Birth and marriage registration

This section briefly describes the steps for registering births and marriages among refugees from Syria in Lebanon. The registration procedures mostly mirror those for any person living in Lebanon. The information in this section is by no means exhaustive, but aims to give a brief overview and highlight tools which provide more comprehensive information.

This explains the full procedures, however with refugees we do not encourage any Syrian refugees to register with the Syrian Embassy

Birth Registration

Any foreigner in Lebanon must complete five steps in order to register the birth of a child – see diagram below. The main obstacles to completing the process are lack of awareness of the steps that need to be taken and inability to fulfil the requirements for registration.

Step 1: Birth Notification

Authority: Hospital, certified midwife

Step 2: Birth Certificate

Authority: Local Mukhtar

Requirements:
(1) The Birth Notification document;
(2) Identity documents, one for each parent (i.e. their family booklet or the family extract, or the parents’ ID cards/valid passports and their marriage certificate) and copies of these documents;
(3) Two witnesses and
(4) A fee of up to LBP 30,000.

Step 3: Register the Certificate

Authority: Nofous nearest to the place of birth

Requirements:
Proof of marriage is not officially required but is sometimes requested

Deadlines:
Should be completed within one year of birth, otherwise a civil court case is required to register the certificate.

Step 4: Registration at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Authority: Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Requirements: Official birth certificate and parents’ ID documents

Step 5: Registration at the Syrian Embassy

Authority: Syrian Embassy

Requirements: Official birth certificate and parents’ ID documents

Marriage Registration:

Any foreigner in Lebanon has to complete a five step procedure to register a marriage – see diagram below. If the parties to the marriage are below 17 (for the women) or 18 (for the man), a special permit is needed from the Sharia court. The fees involved in the registration of a marriage amount to approximately LBP 150,000. The main obstacles to completing the registration process are lack of awareness of the required steps and not being able to fulfil the requirements for registration.