Your passport.

With family eager to meet you scattered all over the world, it is time to start the process of formalising your existence by registering your birth and eventually getting you your first passport. Your dad, used to speedy (not!) African bureaucracy, decides that there is no time to waste as our first family trip to Namibia is planned for the end of March!

Things don't get off to a good start when we are told on the 10th of January that the first available slot to get your birth certificate is on the 7th February! Either a massive amount of babies get born in the Lambeth borough of London, or the process is going to be as slow as feared! This however gives us more time to research the passport situation. In today's multicultural world things are not as easy when it comes to nationality and in your case it is particularly complicated as you are entitled to FIVE different passports: Italian, Namibian, German, South African and British! In the end, after lots of research, we decide that the British option will be quicker and make more sense as you will be growing up in Britain after all. It doesn't stop us from making appointments with the Italian and German embassies as a fail safe though!

On the 7th February we arrive at the Lambeth Town Hall at just after 9 am for our 9.30 appointment. A friendly lady approach us while we wait to help us fill in the forms for your Child Benefit. Yes, you've not done single second's work in your life, but you are going to get paid £20 a week!

After this is done another nice man of Oriental origin shows us to his office and begins in a very efficient manner to complete the necessary paperwork. Just after 10 am we leave Lambeth Town Hall with Iolanda von Wielligh's Birth Certificate!

Now for the passport. Our appointment at the Victoria Local Passport Office is on the very next day and for the last month or so Heino has been struggling to get all the necessary paperwork and evidence together. As your parents are European and not British passport holders, one of them have to provide evidence of employment over the last 5 years. With your dad's superior filing system this responsibility fell on him!

Not superior enough it would seem! Tuesday 8th February starts very early again with us in the queue at the passport office and after quite strict security checks, we are facing a (nice enough) young man who is inspecting Heino's paperwork in minute detail. He is not interested in seeing you, all cute and gurgling in your little chair, at all and at one point even says that it was not necessary for us to bring you! What he is interested in is the fact that there are a few months of Heino's work history over the last 5 years missing. And no, it doesn't matter that there is a letter of employment, contract and bundles of payslips!

Three days and numerous phone calls later Heino is back in the passport office with copies of the missing paperwork! Luckily he also managed to find the first German passport issued to him as the official (quite understandably!) wanted to have prove that this person born in Namibia is in fact a genuine German Citizen! Fortunately everything is in order this time and after he paid the (non-refundable) £110 fee, there is nothing left than to wait!

And a surprisingly short wait it turned out to be! After the application was submitted on the 10th February, a quick phone call on Monday 14th informs us that the passport is ready for collection. Still disbelieving, Heino decides to put it to the test and at 6pm that night he collects what must be the first United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland passport issued to a Von Wielligh!

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