Hi
I’m a British citizen living in Bilbao, Spain (about 3 years) with my Bolivian girlfriend.
I’ve just had a cute new son.

But I’m unsure about getting his NIE, and don’t want to wait in line ages to be just rejected.
I also need to go myself, because I have a NIE number, but have recently been told that I need a green certificate, which I never received, so need to ask for that?

1. Would I have to get him a british passport first?

2. Will I have to fill out the same type of form for myself before I go? (Ive been reading, and I think for me it’s the ex18, also for the son)

Thanks in advance for any advice

Does your girlfriend have permanant residency or dual nationality? Your son, if you are not married is not entitled to British nationality, if you are both permanant resident in Spain he will have Spanish nationality or if not he’ll take his mum’s nationality. I take it you have registered the birth, or are in the process of doing so. You will need the Libro de Familiar and with that you can do all you need to do - get your son registered with a doctor, registered on the padron, nursery etc, etc. With the libro de familia, you can then apply for a DNI for him, but you’ll not really need it unless you travel much outside of Schengen countries. You should be able to get him a Spanish passport which is quicker than the DNI if you need to travel in a hurry. For British nationality you will need to marry your girlfriend or move back to the UK.

Congratulations by the way !!!

Hi,, no my girlfriend only has bolivian nationality.  Really? I’ve been told a lot that I can give him my british nationality, so if that’s true, that will be a big disappointment, as he can’t get spanish nationality or passport. so maybe marriage might have to be the way or working out how to move her back to the UK

Yes, we’ve registered the birth, got the libro de familiar, registered at the town hall and he’s getting the doctors card, I think, through me or my social security

and thanks.

Regarding nationality, I found this:
http://www.tumbit.com/how-to-guides/...in-the-uk.html

reading this bit:

  A child born after 01.01.1983, is entitled to British Citizenship if the mother was born in the United Kingdom.
  From 01.07.2006 a British father does not have to be married to the mother of their child in order to be able to pass on their nationality. So the birth of any child born in Spain to a British father on or after 01.07.2006 can be registered. You will need to any send the child?s full Spanish birth certificate, the father?s full UK birth certificate, and the mother?s passport, DNI or birth certificate. Children born before 01.07.2006 do not benefit from this new legislation..

Oops, sorry to have mislead you on this then. My son was born at the end of 2005 and I checked with nationality people in Liverpool. Glad to hear that you’ll be able to pass on your Brit nationality - we had to get married.