Registering a birth and acknowledging parentage of a child in Slovenia

If your child is born in Slovenia, you must register the birth in Slovenia. If you live in the Netherlands, you must also register the birth in the Netherlands. Acknowledging parentage of the child in Slovenia is only possible if at least one of the parents has Slovenian nationality. You can also acknowledge parentage of your child in the Netherlands.

Registering a birth

You must always register the birth of your child in the country where they were born. How you register a birth varies by country. If you live in the Netherlands and your child was born abroad, you must also register the birth in the Netherlands.

If your child is born in Slovenia, the birth must be registered there. Most children in Slovenia are born in hospital. The hospital will automatically report your child’s birth to the municipality. You will then be sent a birth certificate for your child. As parents you must inform the hospital of your child’s names. It is not possible to register the birth of your child at the Dutch embassy.

If your child is not born in hospital, you must register the birth yourself within 15 days with the municipality where your child was born.

If you live outside the Netherlands, you can have the Slovenian birth certificate converted into a Dutch birth certificate at the municipality of The Hague’s Foreign Documents Department. This is not mandatory, but it can be useful if you ever need an extract from the birth certificate in the future. Having the document converted does not take care of your child’s registration in the Non residents Records Database (RNI).

If you live in the Netherlands, you must also register the birth with the municipality where you live, using the foreign birth certificate. Do this as soon as possible once you return to the Netherlands. The municipality will then process your and your child’s details in the Personal Records Database (BRP).

If you have a multilingual extract of a birth certificate from Slovenia, you do not need to have it legalised for use in the Netherlands. Read more about legalising a birth certificate from Slovenia.

Other important information

Children born in Slovenia can have no more than 2 given names. A child born in Slovenia does not automatically acquire Slovenian nationality unless at least one parent is a Slovenian national.

From 1 January 2024, your child can have both your surname and your partner's surname. Even if your child is born abroad. Would you like to give your child a combined surname and is this not possible in your country of residence? Then go to a municipality in the Netherlands to record the choice of name. You can also authorise someone to do this for you. Read more on the page Which surname can I choose for my child? on Rijksoverheid.nl (information in Dutch).

Acknowledging parentage of a child

You can acknowledge parentage of your child if you are not automatically the legal parent. By doing so you declare that you are the child’s parent.

If you are not married and you and/or your partner has Slovenian nationality, you can acknowledge parentage of your child before they are born at a Centre for Social Work (center za socialno delo). Both parents’ names will then be listed on the birth certificate. After the child is born, you should inform the centre as soon as possible of the child’s name and place of birth.

It is also possible to acknowledge parentage after the birth in one of the following ways:

at a center za socialno delo
with the registrar of births, deaths and marriages
in a public document
in a will.

In Slovenia, acknowledging parentage of your child automatically grants you parental responsibility for your child. Acknowledgement of parentage in Slovenia is usually also legally valid in the Netherlands.

Acknowledging parentage of the child in Slovenia is only possible if at least one of the parents has Slovenian nationality.

Find out more about acknowledging parentage of a child on the Slovenian government website.

If you live in the Netherlands or if you are Dutch and live abroad, you can always acknowledge parentage in the Netherlands of your child born in Slovenia. You can do this at the municipality or a notary. You can also authorise someone to do this in the Netherlands on your behalf. To do this, you must get a notary to draw up a power of attorney. You cannot acknowledge parentage of your child at a Dutch embassy or consulate-general.

Find out more about acknowledging parentage in the Netherlands on Government.nl.

If you want to arrange something for your child, you may need their birth certificate or a declaration of acknowledgement of parentage.

More information

Find out more about becoming a parent outside the Netherlands

Contact

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