Birth Certifate for Out of Wedlock & Foreign Child Passport

**lantern** · 25-09-12, 12:20

Originally Posted by ScooterIndo

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.

Of course it's not really about who is or isn't the biological father as, after all, it's not unheard of for someone other than the husband to have fathered the child. There are no checks to establish paternity.

**ScooterIndo** · 26-09-12, 03:52

Originally Posted by lantern

Of course it's not really about who is or isn't the biological father as, after all, it's not unheard of for someone other than the husband to have fathered the child. There are no checks to establish paternity.

well then in that case it should have been left blank rather than state unknown like she is some slag from a bar that screws so many men she didnt know who fathered the children. We did the Kawin Agama thing 2 years earlier and i showed this to the hospital. I get your point and i am sure you get mine, reverse the roles Lantern how would you have felt in my position ?? like hombre pointed out this is a chance for the pious to merely adopt the moral high ground.

**Hombre de Maiz** · 26-09-12, 08:09

It also points to a primitive mentality that cannot countenance divorcing parenthood from matrimony, and the child's right to equal standing before the law and religiously-inspired moralism-cum-legislation. No person, let alone a child, is illegitimate or "haram". If there are religions or laws that support those views, then those religions and laws are worthy of rejection and derision.

**PeteD** · 26-09-12, 09:09

I posted this info in another thread about children born out of wedlock. A recent supreme court decision has changed the article in law so that it will allow the father's name to be listed on a child's birth certificate even if born out of wedlock.

Here are the links once again:

Tempo article in Indonesian

Google Translate

The question though, is when will this be properly enacted?

**Hombre de Maiz** · 26-09-12, 09:19

Ya, that was quite recent. These court decisions and new laws can take quite long to be turned into regulations and implemented. Societal attitudes will take longer.

**lantern** · 26-09-12, 16:44

Originally Posted by ScooterIndo

I get your point and i am sure you get mine, reverse the roles Lantern how would you have felt in my position ?? like hombre pointed out this is a chance for the pious to merely adopt the moral high ground.

I would also have been pissed off and would probably have felt like smacking someone. Any chance that you could have that changed at some time in the future?

I'm old enough to have known women and men my own age, who were pushed into 'shotgun weddings' due to having to conform to religious and societal expectations. The victory of form over substance.

**NYDave** · 27-09-12, 10:38

I agree with ScooterIndo,i believe that you were given the wrong information from your embassy,actually i find it hard to believe that any western embassy would give such information,i have the same situation ,however im Irish and Ireland doesnt even have an embassy in indonesia,i had to do it all thru the Irish embassy in singapore,and like Scooter said all i had to do was fill out the regular forms and have a dna test done,i live in Bali ,the test was $800 submitted it and presto got my sons Irish passport in i think 6-7 weeks,i do agree with you that writing Father unknown is a disgrace,on my sons Birth Cert it just gave my sons name and his moms name and there isint even a place on the Cert for fathers name,perhaps here they have a special Cert for children born outside of marriage,which is much better than what they put on your childs Cert,my advice is to contact your embassy again,perhaps you got someone last time with no experience,my embassy told me i had 2 choices,one was a dna test or else i would have to adopt my own son,which would take im sure years to happen,but they also told me that married or not and given that im Irish then my son is automatically an Irish citizen,hopefully you will get someone more experienced next time you contact the embassy,the person who handled my case told me they are fully aware of indonesian law and how they issue birth certs to children who`s parents are not married,and that they deal with quite often ,so its not a problem for them.good luck,

**jim69** · 27-09-12, 10:43

Another option for anyone in this position in the future, that may help.

When they ask for the child's name, add your surname at the end. SO the birth certificate at least shows your family name.

If I was in that position, it would at least make me feel better, even if in law it served no purpose.

**ScooterIndo** · 28-09-12, 01:10

Originally Posted by jim69

Another option for anyone in this position in the future, that may help.

When they ask for the child's name, add your surname at the end. SO the birth certificate at least shows your family name.

If I was in that position, it would at least make me feel better, even if in law it served no purpose.

Yes my sons have my surname - my wife insisted on it.