Birth certificate

I am from the Philippines. My exhusband is working in Kuwait. He has a girlfriend, who gave birth to a baby girl this month. They are both Filipinos. I just want to ask if the baby can get a birth certificate from Kuwait or they do they have to come to the Philippines to have the baby registered?

I do hope you will reply because I am planning to take necessary legal action, and I might be needing a copy of their newborn’s birth certificate to support the case which I plan to file against them.

Thank you very much, and looking forward to your response.

Name withheld

Answer: You have not said where this baby has been born but from your question it seems the child was delivered in Kuwait.

On this issue we would like to make one thing clear : such deliveries are only possible in Kuwait if the couple is married. If a single mother gets pregnant in Kuwait, she and the father of the child face legal action if the pregnancy is discovered.

So, if the baby has been delivered in Kuwait the couple must be married and must have produced a “marriage certificate” to the hospital and the birth registration authorities.

If this has happened, the authorities will issue them a birth certificate –and even residence — for the child.

Normally, what unmarried couples do is ensure that the pregnancy is not discovered by the authorities and leave Kuwait for their home countries to deliver the babies.

After the deliveries they return to the country and carry on with their lives as if nothing has happened. In such cases there is no way for the Kuwait authorities to take any sort of action against these people because what has happened is beyond their jurisdiction.

No government or private hospital will entertain a pregnant woman unless a marriage certificate is produced. In case, there is still time before the delivery the couple is deported but if not, the child is delivered in the country but the couple are referred to the authorities which initiates legal action against them.

Now, if this “unmarried” couple were to have the baby in the Philippines, there is nothing the Kuwait authorities can do.