Retrospective registration of a birth abroad

Retrospective registration involves entering a birth that took place abroad into the German birth register.

Once registration has been successfully completed, birth certificates and other civil status documents can in future be issued directly by the Beckum Registry Office. In many cases, it will no longer be necessary to submit the foreign birth certificate again.

The key requirement for submitting an application is that the person concerned holds German nationality at the time of application. Whether German nationality was held at birth is irrelevant in this regard. This option is also available to stateless persons, stateless foreign nationals, foreign refugees and those entitled to asylum.

As a general rule, the application must be made by the person concerned. In the case of a minor, the application must be made by the parents with parental responsibility.