Registering a child in Georgia

Who this page is for

For foreign parents whose child was born or will be born in Georgia, and for mixed families where one parent is Georgian.

We explain the general rules on a child's citizenship on the citizenship page. Here is the practical chain, from the maternity ward to the first passport.

Our role

Registration is done by the House of Justice and the passport by your country's consulate. We replace neither.

We set the order, prepare the documents, book the appointments and come with you with an interpreter, so that parents do not have to make extra trips with a baby.

Two registrations

A child born in Georgia usually needs two registrations: a Georgian one and one with your country.

The Georgian registration confirms the fact of birth, while your country's often records the child's citizenship as well.

The second depends on the first, so the order does not change.

The maternity certificate

After the birth, the maternity hospital draws up a medical certificate of birth, often electronically.

It records the mother's details and the date and place of birth.

We check that the mother's name and surname match her passport before you leave the clinic.

Registration at the House of Justice

On the basis of the medical certificate, a parent signs an application at the House of Justice to register the birth.

After registration, the child's Georgian birth certificate is issued.

Sometimes registration can also be started remotely, and we check this for the specific case.

The deadline

Birth registration has a deadline set by law, and missing it complicates the process.

In practice it is better to register in the very first weeks, because every later step depends on it.

We confirm the exact deadline for the specific case with the House of Justice.

The parents' documents

Both parents' passports are needed, and if you are married, the marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate enters the father in the record automatically, without a separate acknowledgement.

If a document is missing, registration often stalls, so we check them before the birth.

A foreign marriage certificate

If the marriage was registered abroad, the certificate often needs an apostille or legalisation and a notarised Georgian translation.

It is better to do this before the birth, because an apostille is issued only in the issuing country.

This step is the most common cause of delay.

Unmarried parents

If the parents are not married, the father is entered in the record by acknowledging paternity.

Acknowledgement often needs a statement from both parents and can be completed together with the registration.

If the father is not in Georgia at the time, we check in advance in what form he can give his consent.

Paternity in court

If there is no agreement on paternity, it is established in court.

The court may order a genetic test.

A partner lawyer works on this step, and we only help with organisation.

One parent in the record

A child can be registered with only the mother's details.

The father can be added later, by acknowledgement or by a court decision.

This sometimes affects citizenship and the passport, so we check your country's rule in advance.

The child's first name

The parents choose the name, and it is written in Georgian in the record.

A double name or several given names sometimes need extra explanation.

We write the name in a form that your country's consulate will later accept without problems.

The surname

The parents choose the child's surname: the father's, the mother's or a double one.

Some countries have their own surname rules, for example a required patronymic or double-surname form.

If the Georgian record and your country's record do not match, the child will have document problems in future.

Transliteration

In the Georgian record the name is written in Georgian letters, and in your country in your own alphabet.

When translated back, the name may come out differently unless you agree on it in advance.

So we take the Latin form from the parents' passports as the reference and give it to the translator beforehand.

A parent's name written differently

Often the mother's surname is written one way in her passport and another way in the marriage certificate, for example in its pre-marriage form.

To an authority these can be two different people until the link is proved by a document.

We find such differences before the birth and prepare the document needed to explain them in advance.

The birth certificate

The Georgian birth certificate is the child's first official document.

A mistake in it later carries over into every document, so we check it as soon as it is issued.

It is better to get several originals or duplicates at the same time.

Apostille and translation

Your country's consulate often needs the Georgian certificate with an apostille and a translation.

Some consulates prefer a translation by their own sworn translator.

We ask the consulate about its requirement in advance, so that no step is done twice.

Consular registration

Next, the child is registered at your country's consulate.

In many countries this means recording the child's citizenship and entering the child in the national register.

Consulates often work by appointment, and we book the visit as soon as the birth is registered.

An embassy in a neighbouring country

Some countries have no consulate in Georgia, and the child is registered in a neighbouring country.

Sometimes registration starts by post or online, sometimes a visit in person is needed.

We plan travel with a newborn only once all the documents are ready.

The child's passport

The child's passport is issued by your country's authority and often needs both parents' consent.

Newborn photos have their own requirements, and we recommend a studio used to them.

Children's passports are often valid for a short time, and we remind you about renewal in advance.

An emergency travel document

If a passport cannot be issued in time, the consulate sometimes issues an emergency travel document.

It is often valid for a single journey only, to your home country.

We choose this route only when the departure really cannot be postponed.

The child's citizenship

Being born in Georgia does not, as a rule, automatically give a child Georgian citizenship if both parents are foreigners.

The child usually takes the citizenship of the parents' country, under that country's law.

In some countries this is automatic; elsewhere a child born abroad needs a separate application or a deadline applies.

One parent is Georgian

If one parent is a Georgian citizen, the child often acquires Georgian citizenship by birth.

In that case Georgian identity documents may also be issued for the child.

The citizenship of the other parent's country is decided under that country's rules.

Two citizenships from birth

In a mixed family a child may hold two citizenships from birth.

This depends on the law of both countries, and sometimes requires a choice later, on reaching adulthood.

A lawyer checks this under both countries' law before we start on the documents.

The risk of statelessness

Rarely, neither parent's country grants the child citizenship automatically.

Such a case should come to light early, before the birth.

A partner lawyer then checks what route Georgian law and the law of the parents' countries allow.

A child born abroad

If a parent is Georgian and the child was born in another country, the child can also be entered in the Georgian registry.

For this, the foreign birth certificate needs an apostille or legalisation and a Georgian translation.

The application is made at a Georgian consulate or in Georgia, at the House of Justice.

The child's legal stay

A foreign child born in Georgia is treated as a foreigner from birth, and the child's stay needs a basis.

Often this is a residence permit for the child based on a parent's residence.

The application needs the child's passport, so this step comes after the passport.

When a parent's status changes

If a parent's residence is about to expire, the child's application coincides with it.

It is often better to plan the parent's renewal and the child's application together.

We put both family members' deadlines in one table.

The first journey

To fly with a newborn, the airline often needs a doctor's note and a separate ticket or seat for the child.

At the border the child's passport and sometimes the birth certificate are checked.

We check the airline's rule before the ticket is bought.

Travelling with one parent

If the child travels with one parent, some countries ask for the other parent's notarised consent.

Travel by a Georgian child has its own rules, and in some cases consent is checked at the border.

We prepare the consent in advance, with a translation, so that no questions arise at the border.

Giving birth in Georgia

Many clinics work with foreign patients, and some also prepare documents in English.

When choosing a clinic, it is worth asking how and in what form they issue the medical certificate.

Our health section helps with choosing a clinic.

A home birth

If a child is born outside a clinic, confirming the fact of birth needs extra steps.

Often a report from a medical facility is needed after the mother and child are examined.

In such a case we agree the steps with the House of Justice in advance.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy in Georgia has special regulation, which changes from time to time.

We do not arrange surrogacy programmes and do not recommend clinics.

On this question we recommend consulting only a licensed lawyer.

A mistake in the record

If a name, date or parent's detail on the certificate is wrong, it is corrected through a separate procedure.

Catching a mistake early is far simpler than when it is already in the passport.

After the correction a new certificate is issued, and the apostille is placed on the new one.

Late registration

Sometimes a child was born in Georgia but was not registered in your country for years.

In that case the consulate asks for additional documents or an explanation.

We obtain a duplicate of the old certificate from the House of Justice and rebuild the chain.

Paediatrician and vaccinations

Alongside registration, the child needs a paediatrician and a vaccination plan.

The vaccination record will later be needed for kindergarten and school, so keep it from the start.

Our health section helps with choosing a paediatrician.

Insurance

A newborn is not always automatically covered by a parent's policy.

Often the child has to be added or needs a separate policy, and this may also be required for residence.

We check the policy terms together with our insurance section.

Kindergarten and school

In a few years a kindergarten or school will need the same documents: the birth certificate, the vaccination record and the child's residence.

If these documents are done properly now, you will not need a new chain later.

Our family section helps with choosing a kindergarten or school.

Before the birth

Many steps can, and should, be done before the child is born.

The apostille on the marriage certificate, checking the parents' documents, finding out the consulate's requirements and agreeing the form of the name are all done in advance.

Then after the birth only what the child really needs is left.

A plan for the first month

First - the medical certificate and registration at the House of Justice.

Then - the apostille on the certificate, the translation and the consulate visit.

Finally - the passport and the child's residence, if you are staying in Georgia.

Timing

Registration at the House of Justice, once the documents are ready, is often quick.

The consulate and passport steps depend on the country and sometimes take weeks.

That is why we do everything that can be done before the birth ahead of it.

Common mistakes

A foreign marriage certificate without an apostille when the child has already been born.

A form of the name in the Georgian record that the consulate will not accept.

A plane ticket bought before the child's passport.

What we need from you

Copies of both parents' passports and their citizenship.

Whether you are married, and where the marriage was registered.

The expected due date and the clinic, and where you plan to live with the child.

Cost

Registration, apostille and consular fees are official.

Translation, the interpreter, the notary and photos are separate lines.

Our help is agreed in advance, and we add nothing to partners' prices.