Registering a Child's Birth With Lebanon From Australia

To register an Australian-born child's birth with Lebanon, a parent attends a Lebanese consulate in person with the original registry birth certificate and both parents' Lebanese identity papers. Lebanese consulates here say only children of Lebanese fathers can be registered, and the parents' marriage must be registered in Lebanon first or at the same time. No notary is needed.

Key takeaways

• Lebanese consulates in Australia say Lebanese nationals abroad are legally required to register changes in civil status, including births, as soon as possible.
• A Lebanese consulate's page states that only children of Lebanese fathers can be registered.
• The parents' marriage must be registered in Lebanon's Civil Acts Register, before or together with the birth.
• Registration is in person, by a parent or by the person themselves if an adult, with original documents only.
• The consulate works from the original Australian certificate, so there is no notary, apostille or DFAT step for the birth itself.

Who can be registered?

The Lebanese Consulate General in Melbourne's page on vital events says Lebanese nationals residing overseas are legally required to register any change in their civil status with the nearest Lebanese mission as soon as possible. For births, the page of the Lebanese consulate in Tasmania adds a sentence that decides most cases before any paperwork: only children of Lebanese fathers can be registered.

That reflects how Lebanese nationality passes. If the father is Lebanese, the child can be registered, whatever the mother's nationality. If only the mother is Lebanese, this route is not available, and the family should ask the consulate what, if anything, applies. It is a hard rule, and a notary cannot help with it.

The Melbourne page also says that Lebanon accepts dual citizenship: acquiring another nationality does not mean losing Lebanese citizenship. A child who is an Australian citizen by birth can therefore also be registered as Lebanese through a Lebanese father. Australia also allows its citizens to hold another nationality; the Department of Home Affairs explains Australian citizenship.

The Lebanese records you will hear about

The consulates' pages use two Lebanese civil registry extracts by name, and knowing which is which saves a wasted trip:

Record	What it is	Used for
Ikhraj Kayd Fardy	An extract of an individual civil registry record	A parent's Lebanese identity papers, if there is no Lebanese ID card
Ikhraj Kayd A'ily	An extract of the family civil registry record, the family census record	Proving the marriage is registered in Lebanon
Lebanese ID card	The Lebanese national identity card	A parent's identity papers, in place of the individual extract
Lebanese marriage certificate	The certificate of the marriage as registered in Lebanon	Proving the marriage is registered, in place of the family extract

The consulates ask for a recent family census record. The extracts come from Lebanon, so if you do not have them, allow time for someone there to obtain them, or ask the consulate how to request them.

What to bring for the birth

The Melbourne page lists, for a birth registration:

1. Proof that the marriage is registered in the Civil Acts Register in Lebanon: a marriage certificate or a recent family census record, Ikhraj Kayd A'ily.
2. Lebanese identity papers of both parents: a Lebanese ID card or an individual civil registry extract, Ikhraj Kayd Fardy.
3. The official Australian birth certificate issued by the state or territory registry office.

Only the parents can register the birth, or the person themselves once an adult. That second option matters for Australians of Lebanese descent who were never registered as children: an adult child of a Lebanese father can attend in person and register their own birth, provided the parents' marriage is registered too. Ask the consulate what else it needs from an adult applicant, since the parents may no longer have current Lebanese papers. The page's general guidelines say the application must be made in person by the appropriate person, and that only original documents are accepted.

If the marriage is not yet registered

Many couples who married in Australia never registered the marriage in Lebanon. The consulate says that in that case, the marriage must be registered before or together with the birth. For a marriage in Australia, its page lists:

• If both spouses are Lebanese: a Lebanese ID card or individual extract for each, and the official Australian marriage certificate from the registry.
• If one spouse is not Lebanese: the Lebanese spouse's ID card or individual extract, the other spouse's birth certificate and a copy of their passport or driving licence, and the official Australian marriage certificate.

The page adds that, one year after the marriage is officially registered in Lebanon, a foreign wife has the right to apply for Lebanese citizenship.

The mother's own citizenship

For families where the mother is not Lebanese, registering the marriage has a second consequence. The Melbourne page says foreign wives of Lebanese husbands are entitled to Lebanese citizenship one year after the marriage is registered in the Civil Acts Register in Lebanon. To apply, the page lists:

• The Lebanese marriage certificate, or a recent family civil registry extract showing the date the marriage was registered.
• The wife's birth certificate.
• Her valid passport showing her current surname.
• The husband's Lebanese ID card or individual civil registry extract.

Registering the marriage promptly therefore starts that one-year period too.

Before you go: a practical order

1. Confirm the father is Lebanese and has Lebanese identity papers, or can obtain an individual extract.
2. Check whether the marriage is registered in Lebanon, by obtaining a recent family census record. If it is not, prepare the marriage documents.
3. Order the child's official birth certificate from the state or territory registry. A commemorative certificate is not the official certificate.
4. Gather the mother's documents: her Lebanese papers, or, if she is not Lebanese and the marriage is being registered, her birth certificate and passport or licence copy.
5. Contact the office covering you to confirm its current list and hours, then attend in person with originals.

Do you need a notary, an apostille or DFAT?

Not for the birth registration. The consulates' lists ask for the original Australian certificate and Lebanese records, lodged in person, and none of them is a notarised document. The consulate records the birth and sends it on to the Civil Acts Register in Lebanon.

The picture changes for documents going to Lebanon by another route. Lebanon is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention on our last check, so an Australian document for use there takes a DFAT authentication, not an apostille, followed by the consulate's own steps; check the HCCH status table on the day. In Australia, only DFAT issues apostilles and authentications. The consulates' divorce instructions show the pattern: an Australian divorce order is translated into Arabic by an accredited translator, and the order and the translation are each authenticated by DFAT. Our guide to authentication for Lebanon explains that chain.

A previous divorce can hold things up

If either parent was married before, check that history first. The consulates say a divorce can be registered only if the marriage itself was first registered in Lebanon or at a mission, and that the divorce takes effect in Lebanon only after sanction by the relevant court there. For that reason, they suggest nominating an attorney to follow up the papers in Lebanon. A power of attorney for Lebanon can be signed at the consulate; our guide to notarising Lebanese documents covers when an Australian notary is used instead.

Where to go

Lebanon has an embassy in Canberra and consulates-general in Sydney and Melbourne, and other consular offices exist in some states. Go to the office covering where you live, and check its page or call before attending, as office hours and appointment systems differ. We do not quote the consular fees.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying when only the mother is Lebanese, without first asking the consulate.
• Arriving without proof the marriage is registered in Lebanon, or without its documents to register it.
• Bringing photocopies: only originals are accepted.
• An old family census record, when a recent one is asked for.
• Paying for a notary or DFAT step that the birth registration does not need.

An illustration

This is an illustration, not a real case. A Lebanese father and an Australian mother married in Sydney and have a son. The marriage was never registered in Lebanon. The father attends the consulate with his Lebanese ID card, the original Australian marriage certificate, the mother's birth certificate and a copy of her passport, and the son's original birth certificate. The consulate registers the marriage and the birth together. No notary or DFAT step is involved.

In short

A Lebanese consulate in Australia can register the birth of a child whose father is Lebanese. The parents' marriage must be registered in Lebanon first or at the same time. A parent attends in person with the original registry birth certificate, both parents' Lebanese ID cards or individual extracts, and proof of the marriage registration. There is no notary, apostille or DFAT step for the birth. For other countries, see our guide to registering a birth overseas; our authentication service covers documents that do go to Lebanon.

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If a document is going to Lebanon rather than the consulate, send us what you have been asked for, and we will explain each step before you book.