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.
Step 1: Marriage contract
Authority: Relevant religious authority (the Sharia court, church)
Requirements: family booklet, medical tests and report, two witnesses
Step 2: Marriage Certificate
Authority: Local Mukhtar
Requirements:
(1) The marriage contract
(2) LBP 20,000-30,000 (approximately)
Step 3: Register the Certificate
Authority: Nofous nearest to the place of marriage
Step 4: Registration at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Authority: Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Requirements: Official marriage certificate and ID documents
Step 5: Register at the Syrian Embassy
Authority: Syrian Embassy
Requirements: Certified marriage certificate.
The Embassy sends notification of the marriage to the Syrian Civil Registry to register the marriage in
Further reading
On marriage registration procedures in Lebanon, obstacles to registration and potential solutions to these problems:
NRC-ICLA Update on marriage registration for refugees from Syria (July 2016)
Frontiers Ruwad, Marriage Registration in Lebanon – A guide to procedures and practices