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This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Women’s & Children’s Rights
Papua New Guinea
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Birth Registration
Universal Coverage and Definition
Universal Coverage and Definition
Is birth registration or reporting available for children born to citizens residing abroad?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
When a child is born to parents who are residing outside their country of citizenship, the country in which the birth occurred has an obligation to register the birth and issue a birth certificate. While the home country of the parents will not issue a new birth certificate, there should be a process by which the parents report the birth to the parents’ home country. This is important for purposes of establishing citizenship and receiving a passport for the child. The law should provide a process for citizens temporarily residing abroad to report the birth of a child to the registrar (or the passport agency). This is usually facilitated by a country’s embassies and consulates.
The birth of a child to a citizen outside of Papua New Guinea may be reported to the Registrar-General upon return to Papua New Guinea or to the Papua New Guinean embassy or consulate in the country where the birth occurred. In both cases, the Registrar-General must record the birth and issue a unique identity number.
Does the law specify the process and responsibilities for registering the birth of a child who was abandoned and whose parents are not known?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
All births should be registered, including those of a foundling (a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown.) Generally, the person or the head of the institution that assumes custody of the infant should be responsible for notifying the registrar of the birth. The person reporting the birth should provide: date and place of finding, sex, approximate birth date of child, name and address of person/institution reporting finding, name given to the child by the custodian of the child, and any other information requested by registrar. The entry should be marked as "foundling" (or similar) and information about parentage left blank. If child is later identified, the foundling registration should be voided and placed under seal
Where an abandoned child (“foundling child”) is found and the biological parents cannot be identified or found, the Director of the Child Welfare Office must notify the Registrar-General within 21 days after the child is found. This notification must include the date and location of the finding of the child, the child’s sex and approximate birth date, the name and address of the person or institution with whom the child has been placed for care, and the name given to the child by the child’s custodian. If the Registrar-General is satisfied that the child has been abandoned and that the information provided is complete or adequate for the purpose of registration, the Registrar-General must register the foundling in the same manner as any other birth registration and issue a birth certificate to the child’s custodian.
Does the law clearly state the process for amending birth registrations in adoption cases?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Laws should contain clear provisions for amending the birth registration record in the case of adoption. Country laws vary regarding the legal requirements and arrangements for adoption. Many jurisdictions require that adoptions be kept confidential. Courts should be required to transmit adoption orders to the civil registrar.
If a child is adopted from a foreign country, most countries have a process by which the adoptive parents may apply for a domestic birth certificate.
An adoption order made by a court in Papua New Guinea must contain a direction to the Registrar-General to make an appropriate entry in the Register of Births. If the child’s birth has already been registered, the Registrar-General must amend the birth information by recording the name conferred on the child by the adoption order in substitution of the previous name of the child, recording the full name and details of each adopting parent in substitution of the name and details of the natural or last adopting parents, and sealing the original birth record with the court order. If the child’s birth has not already been registered, the Registrar-General must register the birth, as if it had been notified as a birth in the usual manner, record the details of the adoption in the same manner as for a child whose birth was already registered, and retain and seal any original birth record together with the court order.
Where adoptions by non-Papua New Guineans take place in accordance with the laws of a country outside Papua New Guinea, the Registrar-General, once satisfied that the relevant particulars have been correctly provided, may direct the making or the amendment of a birth registration in the same manner as for an adoption concluded in Papua New Guinea.
If surrogacy is legal, is there a defined process to register the internationally recommended data for surrogate births?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The notification and registration of the birth should be as complete as possible including in States which permit surrogacy arrangements or [States of destination] which subsequently register the child in their national registries. Identifying information should include date and place of birth, the surrogate mother, intending parent(s) and information relating to persons providing human reproductive material if any. Medical clinics, providers and/or registries of human reproductive material should make all identifying information available to national registries.
There are two general processes for surrogacy. 1) the original birth registration record has the names of the intended parents (no amendment required). 2) the birth is registered under the name of the surrogate (gestational) mother, and then the birth registration record is amended, based on a court surrogacy decree, to have the names of the intended parents included.
