions, <3 signed the register, and we were given the birth certificate. We were then told that this was a short certificate and that if we wanted a full certificate (which would be required by the Passport Office and for some other purposes for which the short certificate would just not do) it would cost us £3.50.
Does this strike anyone else as bonkers? The two certificates both consist of a single sheet of A4 paper, printed out from a computer record, with a manual signature by the registrar. They take exactly the same amount of effort to produce and, though the full certificate is on (possibly) slightly better paper, basically the same demand on consumables. Why, in the name of all that's fluffy, can't they just give us a proper certificate right away and not have this knobbing about with some certificates being more valid than others? If they really have to charge us for something, how about a nice commemorative thingy that looks nice but is useless?
We paid the money — it's not much, after all — but I'm still wondering what planet some people live on and why things are done in the way that they are.
2 comments:
It's a relic of a different, and happily ended, age.
Originally there was only one birth certificate, the long form. The long form birth certificate contains the mother's and, critically, the father's name.
As a result it identified babies born 'out of wedlock', to use the obscene language of the time. At the time this was an open invitation to discriminate against this child.
Sometime in the '60s it was realised that this was not a good idea and the short form cert introduced which does not have parents named on it.
The short form is OK for almost all purposes, however nationality is dependent on parents nationality and so the long form is needed for passport application.
Interesting. I should have known you'd have some insight on this. :o) Thanks for sharing.
As it turns out I only have a short form certificate, which has been enough to get me a passport. That said, it is a few years since I've needed to use it and perhaps things are different now. Or perhaps the fact that it shows that I was born in the UK is enough...
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