The importance
of a Birth Certificate
A Birth Certificate is a legal document which
establishes a person’s correct name, place and date of birth
and nationality. A Birth Certificate is necessary to be admitted
as a student to attend a school, enter for examinations; to obtain
examination results, to acquire a passport or when applying for
a job.
How to apply for a Birth Certificate
Step one
To obtain a Birth Certificate the applicant must know if he/she
was registered, that is if he/she was born in a private or public
hospital, at home or elsewhere.
Step two
If the birth is registered the applicant can go to any Post Office
and purchase a Birth Certificate form which cost $30 and fill
in the relevant information.
Step three
Upon completing the form the applicant should give it to the Post
Office Clerk.
Step four
The Birth Certificate would then be processed and posted to the
applicant. This process takes approximately one month.
In cases of emergency, applicants could call personally at the
General Registrar’ Office (GRO), located on the second floor
of the Guyana Post Office ((GPO) with their Identification Card.
They can request to have their application processed within a
few days or two weeks.
The process of obtaining a Birth Certificate
for children born overseas to Guyanese parents.
Children born overseas to Guyanese parents are
recognized in Guyana. Where the Birth Certificate is issued in
the child’s country of birth, is in English and a Guyana
Birth Certificate is required either parent could take the child’s
Birth Certificate to the GRO office to be processed.
·Where the Birth Certificate is issued in the child’s
country of birth is not English and a Guyana Birth Certificate
is required, either parent should have the original Birth Certificate
translated into English. The parent should take both the original
and the translated Birth Certificate to the GRO’s office
to be processed.
· In both cases the processing fee is $80 which takes three
weeks.
Tips you should know
· Expectant mothers are encouraged to
choose names for their children before their. The parents, however
have 14 days in which to register the child’s birth (at
the place of birth). It is very important to spell the name of
the child’s name correctly.
When a birth is registered, but no name is given
to the child, the parent is allowed 12 months to report the matter
to the GRO’s office. However, after the 12 months have expired,
the parent would need to engage a legal practitioner who will
apply to the District Magistrate’s Court for a Court Order.
The Court Order would then be taken to the GRO’s office
to be processed.
·If a child under 12 months old is not registered within
the 14-day period, either parent should have the Hospital Discharge
Slip or a written statement from the midwife showing the child’s
name and date of birth. The parent should also take the child’s
clinic card and a $2 revenue stamp to the GRO’s office,
where he/she would fill out a Birth Declaration form so that the
Certificate could be processed.
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