Birth

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 (SCA; CC 141.0):

the child of a married couple at least one of whom is Swiss.
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 from birth once paternity has been confirmed.

Birth abroad

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.

There is no fee for the registration in question.

Information for Swiss abroad in Hong Kong

Your child is born. Congratulations!

Every child who has at least one Swiss parent becomes a Swiss citizen (regardless of the marital status of the parents) provided that the birth is registered with the Swiss authorities.

To register the birth you should submit the birth certificate of your newborn together with the “Application for Birth Registration” (see column on the right side) to this Consulate General.

For children born in Hong Kong, please obtain a certified copy of the Birth Certificate with the Birth Registry of the area in which your child was born (see web link below for details):

Addresses and Office Hours of Births Registries

This Consulate General will forward the birth certificate to the competent authorities in Switzerland for registration. The process may take up to 2 – 3 months. Once your child is registered in Switzerland you may apply for a biometric Swiss passport for your child (see passport information on this web site).

Should you need to travel with your baby before his or her birth is registered in Switzerland this Consulate General may issue a Swiss temporary passport with a limited validity in emergencies. It should also be noted that temporary passports are not biometric passports.

Form

Application for birth registration

Hong Kong Immigration Department

Births and Deaths General Register Office

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.