Birth registration and the prevention of statelessness in Europe Information about a child born in Sweden who does not have Swedish nationality is usually sent to the Migration Agency, then the parents must apply for a residence permit and present a valid passport or travel document. There are legal exceptions to the protection of personal data, which include obligations to disclose information about a foreigner’s personal circumstances to specific authorities for the purposes of deciding on a residence permit or enforcing removal. The fear of being deported could potentially hinder undocumented families from registering a baby. In 2023, the government instructed an inquiry to suggest recommendations to increase information-sharing between public authorities to facilitate deportation. Free and prompt birth registration should be assured in law and practice, even if the period within which the birth should have been declared has expired, to ensure that no child is left unregistered. Any barriers that might prevent access to late birth registration, such as financial penalties, should be avoided. 51 Just over half of the countries in the Statelessness Index demonstrate some good practice in facilitating access to free and prompt birth registration after the deadline for registration has passed. However, some good practice can be identified, including no fines or penalties, no action being taken to prevent late registration, or explicit safeguards like ex officio registration where parents fail to register a child, as is the case in Albania where unregistered births are flagged to the child protection unit for mandatory ex officio registration, and in Belgium, where the civil registrar will draw up a birth certificate based on information provided in the notification of birth if parents miss the deadline. There are also initiatives to implement electronic or automatic registration by health institutions. In Norway, the doctor or midwife present at the birth is required to give notification of the birth to the National Registry Authority when the child is born. If the child is born without assistance from a midwife or doctor, the mother must notify the National Registry Authority within one month, but there is nothing in law or practice that suggests late birth registration would not be possible. Although deadlines for registration exist in Spain (72 hours, 10 days, and 30 days), this procedure allows individuals whose births were not registered within the legally established timeframes to still proceed with registration. This process applies to both adults and minors and is regulated by Article 311 of the Civil Registry Law regulations. In no case would a birth remain unregistered; however, the process requires submitting an out-of-time registration application before the competent authority. This provision ensures that individuals are not denied their right to a legal identity, regardless of their age or the circumstances of the delay. 19