Procedure for Report of Birth
Submission of report of birth- The report of birth of a child shall be filed by the father or the mother (only by the mother if a child was born out of wedlock) within one month from the date of birth. The following matters shall be entered in a report of birth (Article 44 (1),(2)and (4) and Article 46 (1) and (2) of the Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationships):
1. Name, origin of surname, gender and place of registration of the child;
2. Whether the child was born in or out of wedlock;
3. Date and place of birth;
4. Names, origins of surname, places of registration and resident registration numbers of parents (in cases where either parent is a foreigner, his or her name, date of birth, nationality, and alien registration number);
5. If the parents agree to have the child assume his/her mother's surname and origin of surname at the time of filing a report on their marriage, such fact;
6. Where the child has multi-nationality, such fact and foreign nationality that the child has acquired.
- A birth certificate prepared by a doctor or midwife shall be attached (Article 44 (4) of the Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationships).
- In cases of a child born between a foreign father and a Korean mother, his/her birth may be reported to the Republic of Korea, even though his/her father has already filed a report of his/her birth with the father's country in accordance with the laws of the relevant country and the child has been registered in the identification register of the relevant country (subparagraph (b) of Article 1 of the Rule for Surname and Given Name of a Child Born in Wedlock between a Foreign Father and a Korean Mother and Procedure for Record in the Family Relation Register).
Surname of a child in a birth report- Principle
· A child shall succeed his or her father's surname and origin of surname: Provided, that when the parents agree to have the child assume his or her mother's surname and origin of surname at the time of filing a report on their marriage, he or she shall succeed the mother's surname and origin of surname.
· Where a child born out of wedlock is affiliated, the child shall succeed his or her father's surname and origin of surname: Provided, that the child may continue to use the previous surname and origin of surname subject to the agreement of the parents at the time of reporting the affiliation and the submission of the written agreement, in which case the family registration of the child shall state the effect that the child will continue to use his or her previous surname and origin of name (Article 8 (1) of the Family Registration Guidelines Regarding Children’s Surnames and Origins of Surname).
- Exception
· Where the father is a foreigner, the child may succeed the mother's surname and origin of surname (Article 781 (2) of the Civil Act).
· A child who was born in wedlock between a foreign father and Korean mother may succeed his/her foreign father's surname or his/her Korean mother's surname and origin of surname when filing a birth report, whether he/she has been already registered in the identification register of his/her father's country with succeeding his/her father's surname or his/her birth report has not been filed and he/she has not been registered in the identification register of his/her father’s country (Article 781 (2) of the Civil Act and Article 3 of the Rule for Surname and Given Name of a Child Born in Wedlock between a Foreign Father and a Korean Mother and Procedure for Record in the Family Relation Register).
· A child born out of wedlock of a mother who is a Korean national is a Korean national. If the person that the mother recognizes as the father is a foreigner, the child may not be registered in the family relations register with the foreign father’s surname until the father affiliates the child, and should be registered with the mother’s surname and origin of surname (Article 11 (2) of the Guidelines on the Processing of Family Relations Registration Affairs Regarding the Surnames and Origins of Surname of Children).
Name of a child in a report of birth- A child born in wedlock (civil marriage)
· In cases of a child born in wedlock between a foreign father and a Korean mother, his/her birth may be reported with either his/her foreign name registered in the identification register of his/her father's country or his/her new Korean name when filing a report of birth, even though his/her foreign name has been already registered in the identification register of his/her father's country. Where a child has been registered in the identification register of his/her father's country with a foreign name and his/her father's surname, his/her birth shall not be reported with a new foreign name in the Republic of Korea (subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Article 4 of the Rule for Surname and Given Name of a Child Born in Wedlock between a Foreign Father and a Korean Mother and Procedure for Record in the Family Relation Register).
- A child born out of wedlock (common-law marriage)
· In cases of a child born out of wedlock between a foreign father and a Korean mother, his/her birth shall be reported with a foreign name if he/she has succeeded his/her foreign father's surname, and with a Korean name if he/she has succeeded his/her Korean mother's surname (Article 11 (2) of the Guideline for Administrative Process of Family Relation Registration Concerning a Child's Surname and Origin of Surname).