THE REGISTRY OF BIRTH
Registration of births of Panamanians abroad

In accordance with Article 9 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama, Panamanians by birth are the children of a Panamanian mother or father born outside the territory of the Republic, if they establish their domicile on the national territory, which in the case of a minor, will follow the address of the father or mother of Panamanian nationality, who may be accredited by a certificate of residence issued by the police station corresponding to the place of residence or by the through the electoral register of the Panamanian parent (electoral register).

From the age of majority, the holder must prove his residence in the national territory. The demonstration of this condition must be made by means of a certificate of residence issued by the police station corresponding to the place of residence of the person concerned, which must be requested in a personal way, which motivates the registration of these births (of age) to be carried out directly in the "Departamento de Hechos Vitales y Actos Jurídicos Ocurridos" abroad and "Dirección Nacional del Registro Civil", in Panama. It should be noted that the process of registration of births abroad can be done in front of the nearest Panama Consulate. We detail below the requirements and procedures for registering births abroad.

Birth registration at the Consulate (only for minors)

In their role as civil officers, Consular officers request the following documents to register the birth:

• A birth certificate duly authenticated in accordance with the law.
• If the certificate is in a language other than Spanish, a Spanish translation must be provided by an authorized public interpreter from the country of origin whose signature must be authenticated in accordance with the law.
• The affidavit of the parent of Panamanian nationality, where it must be registered that he is the biological father and mother and that in the birth certificate are his biological parents. The foreign birth certificate cannot be presented as an adoption procedure (Article 99 of Law 31 of 25 July 2006, Civil Register and Article 27 of Decree 3 of 11 February 2008).
• A copy of the parents' ID.
• The recall note of the Consulate.

Procedure to follow

STEP 1:
The parent of Panamanian nationality must present themselves personally to the Consular Officer with the original birth certificate issued by the competent authority of the country where the event took place, and with his personal identity card proving his status of Panamanian national. In case you do not have a personal identity card, you can present your passport. In addition, you must present, if possible, a copy of the foreign parent's identity document.

STEP 2:
The Consular Officer examines the birth certificate and verifies the signature of the competent official who issued it. Then he/she proceeds to the signature authentication. At this time, you must verify that the names of the Panamanian parent in the document match those of the identity card or the Panamanian passport.

STEP 3:
The National Directorate of the Civil Registry gives the Consular officer a register of births, containing registration certificates sequentially. The information must be identical to the original birth certificate issued by the competent authority in the country where the event occurred. The information must be completed by hand (handwritten letter) or typewriter. Without mistakes and no deleted or erased information. Errors must be corrected at the back of the document. Fields that cannot be filled due to the nature of the information requested, must be completed by a horizontal line. Finally, the Consular officer, as a civil registrar, is required to record his signature on the registration certificate for it to be legally valid.

STEP 4:
If the birth certificate has been written in a language other than Spanish, it must be legalized by the Panamanian Consular Officer. The Consular Officer must verify that the information included in the translation corresponds exactly to the birth certificate.

STEP 5:
In accordance with Article 99 of Law 31 of 2006 and Article 27 of Decree 3 of 11 February 2008, the Panamanian parent must pay the affidavit of birth, in which they indicate that they are the father or the mother of the child, and that the birth certificate provided to validate the registration is not part of an adoption procedure. In the event that the Panamanian father or mother is dead, the death must be registered in the Civil Register of Panama, and the affidavit of the surviving (foreign) parent will be accepted. If both parents are dead, a declaration will supplement it with the oath that specifies the person who has custody and upbringing, or, failing that, a parent in the four degrees of consanguinity (see section 99 of Act 31of July 25, 2006). The declaration may be made on plain paper or certified paper.

It is important to remember that declarants are under oath and are subject to criminal sanctions in case of absence of truth, according to the provisions of Article 385 of the Criminal Code and Article 27 of the July 31, 2006. The affidavit may be "rendered" before any of the following officials:

• The nearest Panama Consul to the declarant.
• A notary public of the country of origin. In this case, the sworn declaration must be authenticated in accordance with the formalities stipulated by the law and which we have already explained.

STEP 6:
In order to prove the residence of the minor child in Panama, as required by paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Constitution, the Panamanian parent must request in writing that the birth of his child be registered in the province in which he maintains his registration or his electoral domicile in Panama. In cases where the father or mother of Panamanian nationality has changed residence abroad or has never made a certificate, the birth registration cannot be made by the Consular Officer. In this case, the registration must be made in the "Oficina del Registro Civil" in Panama and present a residence certificate issued by the police corregidor of the area of residence of the Panamanian father or mother.

STEP 7:
Once the minutes and registration requirements have been collected and duly completed, the application must be submitted to the "Dirección Nacional del Registro Civil", "Departamento de Hechos y Actos Jurídicos Ocurridos" abroad. A return mail will send a response on the procedure and proof of registration of the birth declaration, before it is delivered to parents.

VERY IMPORTANT:
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO REGISTER THE CHILDREN OF PANAMANIAN MOTHER OR FATHER BORN ABROAD, IF THIS PARENT HAS NOT ACQUIRE PANAMANIAN NATIONALITY BEFORE THE BIRTH OF THEIR CHILD
(see Article 101 of the Law 31 July 2006).