8. Late registration: procedures, fees, and fines
83. In most states, birth registration will still take place after the set deadline when the civil registrar is made aware of the birth. In these cases, a birth
notification must still be submitted. This registration may require additional
evidence.86 Registration is free of charge and, in the vast majority of states,
there is no legal basis for issuing fines for late notification.87
84. However, in a number of states, the registrar may need the permission
of another authority88 or a court to make a late birth registration.89
85. In some states, a person who fails to register a child’s birth may be subject
to a fine90, but states indicate that this is often not applied.91 However, one
state reports a fine for non-registering the birth of a child or late registration
of up to 1 000 euros.92
9. Nationality
86. In a number of states,93 the child’s nationality is automatically registered
in the birth certificate and the civil status register. In some other states94, the
nationality is only mentioned in the birth certificate if this is the nationality of
the state in question; any foreign nationality is not mentioned.
87. One state95 reported that the child’s birth certificate does not contain
information about nationality. Information about nationality is only included
in the civil status register.
88. In several other states,96 the nationality of the child is not mentioned in
the birth certificate.
89.
Two examples of national practice should be mentioned here:
► If the parents are registered as residents in Sweden, the child’s nationality
will be registered in the birth certificate. The child’s nationality is determined by the nationality of the registered parents and the requirements
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
E.g. Germany.
E.g. Austria, Denmark and Lithuania.
E.g. Croatia.
E.g. Netherlands.
E.g. Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland.
E.g. Estonia.
Germany.
Croatia, Denmark and Sweden.
Georgia, Germany, Lithuania and Serbia.
Portugal.
Czechia, Estonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia and United Kingdom.
Page 28 ►Stateless children’s access to nationality