I am getting ready to have my second child in Basel, and compliled this list of what steps to take to get an American passport and B-permit for the baby. Maybe it will help someone else, I could not find this all in one place and in the order it had to be done.
1. Email the Bern embassy and ask for the paperwork for the American passport: bernacs@state.gov http://bern.usembassy.gov/birth_abroad.html.
2. Get a passport picture of the baby. I took my own pictures of our son lying on a white sheet. You need the picture well lit, with both ears (face straight ahead) showing, eyes open. I then emailed a few to : info@photobasilisk.ch (Foto Basilisk on Clarastrasse, in Kleinbasel). http://www.photobasilisk.ch/ . They picked one that was acceptable, cropped it correctly, and printed it for me. I picked it up. I cant remember the exact cost. I think around 30CHF?
3. Order the international version of the birth certificate.
4. Passport: Fill out the forms from the U.S. Embassy. Send a copy of the embassy forms, passport photos, and the international birth certificate to Bern. They email you (or call you) and say that it all the paperwork looks okay. Then you make an appointment online and go to Bern (with the baby!), bring all original docs and apply for the passport in person. When I did this in 2012, they only let you take yourself, the baby, and your documents inside (i.e.: no stroller, no water, no phone, etc.) The best thing is lock all of this in a locker at the train station.
5. B-permit: Sometime after the birth, the Basel Stadt immigration office sends you a form asking you to register the baby. Bring this form, along with the baby's passport (!), local and international birth certificate. They take a picture there of the baby. They then send you the permit.
1. Email the Bern embassy and ask for the paperwork for the American passport: bernacs@state.gov http://bern.usembassy.gov/birth_abroad.html.
2. Get a passport picture of the baby. I took my own pictures of our son lying on a white sheet. You need the picture well lit, with both ears (face straight ahead) showing, eyes open. I then emailed a few to : info@photobasilisk.ch (Foto Basilisk on Clarastrasse, in Kleinbasel). http://www.photobasilisk.ch/ . They picked one that was acceptable, cropped it correctly, and printed it for me. I picked it up. I cant remember the exact cost. I think around 30CHF?
3. Order the international version of the birth certificate.
4. Passport: Fill out the forms from the U.S. Embassy. Send a copy of the embassy forms, passport photos, and the international birth certificate to Bern. They email you (or call you) and say that it all the paperwork looks okay. Then you make an appointment online and go to Bern (with the baby!), bring all original docs and apply for the passport in person. When I did this in 2012, they only let you take yourself, the baby, and your documents inside (i.e.: no stroller, no water, no phone, etc.) The best thing is lock all of this in a locker at the train station.
5. B-permit: Sometime after the birth, the Basel Stadt immigration office sends you a form asking you to register the baby. Bring this form, along with the baby's passport (!), local and international birth certificate. They take a picture there of the baby. They then send you the permit.