Registering a birth and acknowledging parentage of a child in South Korea

If your child is born in South Korea, you must register the birth there. Both parents and the child must be present for this. Where exactly you must register the birth depends on your child’s nationality.

Your child has South Korean nationality

If your child acquires both Dutch and South Korean nationality at birth, then you must register the birth with the Korean authorities. You must do this at the district office (gu) or neighbourhood office (dong) in the place where your child was born.

Your child does not have South Korean nationality

If your child does not acquire South Korean nationality at birth, you must register the birth at the Dutch embassy, and not with the local authorities. This is the case when both parents are Dutch nationals. Or when one parent has Dutch nationality and the other has British nationality, for example. To register a birth at the Dutch embassy in Seoul, make an appointment by emailing seo-ca@minbuza.nl.

To register the birth at the Dutch embassy, you will need to bring following documents:

• Birth notification from the hospital, in English. Be sure that all names appear correctly.
• You and your partner’s marriage certificate. The document should not be over 6 months old. If this document was not issued in the Netherlands, it must be legalised.
• Your partner’s passport.
• Proof of legal residence for you and your partner. For example, a Korean alien registration card (ARC).

If you live outside the Netherlands, you can have the South Korean birth certificate (Basic (Gibon) 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).

If you live in the Netherlands or if you are Dutch and live abroad, you can always acknowledge parentage in the Netherlands of your child born in South Korea. 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.

Find out more about acknowledging parentage in the Netherlands on Government.nl.