Legal status of children

Every child born in the Republic of Belarus (regardless of the citizenship of their parents) must be registered with the civil registry office. Only in this case does the child's origin become a legal fact and gives rise to legal consequences.

The birth certificate is a document establishing the surname, first name, patronymic of the citizen, the age of the citizen, and the relationship with the parents.

An application for registration of the child's birth must be made no later than three months from the date of birth.

Missing the established deadline is not a reason for refusing to register the birth.

To register a newborn, you must contact the civil registry office at the place of residence of the parents or at the place of birth of the child, if the parents do not have permanent registration at the place of residence.

An application for registration of birth can be made orally or in writing by the parents or one of them, and if this is not possible, by an application from other persons.

In the case where at least one of the parents is a foreigner, the application is submitted only in writing.

To register a birth, the following documents must be submitted to the civil registry office:

• application;
• passports or other documents identifying the identity of the parents (parent), applicant (with the exception of foreign citizens and stateless persons applying for refugee status or additional protection in the Republic of Belarus, and foreign citizens and stateless persons who have been granted additional protection in the Republic of Belarus);
• certificate of registration of the application for refugee status or additional protection in the Republic of Belarus – for foreign citizens and stateless persons applying for refugee status or additional protection in the Republic of Belarus;
• certificate of granting additional protection in the Republic of Belarus – for foreign citizens and stateless persons who have been granted additional protection in the Republic of Belarus;
• medical certificate of birth or a copy of the court decision establishing the fact of birth;
• document serving as the basis for recording information about the father of the child in the birth record (marriage certificates, joint application of the child's parents who are not married to each other, copy of the court decision establishing paternity) – in case the child's parents are not married to each other;
• statement of the child's mother confirming that her spouse is not the father of the child, passport or other document identifying the identity of the actual father of the child, statement of the mother's spouse confirming that he is not the father of the child, joint statement of the mother and actual father of the child on registration of establishment of paternity – in case of registering the birth of a child with the mother declaring that her spouse is not the father of the child.

Information about the mother in the birth certificate entry is provided in accordance with the medical certificate of the child's birth.

Information about the father is based on the marriage certificate or paternity establishment, if the child's parents were not married at the time of his birth.

When a child is born to an unmarried mother, if there is no joint application from the parents for registering the establishment of paternity or a court decision establishing paternity, the information about the child's father is entered into the birth certificate under the mother's surname, the father's first name and patronymic are recorded according to her indication or according to the indication of another person who submitted the application for birth registration.

When registering a birth, the child is given a surname and first name. If the child's parents have different surnames, the child's surname at birth registration is assigned according to the indication of the parent who made the application, in accordance with the surname indicated in the document identifying the parent. A child may be given a double surname if the parents (one of the parents) have a double surname.

For reference:

According to Article 18 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, a citizen's name includes: surname, first name, and patronymic (if any), unless otherwise provided by law.

If, during birth registration, the applicant expresses a desire to indicate the nationality of the parents, then the nationality of the parents — citizens of the Republic of Belarus — is indicated in the child's birth certificate in accordance with the nationality indicated in the passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus.

Information about the nationality of a parent who is a foreign citizen is indicated in the birth certificate according to his national passport. If the national passport of a foreign citizen does not contain information about nationality, the latter can be determined in accordance with a document issued by a competent authority of a foreign state.

ESTABLISHMENT OF MATERNITY AND (OR) PATERNITY

The establishment of maternity and (or) paternity in the Republic of Belarus, regardless of the citizenship of the parents and the child and their place of residence, is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

In cases where, according to the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the establishment of paternity in bodies registering acts of civil status is allowed, parents of a child residing outside the Republic of Belarus, at least one of whom is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, have the right to apply for registration of the establishment of paternity to consular institutions, as well as diplomatic missions of the Republic of Belarus in case they perform consular functions.

Maternity and (or) paternity established outside the Republic of Belarus in compliance with the legislation of the respective state are recognized as valid in the Republic of Belarus.

Paternity can be established at any time in the child's life, including after reaching adulthood.

The basis for registering the establishment of paternity is a joint application from the child's parents or a court decision on establishing paternity.

The basis for registering the establishment of maternity is a court decision on establishing maternity.

Based on the record of the act of establishing paternity, changes are made to the birth registration record and a new birth certificate is issued with the details of the father entered.

To register the establishment of paternity, the following documents must be submitted to the registry office:

• a joint application from the parents to establish paternity or an application for registering the establishment of paternity based on a court decision on establishing paternity;
• passports or other identity documents of the applicants (applicant);
• the child's birth certificate, if the child's birth was registered earlier;
• written consent from the adult in respect of whom the registration of paternity is being carried out, in the case of registering paternity for a person who has reached adulthood;
• a copy of the court decision on establishing paternity, in the case of registering paternity by court decision.

To register the establishment of maternity, the following documents must be submitted to the registry office:

• application;
• passport or other identity document;
• child's birth certificate;
• copy of the court decision on establishing maternity;
• written consent from the adult in respect of whom the registration of maternity is being carried out, in the case of registering maternity for a person who has reached adulthood.

CITIZENSHIP OF CHILDREN

A child, at least one of whose parents is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, acquires Belarusian citizenship immediately after birth. However, parents may choose for the child the citizenship of the country of the parent who is not a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, if under the law of that state, the child can acquire that citizenship.

A child can acquire citizenship of the Republic of Belarus by birth if on the day of the child's birth:

• at least one of the child's parents is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, regardless of the place of birth of the child;
• the parents (sole parent) of the child, temporarily or permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus, are stateless persons, provided that the child was born on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
• The child's parents (single parent), who permanently reside in the Republic of Belarus, are foreign citizens, provided that the child was born on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, and the states of which their parents are citizens (subjects) do not grant him their citizenship.

A child located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, whose parents are unknown, becomes a citizen of the Republic of Belarus.

If the citizenship of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) or the sole parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) changes, the child's citizenship changes accordingly if he has not reached the age of 14.

Changing the citizenship of a child aged 14 to 18 in the event of a change in the citizenship of his parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) or the sole parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) is allowed only with the consent of the child, expressed in writing and notarially certified.

At the request of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) or the sole parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother), the child's citizenship of the Republic of Belarus may be retained if they terminate their citizenship of the Republic of Belarus.

If one of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) acquires citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, and the other remains a foreign citizen or a stateless person, the child may acquire citizenship of the Republic of Belarus by joint application of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers), or by application of the parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) who acquires citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, if the whereabouts of the other parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) is unknown, except in the case provided for in the second part of this article.

If one of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) acquires citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, and the consent of the other parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) for the child to acquire citizenship of the Republic of Belarus is absent, the child may acquire citizenship of the Republic of Belarus by application of the parent, adoptive parent (adoptive mother) who acquires citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, if otherwise the child would become a stateless person.

If one of the parents, adoptive parents (adoptive mothers) renounces or loses their citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, and the other remains a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, the child retains citizenship of the Republic of Belarus.