Birth Registration of Children Born Abroad to U.S. Citizens

Children born abroad to U.S. citizen parents may have a claim to U.S. citizenship. If the parent(s) meet the physical presence requirements for transmission of citizenship, a child's birth may be reported at this Embassy. a U.S. passport and social security number may be obtained for the child as part of this process.

After reading the information below, please schedule an appointment for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad application.

We recommend that the birth of your child be reported to the Embassy as soon as possible after the birth. It is not possible to report the birth of a child over the age of 18. If your child has a claim to citizenship, he or she must be in possession of a valid U.S. passport to enter and exit the United States.

In order to determine if your child has a claim to U.S. citizenship, please view the Eligibility for Citizenship and Physical Presence requirements of our Passport and Citizenship pages.

If your child has a claim to U.S. citizenship, it will be necessary for the U.S. citizen parent to execute an application for a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad" before a consular officer. This Report is official evidence of citizenship issued to a person under the age of 18 who was born abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s) and acquired citizenship at birth.

The child must accompany the parent to the Embassy. If only one parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth abroad, he or she must provide satisfactory documentary evidence that he or she spent sufficient time in America to meet the physical presence requirements.

This could include any combination of the following evidence:

• old passports;
• employment records;
• school/college transcripts;
• tax returns;
• W2s;
• bank statements

Please bring the following to your appointment:

• Download the Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad
  of A Citizen of the United States of America - DS-2029: Do not sign the DS-2029: (PDF Adobe Acrobat Reader).
• Birth Certificate: Please bring the child's long-form birth certificate, which is issued by the local authorities. This document shows both parents' names;
• Marriage Certificate: Original certificate issued by local, state, or national government authorities. If married in the United States, please provide a state certificate issued by the civil authorities.
  If your marriage certificate is in a language other than English, a certified translation must be provided;
• Evidence of Parents' Citizenship and Identity: Parents' current U.S. (or foreign) passports must be submitted at time of application.
• Divorce Decrees/Death Certificates: It will be necessary to show termination of all prior marriages for both parents (and certified translations, if appropriate).
• Fees: The application fee is U.S. $100.00. This fee is non-refundable. Accepted payment methods are:
  • the fee may be paid by credit card (we cannot accept
    Laser cards);
  • in cash, U.S. dollars or equivalent in Euro;
  • by U.S. dollar bank draft made payable to "U.S. Embassy". The bank draft must be the exact U.S. Dollar amount of the fee payable. We cannot give change if the amount of the draft you present is greater than the correct amount of the fee. The Embassy is not authorized to accept personal checks for payment of passport fees.
• Social Security Application Form SS-5, signed by U.S. citizen parent. This application can only be processed if applying for a passport during the Report of Birth Abroad appointment.

Additional Requirements for the Passport Application

You are not required to apply for a passport at the same time you report your child's birth, but many applicants choose to do so (especially if you have upcoming travel plans to the United States) because both applications require personal appearance at the Embassy. At the time you report the birth of your child, you may also submit an application for his or her U.S. passport and for a social security number. If your child is under age 16 and you are also applying for his/her passport, please ensure you read the Applications for Minors requirements carefully. If you wish to submit both applications on the same day, the following documentation will also be required:

• You may complete either version of form DS-11:

  • DS-11 Application for U.S. Passport or Registrations

  • DS-11 Application for U.S. Passport or Registrations
    (Non-Fillable)

  • 1 x passport photo, please see requirements for color photographs.

• Fees: The application fee for a child under the age of 16 is U.S. $105.00; aged 16 and over 16 is $135.00. This is in addition to the CRBA fee noted above. Accepted payment methods are listed above;

• Envelope: Include a stamped self-addressed envelope, size 8 1/2" x 11" approx., for the return of your Consular Report of Birth Abroad and passport. Please affix to the envelope a €5.75 regular postage stamp or a combination of stamps to the value of €5.75. We will return your documents to you by Express Post mail.

Processing Time

Consular Report of Birth Abroad certificates are printed in the U.S., You should allow approximately six weeks for passport and citizenship documentation to be returned to you.