Embassy of the United States

Reporting your child’s birth in New Zealand

As U.S. citizen parent(s), you should report your child's birth abroad as soon as possible to the U.S. Consulate to establish an official record of the child's claim to U.S. citizenship at birth. The official record will be the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Form FS-240 which is a basic United States citizenship document.

A Consular Report of Birth can only be prepared at the U.S. Consulate. It cannot be prepared if the child has been taken back into the United States, or, if the person is 18 years of age or older at the time the application is made.

For guidance on registering the birth of a U.S. child in New Zealand, please call American Citizen Services at the U.S. Consulate in Auckland - Phone +64 9 303 2724 ext: 2800 or email Auckland ACS. Please be prepared to leave a message on voice mail and we shall respond between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.

You must appear in person with your child, either at the Consulate General in Auckland, (online appointment needed), or at one of the Consular Outreach visits that we make within New Zealand. You may apply for a passport and Social Security Number when you submit your child’s Report of Birth Abroad application.

For more information about Reporting Your Child's Birth Abroad and for the application form, please visit travel.state.gov. For the applicable fee, please click here. 

If the U.S. citizen parent does not meet the transmission requirements  and the child is under 18 years of age, the child may be eligible for expeditious naturalization under the Child Citizenship Act 2000.