Birth Registration and Consular Assistance in Egypt and Morocco 19 Marriage Certificates The most common difficulty obstructing foreign parents from registering the births of children born in Egypt is the requirement for a marriage certificate. Although the law theoretically permits other forms of proof of relationship, officials on the ground in practice require a marriage certificate to register a birth, even in case of children born of rape.65 Only with legal assistance will a birth certificate be issued to a child born out of wedlock. In practice, if the father is not available (and there is no death certificate), another male family member can accompany the mother to register the birth of the child in their name— but only if that family member has all the required documents. Among the migrants and refugees interviewed, very few were aware of the process to register a marriage in Egypt; others could not register their marriages because they lacked valid identification documents or a residence permit. If their marriage has been registered in a country of origin, a letter from the relevant embassy is still needed to authenticate the marriage certificate or to state that the embassy does not object to the marriage of a national in Egypt. No consideration is given to the inability of a refugee to approach his or her embassy. Many had no formally registered marriage, if they had been married under customary law or with only a religious ceremony, or if they came from countries where no civil marriage certificate is issued (for example in Sudan and South Sudan, and in Syria). The problem here in Morocco is that when you don’t have a marriage certificate and you are Muslim they register the births as father unknown. My husband is the father of four girls of which two are born in Morocco, and they are registered as children of unknown fathers. I’m against this solution. — Nigerian A marriage certificate is also required by the authorities in Morocco in case of Muslim parents (only). As in Egypt, the Moroccan authorities do not accept evidence that parents are formally married in accordance with the rules of their own country, if that country does not require civil registration in addition to any other ceremony. For those who are living together without a marriage of any kind, the situation is even more difficult. Single mothers also face significant difficulties if the father is not present, especially if they state that they are Muslim—even though unmarried Moroccan women are permitted under the civil registration law to register a birth, recording the father as unknown. For couples or women who state that they are not Muslim, however, parents are permitted to register a birth without a marriage certificate. Residence Permits/Certificates An obstacle of equal significance in Egypt is the requirement to produce a residence permit showing legal presence in Egypt. It is a constant challenge for asylum seekers and refugees, or ordinary migrants in regular status, to keep their permits valid, since in most cases they expire after six months and it takes around two months to receive a new one. Mohamed Farahat, ‘Children of rape of refugee women, and statelessness, in Egypt’, Forced Migration Review Vol. 55, June 2017. 65