Status issues and civil registry | Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Swiss Confederation

Child’s birth notification / Kindesanmeldung / L'enregistrement des enfants

Birth notification can be submitted to the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern for children born in Switzerland, in cantons for which the Embassy is competent for, in order for them to receive Serbian citizenship and, consequently, Serbian passport. The application must be submitted by one of the parents who, at the time of the child's birth, is a citizen of the Republic of Serbia and has a valid document of the Republic of Serbia (passport or ID card). Upon receipt of the request, the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Serbia sends it, without delay, to the competent authority in the Republic of Serbia for the registration of the child in the civil registry books.

Documentation required for birth registration:

1. Child’s birth registration application (received in the Embassy);
2. Original Swiss birth certificate in an international form (not older than six months) which is obtained in civil registry office in Switzerland (Zivilstandsamt). In German language this form is called “Auszug aus dem Geburtsregister”, in French “Extrait de l'acte de naissance”, in Italian “Estratto dell'atto di nascita”;
3. Translation of a child’s birth certificate by a certified court interpreter for the Serbian language (translation can be done in the Embassy as well);
4. Passport and residence permit for both parents;
5. Paid consular fee (only cards accepted!).

If a marriage in Switzerland is not reported to Serbia prior to child’s birth notification, it is necessary to notify (register) marriage together with the birth notification/registration (please see the “Notification of marriage” section that follows).

Please note:

The birth registration is a precondition for the child to obtain the citizenship of the Republic of Serbia. When registering a birth, at least one parent who has a valid passport or ID card of the Republic of Serbia must be present. There is no need for the other parent to be present (if they both possess Serbian passports) and there is no need for child to be present. However, the parents' passports must be brought, even if the other parent is a foreigner.

Birth registration should be followed by address registration in Serbia (in the competent police station), after which child will be generated JMBG (unique personal number). This can only be done by child’s parents, when they go to Serbia for the first time. However, a passport request can be submitted for a child even if the address is not yet registered and the child does not have a JMBG written in the birth certificate.

There is no possibility for birth registration before the marriage has been registered (except for the children born out of wedlock). If you plan to notify child’s birth and you are not married, but the child was recognized by the father and the name of the father has been registered in the birth certificate of the newborn child, it is necessary to enclose a certified copy of the Paternity recognition certificate (in German language: Vaterschaftsanerkennung) with the "Apostille" and translation by an authorized court interpreter. If the father is not registered in the child’s birth certificate (“father field” is left unfilled) than Paternity recognition certificate is not required.

If the child, whose birth is being registered, is older than 14 years of age, his written consent is also required. The application form is obtained at the Embassy.

If the child's personal name (name and surname together) is longer than three words, the parents sign a statement on the abbreviated personal name of the child which he will use in legal traffic in the Republic of Serbia. He will be entered in the registry books under that abbreviated name, having later passport as well.

Persons over the age of 18, up to the age of 23, can register their birth under the above-mentioned conditions (without the obligation to have a parent present at the time of registration) and thus acquire Serbian citizenship according to a simplified procedure. For more information, please contact the Consular Section of the Embassy.

Notification of marriage / Eheanmeldung / L'enregistrement du mariage

Citizens of the Republic of Serbia who contracted marriage in Switzerland, are obliged to report that fact without delay to the nearest diplomatic mission of the Republic of Serbia in order to register their marriage in their civil registry book kept in Serbia. A marriage contracted abroad is notified on the basis of the excerpt from the marriage register using an international form. The application is submitted to the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern if you are living in our consular area (cantons that we are competent for). The Embassy will immediately upon receipt forward the application to the competent authority in the Republic of Serbia.

Documentation required for marriage registration:

1. Marriage registration form (received in the Embassy);
2. Original marriage certificate in an international form (not older than six months) obtained at the civil registry office in Switzerland (Zivilstandsamt) where the marriage was contracted. In German language this form is called „Auszug aus dem Eheregister“, in French „Extrait de l'acte de mariage“, in Italian „Estratto dell'atto di matrimonio“;
3. Translation of a marriage certificate by a certified court interpreter for the Serbian language (translation can be done in the Embassy as well);
4. Passport of both spouses – husband and wife (even if the other one is a foreigner);
5. Paid consular fee (only cards accepted!).

Please note:

Request for a new passport, with the changed (married) name of a person after marriage, can be submitted in the Embassy just after the name in the civil registry books in Serbia has been changed upon notification of marriage, and not before or in the same time. This means that you first have to notify your marriage to the Embassy in order for it to be registered in Serbia, and after your name has been changed in Serbia, you can only than submit the request for the passport on a new name.

Divorce / Ehescheidung / Le divorce

Marriage is dissolved before the court on the basis of the court’s decision on dissolution. If a marriage has been dissolved before a foreign court, the concerned national of the Republic of Serbia will apply to a Serbian court for the recognition of the effective and enforceable foreign judicial decision. Only after the recognition by the Serbian court of the foreign judicial decision can the dissolution of marriage be registered in the registers kept in the Republic of Serbia.

If a marriage has been divorced in front of a Swiss court, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia must initiate the process of the recognition of a foreign court’s decision in front of a competent court in the Republic of Serbia. This can be done in person or through an authorized person – legal representative. Necessary documentation, along with the request, consist of the original decision on divorce (in German language: Urteil), verified with "Apostille" and translated to Serbian language by a certified court interpreter for Serbian language (both the verdict and the "Apostille" must be translated).

Only when a court in Serbia confirms a foreign decision by a verdict, will the divorce be entered in civil registry books in the Republic of Serbia. Our citizens who change their last name (for example, return to their maiden name) will be given a deadline of 60 days to initiate a procedure for changing a personal name before the competent authority. In this so called shortened procedure, it is necessary to enclose a copy of birth and marriage certificates, certificate of citizenship and identity card.

If the person misses this 60 days deadline and doesn’t change the surname, the change is still possible but through the administrative procedure where, in addition to the above mentioned documents, it will be necessary to attach the confirmation that the applicant is not under investigation, a marriage divorce judgment and a proof that the applicant regularly pays taxes.

Notification of death / Todesmeldung / L'enregistrement du décès

Notification of the death of a citizen of the Republic of Serbia in the Swiss Confederation, in order to register the death in persons civil registry books kept in the Republic of Serbia, is performed with the personal presence of the applicant (close relative), during which occasion the following original documentation shall be presented:

1. Original death certificate in an international form (in German, this document is called „Auszug aus dem Todesregister“, in French „Extrait de l'acte de décès“, in Italian „Estratto dell 'atto di morte“), original, not older than 6 months;
2. Translation of this death certificate by a certified court interpreter for the Serbian language (translation can be done in the Embassy as well);
3. Passport of deceased person (and an identity card if he/she had one);
4. Passport of the person who reports death, in order to determine the identity of the applicant;
5. Paid consular fee (only cards accepted!).

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Death notification, as well as the other changes in personal status (birth, marriage), can also be reported directly to Serbia, in the competent municipality where the civil registry books of the person are kept.