By: Natasha Smith
FARO HOSPITAL is among five units in Portugal to introduce a new system to electronically register babies on site without having to go to your local registry office.
The system is free and much simpler to use than the former process. Also, from September, babies will automatically be added to the National Health Service register and the Social Security system.
This will come as a relief to parents as they will not have to wait in queues, often with their newborns, at three different offices in order to fully register their children.
Expatriate parents will also have full use of this service but one document is required from the appropriate embassy or consulate, as British Consul Bill Henderson tells The Resident: “The requirement for a certificate from the consulate arises if one or both parents are British and decide to give their child a name which is not in the Portuguese register of approved names.
In these cases, the parents need to come in to their nearest consulate (in Portimão, Lisbon, Porto, Funchal or Ponta Delgada) to receive a declaration in Portuguese stating that there are no restrictions under British law regarding names. British nationals wishing to make use of this service should telephone their nearest consulate in advance to find out what documents are required. There is a fee for this service.”
To register your newborn baby, there is a limit on the amount of names allowed: two first names and four last names per child. The nationality of the baby must also be given along with passports or identity cards of both parents, if both are to be added to the birth certificate.
This pilot system is expected to eventually spread to every hospital in the country where there is a maternity unit.
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