Requirements for registering births of Panamanians who were born abroad

Requirements:

1. Original birth certificate, issued by the Civil Registry office or entity where the birth occurred, which must be apostilled or legalized by the consular authorities and the Ministry of Foreigners Affairs of Panama.

• If the certificate is written in a language other than Spanish, it must be translated by a public interpreter authorized in the Republic of Panama.

2. Affidavit rendered by the Panamanian father or mother, before a notary public of the Republic of Panama, in accordance with the provisions of article 99 of Law 31 of July 25, 2006, where it is stated that he/she is the biological father or mother of the holder and that the birth certificate presented is not based on an adoption process. When the parents are abroad, the affidavit may be made before the Panamanian consulate accredited in their place of residence. In case of affidavit rendered before the Consul, said document must be countersigned before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Panama.

3. Certificate of residence, issued in the name of the father or mother of Panamanian nationality, which is issued by the Juez de Paz of the district of residence of such father or mother. When the petitioner is of legal age, the residence certificate must be issued in the name of the petitioner, since he/she must prove his/her residence in his/her own name in compliance with article 9, numeral 2 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama.

4. Photocopy of personal identity card or passport of the father or mother of Panamanian nationality and photocopy of the passport of the foreign parent. In the case of passports, the general information of the interested parties must be visible and must be duly verified. When the petitioner is of legal age, a copy of the passport of the country of origin must also be presented, showing the general information, entry and exit stamps of the country, which must be verified by a notary, Panamanian consul, or Civil Registry official.

5. The birth registration process may be carried out by any of the parents or grandparents without the need for any authorization. However, if the registration is requested by a person other than the aforementioned, he/she must present an authorization in his/her name, duly notarized, granted by one of the parents or one of the grandparents.

6. If the registration is requested through a legal proxy, the notarized power of attorney and an application must be submitted.

7. When applications for registration of several siblings are submitted, additional photocopies of the common documents must be submitted. For instance: if there are three minor siblings, two additional copies of the affidavit, the certification of residence and three copies of the identity documents of the parents must be submitted, duly verified; with the purpose of making the three files.

Observations:

Pursuant to Article 4 of Decree 3 of February 11, 2008, “the Civil Registry official may personally verify the accuracy of all evidence presented to him/her before making the annotation of the registration of the fact,” so that compliance with the requirements and the receipt of the same by the official, DOES NOT IMPLEMENT the positive response of the procedure. Similarly, and depending on each case, additional documents may be requested and ordered to clarify or verify information that is not clear, which is why the duration of the process may vary.

The name of the parents or the Panamanian parent on the birth certificate must coincide with their identity documents (identity card or passport). In the case of women who carry a married name, the birth certificate must indicate their maiden’s name, as well as any other information that allows identifying that it is the same person.

In cases of apostilled birth certificates, the apostille seal must be translated into Spanish in the same manner.

In case the Panamanian parent is deceased, the affidavit may be submitted by the surviving parent or any other relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity. However, in these cases, for the affidavit to be admitted, the death of the deceased Panamanian parent must be registered in the Panamanian Civil Registry. Ultimately, if there are no surviving relatives (a fact that must be proven), the affidavit of the interested party will be admitted.

In the certification of residence, errors will not be admitted, especially in the name of the petitioner, number of identity document, etc. On the other hand, certifications whose text implies that the holder does not have a permanent residence in the country will not be accepted either. For example, the following text will not be accepted: Mr. Juan Perez, with identity card or passport *****, resides in ***** at ************ when he travels to Panama. It must be remembered that the main purpose of this document is to certify that the petitioner has a fixed domicile in Panama, in accordance with numeral 2 of article 9 of the Political Constitution.

It is important to consider that according to the provisions of article 101 of Law 31 of July 25, 2006 “the children of a father or mother who was born abroad cannot be registered as Panamanian by birth, if such father or mother has not acquired the Panamanian nationality before their birth.”

Legal grounds:

• § Article 9, numeral 2 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama.
• § Law 31 of July 25, 2006.