Registering a birth and acknowledging parentage of a child in Malaysia

If your child is born in Malaysia, you must register the birth in Malaysia. If you live in the Netherlands, you must also register the birth in the Netherlands. You can acknowledge parentage of the child in either country.

Registering a birth

You must always register the birth of your child in the country where they were born. How you register a birth varies by country. If you live in the Netherlands and your child was born abroad, you must also register the birth in the Netherlands.

If your child is born in Malaysia, you must register the birth with the National Registration Department.

It is not possible to register the birth of your child at the Dutch embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

If you live outside the Netherlands, you can have the Malaysian birth certificate converted into a Dutch birth certificate at the municipality of The Hague’s Foreign Documents Department. This is not mandatory, but it can be useful if you ever need an extract from the birth certificate in the future. Having the document converted does not take care of your child’s registration in the Non residents Records Database (RNI).

If you live in the Netherlands, you must also register the birth with the municipality where you live, using the foreign birth certificate. Do this as soon as possible once you return to the Netherlands. The municipality will then process your and your child’s details in the Personal Records Database (BRP).

Before you can use a Malaysian birth certificate in the Netherlands you must first have it legalised. Find out how to have a birth certificate legalised.

From 1 January 2024, your child can have both your surname and your partner's surname. Even if your child is born abroad. Would you like to give your child a combined surname and is this not possible in your country of residence? Then go to a municipality in the Netherlands to record the choice of name. You can also authorise someone to do this for you. Read more on the page Which surname can I choose for my child? on Rijksoverheid.nl (information in Dutch).

Acknowledging parentage of a child

You can acknowledge parentage of your child if you are not automatically the legal parent. By doing so you declare that you are the child’s parent.

The High Court of Malaysia must approve the acknowledgement of your child. Afterwards you can register the birth of your child with the National Registration Department in Malaysia.

More information about acknowledging a child in Malaysia can be found on the website of the National Registration Department.

If you live in the Netherlands or if you are a Dutch national and live abroad, you can always acknowledge parentage in the Netherlands of your child born in Malaysia. You can do this at the municipality or a notary. You can also authorise someone to do this in the Netherlands on your behalf. To do this, you must get a notary to draw up a power of attorney. You cannot acknowledge parentage of your child at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general.

Acknowledging parentage does not automatically grant you parental responsibility for your child. Acknowledgement of parentage in the Netherlands is legally valid in Malaysia. Find out more about acknowledging parentage in the Netherlands on Government.nl.

If you want to arrange something for your child, you may need their birth certificate or a declaration of acknowledgement of parentage.

More information

Find out more about becoming a parent outside the Netherlands