You wish to report the birth of a child.

There are certain rules governing the granting of Swiss nationality to a child. The following qualify as Swiss at birth (SCA; CC 141.0):

the child of a married couple at least one of whom is Swiss.
the child of a Swiss woman who is not married to the child’s father.
a foreign child in its minority (born after 1 January 2006) whose Swiss father is not married to the foreign mother acquires Swiss nationality as if from birth once paternity has been confirmed.

Birth abroad

Registration in the Swiss civil status register (Infostar) of a birth which has occurred abroad requires submission of the documents listed on this webpage to the Swiss representation competent for the country in which the birth has taken place.

There is no fee for the registration in question.

Registration of birth where the parents are married

In order to register the birth of a child, who has one or two Swiss parents, the following document is required :

Certified copy of birth certificate (original document by the issuing authority); photocopies or short birth certificates not mentioning the parent's names cannot be accepted

Registration of birth where the parents are not married

In order to register the birth of a child in Switzerland the following documents are required:

Certified copy of birth certificate (certified by issuing authority) containing date and place of birth, family name, first name as well as family names and first names of both parents
Acknowledgement of paternity of the father. If no acknowledgement is mentioned, an acknowledgement act (acte de reconnaissance) with mention of the legimitation (e.g. parents married after the birth)

Documents required from unmarried foreign parent:

Certified copy of birth certificate (certified by issuing authority)
Certified copy of passport
A residence certificate and declaration of marital status, and in case of widowhood, the death certificate of the former spouse.

Birth in Switzerland

In the case of a birth in Switzerland, parents registered with a Swiss representation abroad are under an obligation to report the birth of the child. They must submit the following document (as hard copy or in electronic form) to enable the representation to update its register of the Swiss Abroad:

photocopy of the birth certificate of the newborn Swiss infant or of the Swiss family certificate

There is no fee for the registration in question.

Swiss identity documents and foreign residence permit

A regular Swiss identity document can only be issued once the birth of the child has been registered in the Swiss civil status register, or rather once the child’s Swiss nationality has been confirmed. In urgent cases, please contact the competent Swiss representation.

Passport and identity card

Regarding the foreign residence permit for the child, please refer to the competent foreign authority.