A FATHER has been refused a British passport for his son - even though the child was born in this country and has a British birth certificate.

Mike Davis, 32, said he was flabbergasted when the Passport Agency said his children did not qualify for a passport after failing to meet certain conditions.

His 28-year-old Spanish partner, Sylvia Zamorano, who has lived in this country since arriving as a student more than eight years ago, gave birth to their son, Aitor, in January.

The couple, who already have a two-year-old daughter, Hannah, plan to travel to Spain next month on an extended holiday to visit Ms Zamorano's family.

However, their application for a passport for Aitor was refused.

Mr Davis, from Ferryhill, County Durham, said: "We were told there are only two ways he can gain a British passport - either my partner and I would have to get married, or I would have to go through a lengthy process, filling in lots of forms, to get him registered as a British citizen.

"I was told it is a way of stopping people from abusing the system by having children to get a foot in the door to getting a British passport.

"But to all intents and purposes, my son is British. We haven't just come across from Albania or wherever, Sylvia's been living in this country for eight or nine years, so that cannot apply to us."

Hannah is in the same boat as her brother, but does have a Spanish passport.

Mr Davis has now contacted the Spanish consulate and arranged for his son to get a Spanish passport so they can go on holiday.

The process will take a fraction of the time and is half the price.

He said: "It is just annoying that they are not allowed to hold a British passport until we get married. It's bureaucracy gone mad."

A spokeswoman for the Passport Agency said questions of nationality were a matter of law.

She said: "Until 1983, any child born in the UK automatically had British nationality. Now, a child born in the UK only becomes British if one or other of their parents are British citizens themselves or settled in the UK.

"However, in the case of parents that aren't married, citizenship can only be obtained from the mother.