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Registration of child birth
Every child born in the Czech republic, regardless of the citizenship of their parents, is registered in the Book of births at the Registry Office.[1] If the child was born in a health care facility, the facility will report the birth to the local registry office within 3 working days. In other cases, the parents must report the birth themselves by appearing personally at the register office. The necessary documents to do so are the following:[2]
- Statement about the birth issued by the health care facility (or an oral statement of the parent if the child was not born in a health care facility); and
- Agreement of the parents on the name and surname of the child; and
- For a child born during a marriage: marriage certificate of the parents; or
- For a child born outside a marriage:
- agreement of the parents on the determination of paternity;
- birth certificates of the child’s mother and father (unless the father is unknown); and
- final divorce judgement if the child’s mother is divorced or the husband’s death certificate if the child’s mother is widowed
After the birth registration, the birth certificate is issued within 30 days, usually it takes one or two weeks. Civil registration and birth certificate is essential for the provision of almost all rights of the child and its parents, such as application for residence permit and travel document, health insurance, social support.
There are no significant difficulties faced by beneficiaries of international protection in practice. It is recommended to submit the Agreement of the parents on the determination of paternity and the Agreement of the parents on the name and surname of the child prior to the birth to make the issuance of the birth certificate easier and faster.
Registration of marriage
A marriage can be concluded by an officer of any Register Office (civil ceremony) or by a recognized representative of a church (religious ceremony). The religious ceremony is recognized by the state, there is no need to have an additional civil ceremony.[3]
Documents necessary to enter into marriage by a foreigner[4] [5]:
- Travel document
- Birth certificate
- Certificate of legal capacity to marry from the country of origin or country of long-term residence
- Confirmation of legal stay on the territory from the Czech foreigner police
- Additional documents if the person was previously married
Beneficiaries of international protection may request the registry office to waive some of the documents requirements if there are substantial difficulties in obtaining the documents from their country of origin. Communication by beneficiaries of international protection with the state authorities of their country of origin might be a reason for cessation of the protection. The registry offices don’t have a unified approach in this matter and most of them don’t know that they can waive the documents. Usually the beneficiaries have to contact more registry offices to find one that would waive the requirement to submit all the documents, which often causes difficulties.
The certificate of marriage is issued a maximum of 30 days after the ceremony, usually taking one or two weeks. Beneficiaries of international protection are obliged to notify the change in the marital status to the MoI within 3 days after the change. The certificate of marriage is essential for the provision of certain rights of the married couple, such as family reunification or property rights.
Same-sex couples cannot enter into marriage in the Czech Republic, but they can enter into an official partnership. In the past this was only possible if one of the partners was a Czech citizen. From 1 January 2025, however, there was a change in the law that also allows two foreign nationals to enter into partnership in the Czech Republic. Requirements for entering into partnership are the same as for marriage. Rights and obligations of the partners are identical with spousal rights, with exceptions in adoption and determination of paternity. Occasionally, migrants reported difficulties with entering into partnership as not all city councils understood this change in the law and demanded one of the partners be Czech.
[1] Section 14 – 19 of the Act No. 301/2000 Coll. on civil registers, names and surnames, available here.
[2] Official governmental information provided here.
[3] Official governmental information provided here.
[4] Section 32 – 41 of the Act No. 301/2000 Coll. on civil registers, names and surnames, available here.
[5] Detailed description or the requirements in English available here.