Birth Abroad

Congratulations on your child’s birth! Depending on you and your spouse’s citizenship your child may have acquired US citizenship at birth.

If you and your spouse are both U.S. citizens and either of you have ever resided in the US prior to your child’s birth; your child became a U.S. citizen at birth. If only one of you is a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent will have to present evidence of a total of five years physical presence (not necessarily consecutive) in the U.S., two of which must have been after the age of 14 in order to establish that the child acquired US citizenship at birth. If you think you may have difficulty showing five years physical presence, you may want to consider giving birth in the US. The alternative would be to apply for an immigrant visa for your child. We urge you to take care of the formalities of applying for a CRBA and passport as soon as possible after the child’s birth in order to avoid future difficulties or delays that could arise if your child does not have a US travel document.

PLEASE NOTE: If one parent is a citizen of Singapore, your child will also be a citizen of Singapore at birth. A male child who continues to reside here will be subject to compulsory military service. Please see the section on "Military Service in Singapore Armed Forces" for more details on that subject.

In order to document your child’s U.S. citizenship, you will need to present the following documentary evidence to the consular officer. Items 1- 9 are required in all cases.  All documents submitted must be originals or true copies certified by the issuing authority.  

1. Parent’s proof of U.S. citizenship: U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or official birth certificate from a US state or territory.
   
2. Evidence of child’s birth: original or certified true copy of child’s birth certificate. It should show the child’s and parents’ names, date and place of the child’s birth.
   
3. Evidence of parents’ marriage: (if applicable) original or certified true copy of parents’ marriage certificate.
   
4. Evidence of termination of all prior marriages of parents (if any): original or certified true copies of divorce or death certificates.
   
5. English translation: All supporting documents in a foreign language must be translated into English.
   
6. Completed application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad:  Form DS-2029.
   
7. Application for a U.S. passport: Form DS-11.
   
8. Two U.S. passport-sized photos:  2" X 2" with a white background showing the child’s full face with the eyes open. If the child is being held up in front of a camera, please ensure that no part of the child’s head or face is obstructed.
   
9. Social Security Card Application: Form SS-5-FS.

FEES: There is a US$65 fee for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad and a US$85 fee for the passport application for a total of US$150. It may be paid in US or Singapore currency. Travelers’ checks and credit cards (Visa, American Express, Diner's Club and Discover) are accepted.  However, personal checks and Singapore NET cards are not accepted.

-- IN SOME CASES THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY BE REQUIRED --

EVIDENCE OF U.S. CITIZEN PARENTS’ PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE U.S.:

This is required when only one parent is a US citizen even if that parent was born in the US. Merely maintaining a residence in the US (i.e. having a home in the US, maintaining voter registration, etc.) is not sufficient, you must actually be in the US for a total of five years. The following items may be used to demonstrate your presence in the US: school transcripts, old passports, employment records, social security records, cancelled checks, and tax records.

AFFIDAVIT OF PARENTAGE: required for a child conceived out of wedlock.

EVIDENCE OF PARENTS’ PHYSICAL PRESENCE TOGETHER AT TIME OF CONCEPTION: required if the child was conceived out of wedlock, e.g. passports, leases, etc.

Filing the Application:
 

Registration Package:  Click here to print the documents necessary to register the birth of your child.  Please complete these forms and bring them with you (and your child) to the Embassy. 1.     Checklist 2.     DS-2029 3.     Form DS 11 4.     SSN Application Form

After collecting all of the relevant documents, please bring them to American Citizen Services any time during our normal business hours (8:30am – 12:00 noon and 2:00pm – 3:30pm Monday through Friday, except local and U.S. holidays). Both parents and the child will have to appear before a consular officer. ACS cannot waive this requirement. The Consular officer will take the oath of the U.S. citizen parent executing the CRBA application (DS-2029). Both parents will then execute the child’s passport application. Please do not sign the form(s) until the consular officer asks you to do so. Processing for the CRBA will normally take one business day if the child was born in Singapore, (issuance of passports takes ten to twelve days).

Obtaining a replacement or additional copies of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad

The Embassy does not retain completed CRBA files. Rather, these are forwarded to the Department of State in Washington, D.C.  Replacement or additional copies of the CRBA must therefore be requested from the Department of State.  Additional information including fees and request requirements is available on the Department website.