The adoption of your child must be reported to your Swiss representation abroad so that the data in the various Swiss registers can be updated.
The civil status authority in Switzerland is responsible for recognising the adoption according to Swiss law and for entering the corresponding information in the Swiss civil status register. Your Swiss representation will enter the information in the Register of the Swiss Abroad.
In order to do so, your representation needs certain documents from you.
The adoption of your child abroad must be entered into the various Swiss registers, whether or not it has taken place within or outside of the framework of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993 Hague Convention). This updating of the registers is free of charge.
As a rule, you must submit the following adoption documents to your Swiss representation with any necessary legalisations so that the representation can forward them to Switzerland:
Ethiopian civil status certificates have to be issued by the Vital Events Registration Agency.
Court decisions and the foreign civil status certificates must be legalized by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As a rule, Ethiopian civil status documents to be submitted must undergo a thorough verification of their authenticity.
The costs resulting from the thourough verification of Ethiopian civil status documents ranges between CHF 120 - CHF 700.00 depending on the amount of documents and the region where the documents were issued. These fees have to be paid via an advance at the time of submission in ETB in cash.
All documents written in Amharic, Oromia or Tigrinya need to be translated into German, French, Italian or English by one of the Embassy's officially recognized translation office.
Make sure the information on the documents is correct. Names in Amharic, Oromia, Tigrinya and English have to be written the same way on each document, including the passport.
Translation offices (PDF, 2 Pages, 277.4 kB, English)
Declaration of voluntary verification (PDF, 1 Page, 218.1 kB, English)
The original documents are submitted to the civil status authority concerned in Switzerland and must not be older than six months. They will not be returned. Photocopies are not accepted. Additional documents may be required if necessary.
The cost of a thorough verification, should it be necessary, of the foreign civil status documents by a lawyer approved by the Swiss representation are at your expense.
Report the adoption of your child online:
Information on Swiss citizenship is available at
Are your children Swiss or can they become Swiss? (PDF, 2 Pages, 321.2 kB, English)
A standard Swiss identity document can only be issued if the child's adoption has been entered in the Swiss civil status register, and if the adopted child's Swiss nationality has been confirmed by the civil status authority concerned. In case of emergency, please contact your Swiss representation.
If your child does not yet have a Swiss passport, a visa may be required to enter Switzerland.
For a residence permit for your child's stays abroad, please contact the appropriate foreign authorities.
