You wish to report the birth of a child.

There are certain rules governing the granting of Swiss nationality to a child. The following qualify as Swiss at birth:

• the child whose parents are married to each other and whose father or mother is a Swiss citizen.
• the child of a Swiss woman who is not married to the child’s father.
• a foreign child in its minority (born after 1 January 2006) whose Swiss father is not married to the foreign mother acquires Swiss nationality as if at birth once paternity has been confirmed.

Registration in the Swiss civil status register (Infostar) of a birth which has occurred abroad requires submission of the documents listed on this webpage to the Swiss representation competent for the country in which the birth has taken place.

The Regional Consular Centre requires the following documents to register a birth in Switzerland :

• Birth certificate *(Assento de nascimento or certidão de narrativa completa do registo de nascimento) issued by the “Conservatória do Registro Civil” of the main town in the district where the person was born
• Copy of the child’s passport if available
  
  

Should the child’s parents not be married to one another, the Regional Consular Centre in Pretoria must be contacted for further information on registering the birth.

* The Birth certificate cannot be older than six months and must be first legalized by the Ministry of Justice (Ministério da Justiça, Direcção dos Registos e Notariado) and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Maputo (Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Cooperação – MINEC).

Birth in Switzerland

In the case of a birth in Switzerland, parents registered with a Swiss representation abroad are under an obligation to report the birth of the child. They must submit the following document (as hard copy or in electronic form) to enable the representation to update its register of the Swiss Abroad:

• photocopy of the birth certificate of the newborn Swiss infant or of the Swiss family certificate
  

There is no fee for the registration in question.

Swiss identity documents and foreign residence permit

A regular Swiss identity document can only be issued once the birth of the child has been registered in the Swiss civil status register, or rather once the child’s Swiss nationality has been confirmed. In urgent cases, please contact the competent Swiss representation.

Passport and identity card

Regarding the foreign residence permit for the child, please refer to the competent foreign authority.

Authorisation to enter and take residence in Switzerland for foreign children (family reunification)

For foreign children who are joining their parents residing in Switzerland, please refer to the information on the following webpage:

National visa for a stay of more than 90 days