S’pore Parents Now Have 42 Days To Register Their Child’s Birth Instead Of 14

New Law Passed On 6 Jul Gives Parents 42 Days To Register Child’s Birth

Welcoming a new addition to your family is a special moment in a couple’s life, but it can also be extremely overwhelming.

Besides sleepless nights caring for your newborn, there’s paperwork to be filled out to ensure your child’s birth is properly documented.

Thankfully, there’ll be some leeway for this now.

After a new law was passed on Tuesday (6 Jul), parents will now be given 42 days to register their child’s birth.

The new law will also streamline the reporting process for all births and deaths.

All births & deaths must be reported

With the changes to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, all births, stillborns, and deaths in Singapore will have to be reported to authorities.

Currently, all hospital births and newborns brought to hospitals are reported within 24 hours.

This law will also make it mandatory for all births, including those that occur outside the hospital, to be reported, according to The Straits Times (ST).

In such cases, parents will need to go down to the Immigration Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building to report the birth in person.

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Previously, this reporting was not mandatory.

Parents have 42 days to register child’s birth

After reporting a birth, parents will have 42 days to register their child’s birth instead of the previous 14 days.

If births are not registered or have incomplete applications, the Registrar-General (RG) of Births and Deaths has the power to register them.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said this is crucial for the welfare of children.

Registration ensures every child has a legal identity and that government agencies are informed of their presence, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).

That way, authorities can intervene or lend support when necessary.

Reporting deaths

Similarly, all deaths will have to be reported to a doctor immediately. This includes deaths at home, on an aircraft, vessel, or train bound for Singapore.

The deceased’s kin will no longer have to provide the person’s particulars at the registration centre.

Once a doctor has certified the death online, it will automatically be registered by the RG, reported CNA.

Following that, a notification will be sent to the relative to download the digital death certificate.

Family members will also no longer need to surrender the deceased’s identity card (IC). However, it is advised that they destroy it to ensure it is not misused.

New processes increase convenience

All digital birth and death certificates will be made available to parents or next of kin online with this law.

ICA will also no longer keep paper records of registrations done digitally.

The streamlined reporting and registration processes are expected to increase convenience for the public.

According to ST, new processes are also not likely to increase costs at hospitals.

Private hospitals and general practitioners who certify death will continue using the same system as before.

Legal documentation is vital

With these changes, anyone who fails to report births or deaths will face a fine of up to $1,500 and jail for up to a month.

After all, legal documentation is vital for authorities to keep track of residents.

Hopefully, the administrative process will be easier for families to manage with this new system in place.

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Featured image adapted from Unsplash.