Birth Certifate for Out of Wedlock & Foreign Child Passport

**Pintu280612** · 21-09-12, 22:27

Hello Everyone,

I have spend a bit of time going through archived posts concerning Birth Certificates for children born "Out of Wedlock" from an Indonesian mother and foreign father, but I could not exactly find what I was looking for so I decided to create a new thread. I have done some further research on my case outside of this forum, but would like to find out if there is anyone else who has had the same / similar experience.

After rather painful & lengthy dealings with uneducated civil servant / government officials and her family here in Indonesia, I am now finally legally married to the child's indonesian mother under Indonesian Muslim Law (Buku Nikah from KUA), but our daughter was born a month before we got married and it is now just unfortunate that she carries an "out of wedlock" status wherein the birth certificate could only be issued in the mother's name. Upon my enquiry to Catatan Sipil, they have confirmed the "Anak yang Lahir di Luar Kawin" status and this will obviously create a problem when getting the child a foreign passport.

The British Consulate in Jakarta confirmed that they require the birth certificate with my name is being the father in order to register the birth and issue a UK child passport. The birth registration & UK passport cannot be processed without having my (the father's) name on it. They said the only way to get my name onto the birth certificate is to go through a lawyer (which can be found on their website) and claim custody of my daughter through the courts. This will get fatherhood recognition of the child. They further said that they do not accept DNA test results anylonger as apparently this can not be trusted from authorised hospitals in Indonesia.

My questions are:

has anyone gone through the court process and be able to advise how long the actual court process takes (for Pengakuan Anak) and approximately how much the cost might be considering that I am trying to do things properly?
Is there another legal procedure other than the court process?

Many thanks in advance.

**ScooterIndo** · 22-09-12, 00:51

Thats rubbish from the british consulate - we have been through this process for the same reasons as you are. you just get a form fill it out pay the money and you will be asked to Prove your the childs father (DNA test) as soon as you compile the paper work and pay the money it will take six to eight weeks to process. Do yourself a favor and keep this secret from the indonesian side then your daughter has full indonesian rights. There was a thread about this and i contributed so you didnt look very hard. Let me see if i can find the link for you.

**ScooterIndo** · 22-09-12, 00:56

Here you are mate http://www.livinginindonesiaforum.or...out-of-wedlock

**PeteD** · 22-09-12, 11:08

I thought that after you get legally married, you just apply at the civil office with your proof of marriage to get the father's name added to the birth certificate?

**Pintu280612** · 22-09-12, 11:50

ScooterIndo,

The previous information I received from various sources here was just confusing as indonesians seems to "say things they don't really know"

Thank you so much for the very helpful information, I will persue as per your advice mate.

PeteD,

On speaking to the Catatan Sipil (Civil Registry Office) I have been told that if you have done the muslim marraige the father's name cannot be added, but if you have done the marraige in any other religion, the civil office could issue a letter called "Pengakuan Pengesahan Anak" and get the father's name added to the birth certificate. I guessed there are two consitutions here ie. Shariah for Muslims & Civil for all other religions.

**ScooterIndo** · 22-09-12, 19:01

To save you the headache its as simple as this - if you were not married to the mother when the child was born then the child was born out of wedlock. Thats it simple. If you have since married the mother of the child it does not change the fact that the child was still born out of wedlock. There are lots of people (parasites) that will tell you they can do it and get it all changed for vast amounts of money but the fact remains they cant do it (not legally)

**Hombre de Maiz** · 22-09-12, 19:06

Aren't Indonesian laws about paternity swell? The effect of the underlying moralism behind this sorry and sad practice is to disadvantage the innocent child. It's a good thing that more humane governments exist on this planet, and your child can avail his/herself of her father's paternity through your own government. You are more than justified in your indignation. Best of luck to you and your child.

**ScooterIndo** · 22-09-12, 19:49

Originally Posted by Hombre de Maiz

Aren't Indonesian laws about paternity swell? The underlying moralism behind this sorry and sad practice is to disadvantage the child. It's a good thing that more humane governments exist on this planet, and your child can avail his/herself of her father's paternity through your own government. You are more than justified in your indignation. Best of luck to you and your child.

Very true Hombre - what especially pissed me off was that despite the fact that i was present at the birth (and paying their hospital bill) they still refused to put my name on the birth certificate (which i knew would be problematic) but rather than just leave it blank where is says fathers name they actually wrote "unknown" which i found extremely insulting towards my wife. But yet without the consultation of either myself or my wife they automatically put the religion of my children as Islam, needless to say on both counts i was furious.

**Pintu280612** · 24-09-12, 22:38

Very true and thanks for the well wishes Hombre. It was exactly my thoughts as the innocent child has to suffers the consequences of the ludicrous laws imposed on them.

**Hombre de Maiz** · 25-09-12, 08:52

Regrettably these objectionable laws find support in societal attitudes. I am reminded of a friend of my wife, an educated, middle-class Jakartan, who had gone off the Muslim deep end. She had the temerity to call our child "anak haram" because he was conceived out of wedlock and his father was not a Muslim. Who the f**k do these people think they are exactly? And then they have the gall to attribute themselves the moral upper ground because of their religion!