Previously, we shared a guide for Filipinos who are planning to get married in Oman. This time around, we are going to talk about another family-related topic: applying for a child’s Report of Birth. This, in turn, can be used to obtain the child’s Philippine Birth Certificate.
If you have just given birth, or if you will soon be parents to a newborn baby, don’t forget to apply for a Report of Birth. If both parents are Filipino citizens, or even if only one of the parents is a Filipino, applying for the child’s Report of Birth – and eventually obtaining his/her Philippine Birth Certificate – is an essential task.
Guide to Applying for a Report of Birth
Under Philippine law, the Philippine Birth Certificate serves as an official and permanent record of a person’s existence and family relations. It is a common requirement in many situations: enrolling in school, applying for a voter’s ID, getting a job, getting married, and so on.
For children who are born abroad, their parents or legal guardian can apply for a Philippine Birth Certificate. This is done by reporting the child’s birth at the Philippine Embassy or Consulate that has jurisdiction over the country or locality where the child was born.
What is a Report of Birth?
The Report of Birth is basically a declaration that a child has been born to Filipino parents abroad. After the child is born, his/her parents must register the birth with the Philippine Embassy or the Philippine Consulate General in the country where they are based in. By doing so, the child’s birth can eventually be registered with the office of the Civil Registrar General back in the Philippines.
Qualifications
The Report of Birth applies to children who are born abroad and whose parents are: (a) both Filipino citizens; or (b) one parent is a Filipino citizen. In either of these cases, the parents can apply for a Report of Birth and eventually obtain a Philippine Birth Certificate for their child.
Keep in mind that the child’s birth must be reported to the Philippine Embassy or to the Philippine Consulate General within 12 months after he/she is born. If the parents are not able to report within this period, they may still apply for a Delayed Report of Birth, provided that they can submit the necessary documents and give a valid explanation about the delay in reporting their child’s birth.
Requirements
To apply for a child’s Report of Birth at the Philippine Embassy, you will need to prepare:
- Accomplished Report of Birth (ROB) Form (4 copies). You can download it through this link.
- Child’s Birth Certificate issued by the Royal Oman Police (1 original apostille + 3 copies). This should be translated into English and apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Check out this link for more information about getting an Omani birth certificate.
- Passports of the Child’s Parents (original + 4 copies). The original passport is required for verification by the Consular Section.
- Marriage Certificate of the Child’s Parents (1 original apostille + 3 copies). This should be issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). As an alternative, the parents may also submit 4 copies of their Report of Marriage (ROM) issued by the Philippine Embassy.
NOTE: Keep in mind that the Philippine Embassy will only accept a Report of Birth for Filipinos with proof of having been born in Oman, especially in cases of delayed registration. If one of the requirements cannot be submitted because of special circumstances, a request for a meeting with Consular Personnel may be sought by sending an email to muscatpe.consular@dfa.gov.ph.
Fees
When applying for your child’s Report of Birth, be sure to prepare the following fees:
- Report of Birth Fee – OMR 10
- Affidavit of Delayed Report of Birth – OMR 10. This applies to cases where the Report of Birth is submitted more than one (1) year from the child’s date of birth.
NOTE: The above fees must be paid in cash only. Meanwhile, you can download a copy of the Affidavit of Delayed Report of Birth through this link.
Procedure
Once you have gathered all the requirements, go to the Philippine Embassy in Muscat to submit your documents and to pay the corresponding fees. Then, all you have to do now is to wait for a few months before you can claim your child’s Philippine Birth Certificate.
About three (3) months after submitting a Report of Birth at the Philippine Embassy in Oman, the child’s Birth Certificate can be obtained from the PSA in the Philippines. You can do this by:
- Assigning a representative in the Philippines to get the Birth Certificate at any PSA Census Serbilis Center or SM Business Center on your behalf; or
- Applying online through the PSA Serbilis official website.
Meanwhile, if you need to submit copies of your child’s Philippine Birth Certificate to any government agency or establishment in Oman, see to it that it gets apostilled by the DFA first. In some cases, you may also need to have it translated into Arabic by a licensed translator, before submitting it to certain Omani government agencies or establishments.
Furthermore, to enable your representative in the Philippines to get documents apostilled on your behalf, be sure to assign him/her as your Attorney-in-Fact (AIF). This can be done by applying for a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) that can be notarized at the Philippine Embassy in Oman.
Video – All About the Philippine Birth Certificate
In the following video, a Filipino attorney shares more in-depth information about the Philippine Birth Certificate. How soon should a child’s birth be registered? Who is in charge of the registration? Atty. Mark Kristopher Tolentino addresses these questions through a video posted on his YouTube channel, “Kuya Mark Tolentino:”
Frequently Asked Questions
At this point, let us take a look at some commonly asked questions — and answers –about the Report of Birth, Birth Certificate, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the National Statistics Office, and other related matters:
1. What is the difference between a Report of Birth and a Birth Certificate?
You might be wondering, what exactly is the difference between a Report of Birth and a Birth Certificate? Once again, please take note that the Report of Birth is simply a declaration that a child has been born abroad, and that one (or both) of his/her parents are Filipino citizens.
The Birth Certificate, on the other hand, serves an important purpose: to authenticate the identity and nationality of a newborn child. It contains key information, such as the child’s full name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, and parents’ names. Moreover, the Birth Certificate is usually required when applying for government-issued documents, like driving licenses or passports.
2. How do I get my Philippine Birth Certificate from abroad?
If you are based outside the Philippines, and you need to get a copy of your Birth Certificate, you can avail of the services of the Philippine Statistic Authority’s “PSA Serbilis” facility. Aside from getting your Birth Certificate, you can also obtain copies of your Marriage Contract or a Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) through this service.
3. What is PSA Serbilis?
PSA Serbilis is basically an online facility that enables Filipino citizens to obtain copies of Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, CENOMAR, and Death Certificates. They can have these documents delivered anywhere in the Philippines or even abroad! It is handled directly by the PSA, and you can visit the PSA Serbilis Website at https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/.
4. What is the difference between the PSA and NSO?
You might have encountered the terms PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) and NSO (National Statistics Office) and thought… what’s the difference between these two entities? Well, prior to the formation of the PSA, it was the NSO which issued civil registry documents such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, CENOMAR, and Death Certificates.
Today, however, it is the PSA which serves as the main statistical authority of the government of the Philippines. The entity is actually a result of the merging of the NSO, the NSCB (National Statistical Coordination Board), the BAS (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics), and the BLES (Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics).
The merging was part of the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10625), which was signed into law by then President Benigno S. Aquino III. Notably, the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations came into effect on December 29, 2013.
5. I have an NSO Birth Certificate. Is this still valid?
The answer to this question is YES. If you happen to have a Birth Certificate that was issued by the NSO, don’t worry because this is still considered as a valid document. The only difference between NSO and PSA-issued documents would be the logo, but essentially, they are both considered valid.
Summary
As you can see, applying for a Report of Birth — and eventually a Philippine Birth Certificate — is pretty much straightforward. Everything should go smoothly, as long as you have all the necessary requirements. As soon as you have your child’s Birth Certificate, you can now use it to apply for his/her Philippine passport and other government-issued documents.
Contact Information – Philippine Embassy in Muscat
To know more about applying for a Report of Birth, you can get in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Muscat through the following contact details:
Address: Bldg. No. 1041 / 1043, Way No. 3015, Al Kharijiya Street, Shatti Al Qurum, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Telephone: (+968) 2460-5335, 2460-5143
Email: muscat.pe@dfa.gov.ph
Website: https://muscatpe.dfa.gov.ph/
Google Map Location
Meanwhile, here is the location of the Philippine Embassy in Muscat on Google Maps, for your reference: