Registering a birth in Malaysia

Birth registration must be done within 14 days of delivery, after which a birth certificate is issued. This can be done at the hospital of the baby's birth, or at the Malaysian National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara - JPN) and must be followed by registration at the relevant embassy. A passport application for the child must be made as well as an application for a dependent's visa to allow the child to reside in Malaysia.

Obtaining a birth certificate

The hospital where the baby is born (especially a private hospital) provides a form called a Birth Registration Application (Borang Pendaftaran Kelahiran), which is issued by the National Registration Department (JPN). This form is available in English, but most hospitals have the Malay version. Hospital staff can help parents who do not understand Bahasa Malaysia to fill out and submit the form.

In some cases, birth registration requires copies of the parents' work permits or visas, as well as their passports. If the birth registration has to be done by the parents, they must apply for a birth certificate at a JPN office. Parents can find their nearest JPN office by using the JPN Department location finder on the website.

For personal applications, parents have to bring along the following documents:
•Two certified copies of their passports
•Two certified copies of the work permit; if both parents are employed in Malaysia then both work permits are required, and relevant visas
•Two certified copies of the mother's medical booklet or pregnancy report
•Two certified copies of the marriage certificate (if applicable)

Birth registration is free of charge.

Help to fill out the form is available at the information counter. For parents performing a personal registration, it is advisable to be accompanied by someone who speaks Malay, in case there are no translators available.

A birth certificate is needed to obtain the child's passport. As Malaysia does not grant dual citizenship, the child also requires a dependent's visa from Malaysian Immigration (Jabatan Immigresen Malaysia), and to apply for this visa, the child requires a passport first.

The baby's health card may also be required when an application is made for the baby's passport and visa.