A child’s birth details must be submitted and duly registered at the Local Civil Registry office within 30 days from the day it was born. Anything later than that and the child’s birth certificate will be tagged as late registered. Aside from additional fees that the parents have to pay to have it registered, the child shall carry a late registered birth certificate for the rest of his life.
This may not be a big deal until the child (now all grown up) applies for his or her Philippine passport. His application will not be treated the exact same way a person with a birth certificate registered on time’s application is treated. No, he won’t be pulled aside and interrogated, if that’s what you’re thinking (haha!). But he may be required to present additional documents and IDs.
The complete list of IDs and documentary requirements for an adult’s first-time passport application can be found in my blog yesterday. Click this link to see it: List Of Documentary Requirements For First-time Passport Applicants
If your birth certificate was registered late, one of two things can be done so a passport can be issued to you:
- If your birth certificate was registered at least ten (10) years ago, application will be treated as a regular application, and no additional supporting documents will be required (you’re safe!). This means, if your birth certificate was registered in 2011 or even earlier, your application will be readily accommodated by the DFA.
- If your birth certificate was registered less than ten (10) years ago (2012 or later), you must submit IDs that pre-date the late registration or current IDs with an NBI Clearance.
Remember, a person may be 60 years old but his birth certificate may have been registered just a year or two ago. This has happened to a lot of people especially those who are not even aware that their birth was not registered at all.
So, it is best that you secure a copy of your PSA birth certificate before you begin your passport application. If there are annotations on your birth certificate saying that it was registered late, check the year when it was registered, and then bash it against the rules set by the DFA above.
My next blog will tackle passport applications by persons who do not have birth certificates nor Report of Birth at the LCR. Yup, tough cookie.
See you again! Stay safe and healthy!
Reference:
MasterCitizen's Blog 