# Birth abroad notification understanding?



## Lorij (Jul 8, 2012)

Has anyone gone through the process of filing a birth abroad with the embassy in DF? If so can anyone fill me in on how the process went? I read about it on the website, but would like to hear of personal experiences. Also a question, it says to bring the child's birth certificate, what if it is a home birth with a midwife? Not sure how one would get a birth certificate in this case?? Anyone with any info on this please?? Thanks in advance!:confused2:


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## PanamaJack (Apr 1, 2013)

Lorij said:


> Has anyone gone through the process of filing a birth abroad with the embassy in DF? If so can anyone fill me in on how the process went? I read about it on the website, but would like to hear of personal experiences. Also a question, it says to bring the child's birth certificate, what if it is a home birth with a midwife? Not sure how one would get a birth certificate in this case?? Anyone with any info on this please?? Thanks in advance!:confused2:


My children are in their teens but I registered each as a birth abroad with the embassy in DF. I had to have an original birth certificate, my passport and my wife's passport and nothing more. of course that was years ago but I am sure it is still quite similar. 
You will need some form of birth certificate showing you as the parent of the child otherwise they may require a DNA test.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

If the baby was not born in a hospital and provided with a birth certificate, I would suggest that the parents made a very bad decision and will have to jump through some extra hoops to prove who the baby really is. Start by going to the Registro Civil in your Municipalidad. That is where you must register the birth and get documented.
Next, take the birth cirtificate and your own documentation to the nearest US Consulate and register the foreign birth of your child.
As soon as that is done, get your child a passport from each country and renew it on time. 
Dual citizenship has definite advantages, so you should not chance screwng it up.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> If the baby was not born in a hospital and provided with a birth certificate, I would suggest that the parents made a very bad decision and will have to jump through some extra hoops to prove who the baby really is. Start by going to the Registro Civil in your Municipalidad. That is where you must register the birth and get documented.
> Next, take the birth cirtificate and your own documentation to the nearest US Consulate and register the foreign birth of your child.
> As soon as that is done, get your child a passport from each country and renew it on time.
> Dual citizenship has definite advantages, so you should not chance screwng it up.


 I like these kinds of questions that send me looking for information I'd never come across otherwise. Great way to procrastinate on all those other tasks that I'm supposed to be doing!

I found this government document which gives information about the background, development, and proper way for authorized personnel to complete a "Certificado de Nacimiento" (Certificate of Birth), which is NOT what we would think of as a Birth Certificate - that's an "Acta de Nacimiento". 

http://www.cemece.salud.gob.mx/descargas/pdf/ManualLLenadoCertNac2010.pdf

The "Certificado de Nacimiento" can be completed by a doctor or other authorized staff in the hospital or clinic, as well as by a midwife authorized through the SNS (Sistema Nacional de Salud). 

So in response to LoriJ's question if the midwife attending the home birth was an authorized midwife, this certificate should have been given to the parents as soon as the child was born. 

With this Certificado, whether from the hospital or home birth, the parents then take the baby to be registered at the _Registro Civil_ where they will then be given an _Acta de Nacimiento_ which is the official Birth Certificate. 

If the person attending the home birth was not authorized by SNS, or if, as sometimes happens, the baby arrived precipitously before mamá could get to the hospital, there is a 3rd mechanism. In this case "the medical units of the institutions of the SNS are responsible for issuing the corresponding Certificate, within a maximum of 365 calendar days after the birth has occurred." 

Then there are those babies who for whatever reason were not registered at the Registro Civil within the first year of life, who will then have to be registered as "Extemporáneo". Apparently this is not that uncommon, but I won't go into that process here. 

For those who read Spanish, here is the relevant section from the document mentioned above. If you like Health Informatics, Vital Statistics and such, it's an interesting read. Do I hear groans out there? 😜

_A fin de asegurar la calidad de la información, el Certificado de Nacimiento debe expedirse según las circunstancias que acompañen al nacimiento, de conformidad con lo siguiente:

I. Si el nacimiento ocurrió en un establecimiento del Sistema Nacional de Salud (SNS), éste está obligado a expedir el Certificado de Nacimiento, mismo que debe ser llenado inmediatamente después de ocurrido el nacimiento, o dentro de las primeras 24 horas, por el médico que atendió al nacido vivo durante el parto o a falta de éste por el personal de salud autorizado. _

_II. Si el nacimiento ocurrió con la asistencia de una partera autorizada por alguna institución del SNS para expedir el Certificado de Nacimiento, ésta debe emitirlo inmediatamente después de ocurrido el nacimiento o dentro de las primeras 24 horas.

III. Para nacimientos atendidos por personal no autorizado para la certificación, las unidades médicas de las instituciones del SNS son las responsables de expedir el Certificado correspondiente, dentro de un máximo de 365 días naturales después de ocurrido el nacimiento._


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## Lorij (Jul 8, 2012)

Thanks for the help. The baby has not been born yet. I am simply wanting to know the process ahead of time. I am simply weighing my options as where to give birth in Mexico or in the states. And I am considering a midwife birth instead of a hospital. This can be done in the US but I am.not sure about Mexico. Thanks for the good info.


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## A gringo (Jan 8, 2014)

Lorij said:


> Thanks for the help. The baby has not been born yet. I am simply wanting to know the process ahead of time. I am simply weighing my options as where to give birth in Mexico or in the states. And I am considering a midwife birth instead of a hospital. This can be done in the US but I am.not sure about Mexico. Thanks for the good info.


We too are looking to have our baby here in Mexico and have been looking into details. Our friends had their baby a few months ago and quite frankly, it was not very comfortable. They did not get a private room and instead gave birth in a hallway full of other laboring women. I spoke to the Registro Civil and they told me that after the baby is born we simply take him their and get his acta de nacimiento. The US Consulate General told me that I should take the child to the Consulate no more than 30 days after his birth (or it may cause complications) and with his AdN, file a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. I will need his acta, passport of the American parent(s) nd. Statement of th parent that I have lived in the US long enough to transmit citizenship (Affidavit of parentage, physical presence and support). Proofs can include school transcripts, old passports, tax returns, employment, military or medical records. They told me I would have to schedule appointment, there is a $100 fee and a $8 courier fee. Turnaround time is aprox 10 working days. I was told by my wife that some hospitals do not allow the man to be present during the labor, and was told by two people that I must register the child under the father's last name and the mother's farher's name. I have not confirmed if this is true or not. If anyone has contrary experiences to any information I was given - speak up!


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

A ****** said:


> ... and was told by two people that I must register the child under the father's last name and the mother's farher's name. I have not confirmed if this is true or not. If anyone has contrary experiences to any information I was given - speak up!


The normal way to register a baby is father's "first" last name (_primer apellido_), which will also be the baby's _primer apellido_, followed by mother's _primer apellido_, which is indeed her paternal last name, and which in turn becomes the baby's second last name, _segundo apellido_. 

Historically, if a child was born to a single mother and the father did not officially "reconocer" the child (legally acknowledge paternity), giving the child the paternal last name, the child would have only a single last name, with quite a stigma attached. Sometimes a mother would get around this by arranging to have both of her own last names bestowed legally on the child, or even by having another family member listed as the "father" so the child would have the socially acceptable paternal & maternal last names. 

Do you have concerns about this way of naming your child? My kids all have double last names, paternal then maternal, non-hyphenated, and we have had no problem with that NOB. 

Another tidbit I noted when I was reading up on registering a baby's birth is that the law states explicitly that all babies born in Mexico are to be registered, "regardless of the legal status of the parents". Hopefully you will have your papers in order by then, but even if you do not, that should not prevent you from registering the baby as soon as he is born. Wishing you the best.


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## Lorij (Jul 8, 2012)

Are you allowed to only register the father's last name? We want the baby just have one last name.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Re-read the post just before yours. Avoid the stigma and use the proper naming system for Mexico.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Many Mexicans (and people from other countries in Latin America) have to cope with having two surnames if they go to live NOB. They handle it in different ways, often depending on how short and how common their names are. The usual ways are either to hyphenate the two surnames or to drop off the maternal surname and just go by the paternal surname.

It is a real nuisance to navigate bureaucracy in Mexico with just one surname. That is why, although our children were born in Canada, we made sure to give them double surnames according to the Mexican standard. We did this on both their Canadian and Mexican birth certificates. We knew that it would make it much easier for them if they ever had to live in Mexico. At the time we didn’t know whether they would ever live in Mexico (in fact I thought it very unlikely), but as things turned out, they do. It has made it much easier for them having ‘proper’ Mexican-style double surnames.

I recommend you don’t put the burden of a non-standard name on your child. In the U.S., (s)he can still have the option of going by just the father’s surname. That’s what my kids do when they’re in Canada. But their legal surname is Mexican-style, and it’s what they use in Mexico.


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## PanamaJack (Apr 1, 2013)

maesonna said:


> Many Mexicans (and people from other countries in Latin America) have to cope with having two surnames if they go to live NOB. They handle it in different ways, often depending on how short and how common their names are. The usual ways are either to hyphenate the two surnames or to drop off the maternal surname and just go by the paternal surname.
> 
> It is a real nuisance to navigate bureaucracy in Mexico with just one surname. That is why, although our children were born in Canada, we made sure to give them double surnames according to the Mexican standard. We did this on both their Canadian and Mexican birth certificates. We knew that it would make it much easier for them if they ever had to live in Mexico. At the time we didn’t know whether they would ever live in Mexico (in fact I thought it very unlikely), but as things turned out, they do. It has made it much easier for them having ‘proper’ Mexican-style double surnames.
> 
> I recommend you don’t put the burden of a non-standard name on your child. In the U.S., (s)he can still have the option of going by just the father’s surname. That’s what my kids do when they’re in Canada. But their legal surname is Mexican-style, and it’s what they use in Mexico.


I disagree I think that is overkill. Here is why. I registered my children at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City for a birth abroad with just their paternal last name. However, their Mexican birth certificate that I used to report their birth abroad at the U.S. Embassy has their two last names - paternal and maternal. They have yet to encounter any problems in either country. When in the U.S. use U.S. documents and when in Mexico use Mexican documents. 
NO ONE in Mexico will ever ask to see a U.S. document from them therefore they do not need the same names on their legal papers for different countries, nor will anyone in the U.S. ask for mexican documents since they have a birth abroad certificate and U.S. passports.


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## Lorij (Jul 8, 2012)

If I am forced to give my child two last names to register it in Mexico then so be it. When I return to the states I will have it legally changed to just the one last name in the probate office in my town. Regardless of the norm in Mexico, my husband and I both agree one last name is better for out child. Thanks for all the replies!


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## PanamaJack (Apr 1, 2013)

Lorij said:


> If I am forced to give my child two last names to register it in Mexico then so be it. When I return to the states I will have it legally changed to just the one last name in the probate office in my town. Regardless of the norm in Mexico, my husband and I both agree one last name is better for out child. Thanks for all the replies!


You will not need to. Your child will be registered in the U.S. Embassy in the birth abroad form with just their father's last name. I am holding my son's form from the U.S. Embassy and it has just one last name, I followed that up with his U.S. passport which also has just one last name, mine.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Read post #11 again. 
For the Mexican documents, use the Mexican naming system to avoid confusion and possible stigma.
For the US documents, use the US naming system and accomplish exactly what you desire.
(cross posted with Panama Jack)


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## A gringo (Jan 8, 2014)

I do not mind the baby having two last names, however both sides of my wife's family have a horrid tradition of "taking the child in" based on whether he looks like them or carries their last name. For example, my wife's older brother both looked like his dad and carried his last name. His mother's side of the family ostracized and continue to ostracize him because of these differences. The paternal side of the family, the Torres family took him in, introducing him to all his aunts and uncles and generally inviting him to their family events etc. However my wife looks much more like an Arambula, and even though she carries the Torres name as well, she grew up all her life with the Arambula family and has only met the Torres twice in her life. These are made up last names, but the fact of the matter is, if my child grows up with Nelson (my real last name) and Torres (my wife's fake paternal last name), he will immediately be ostracized by the Arambula family, the only family she knows - simply because he does not share their last name. I want my child to have equal American and Mexican cultural exposure and a great part of that will be if he carries the family name. I believe the family setup is stupid, growing up in a family knowing both sides very well, but it is not how it works here I guess.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

A ****** said:


> I want my child to have equal American and Mexican cultural exposure and a great part of that will be if he carries the family name. I believe the family setup is stupid, growing up in a family knowing both sides very well, but it is not how it works here I guess.


It's not how it works "here" (meaning all of Mexico), but how your wife's family functions. It's certainly not a common practice in Mexico.


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