Date of publication:

01/07/2026

Kyrgyzstan

Do domestic laws and policies provide for every child to be registered immediately after birth – or, where necessary, through late birth registration – and to be issued a birth certificate?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

IDPs
Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Stateless persons
Analysis

The right of refugees and asylum seekers to register acts of civil status, including registration of births of children in the Kyrgyz Republic is regulated by the provisions of the Law on Refugees of March 25, 2002 № 44 and the Law on Acts of Civil Status of August 1, 2020 № 110. However, the procedure for exercising this right varies depending on the status of the person, which may create certain restrictions for certain categories. According to Article 13 of the Law on Refugees, refugees have the right to mandatory registration of acts of civil status and obtaining relevant documents. In turn, Article 7 of the Law on Acts of Civil Status establishes that in order to draw up a record of an act of civil status, the applicant must provide a document proving his identity. Among such documents is a refugee certificate. This means that refugees who have such a certificate have the opportunity to freely register acts of civil status, including birth, marriage, divorce or death. Unlike refugees, asylum seekers have limitations in exercising the right to mandatory registration of a civil status act; this right is not regulated by the Law on Refugees; moreover, the certificate is not included in the list of identity documents provided for in Article 7 of the Law on Civil Status Acts. In this regard, when registering the birth of children, asylum seekers are forced to provide a passport of their citizenship, as well as a certificate confirming registration with the population registration authorities in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. This requirement limits their ability to exercise the right to state registration of the birth of children. At the same time, special guarantees are provided for in relation to the registration of the birth of a child, which apply to both refugees and asylum seekers (clause 23 of the Instruction on the procedure for state registration of civil status acts in the Kyrgyz Republic approved by the Decree of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic dated March 11, 2021 № 90). In accordance with Article 13 of the Law on Civil Status Acts, if the parents (or one of them) do not have identity documents, the birth of a child is registered on the basis of a birth application and a medical birth certificate. In this case, state bodies are obliged to register the birth and issue a birth certificate, making a corresponding note in the electronic civil status record. This provision protects the rights of children regardless of the legal status of their parents. Thus, refugees have the right to register civil status acts on an equal basis with citizens of the country, since their refugee certificate is recognized as an official identity document. Asylum seekers face restrictions related to the lack of an identity document, but can exercise their right if they have a passport and proof of registration in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additional guarantees apply to the registration of a child's birth, which eliminate the need for identity documents of the parents, which helps protect the rights of children even if the parents do not have the necessary documents. 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    The Law on Acts of Civil Status

    Legal provision

    Article 7 - Recording of a civil status act

    A civil status act shall be recorded electronically using an automated information system and printed on paper. In the event of a discrepancy between the text of the civil status act record in electronic form and the text on paper, the record on paper shall be considered the original. 2. To make a civil status act record, one of the following documents certifying the applicant's identity must be presented: 1) for state registration of birth, marriage, divorce, change of surname, first name, patronymic, and death: a) a valid passport of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic (ID card), and outside the Kyrgyz Republic - a passport of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic (ID card) or a general civil passport; b) an officer's identity card; c) a residence permit for stateless persons; d) a passport of a foreign citizen; d) a "Kairylman" certificate for state registration of the birth of a child; e) refugee certificate; g) birth certificate when registering a change of surname, first name and patronymic for persons who have reached the age of sixteen, as well as those who have not reached the age of majority; 2) when receiving a duplicate certificate: a) passport of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic (ID card), and outside the Kyrgyz Republic - passport of a citizen of the Kyrgyz Republic (ID card) or a general civil passport; b) officer's identity card; c) "Kairylman" certificate; d) residence permit for stateless persons; d) passport of a foreign citizen; e) certificate of release from places of imprisonment. g) refugee certificate. The authenticity of documents of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic, foreign citizens and stateless persons issued by competent authorities of foreign states, certifying the fact of state registration of an act of civil status, presented for state registration of acts of civil status, is confirmed by means of consular legalization or apostille, unless otherwise provided by international treaties that have entered into force in the manner prescribed by law, to which the Kyrgyz Republic is a party, and translated into the state and official languages ​​of the Kyrgyz Republic. The authenticity of the signature of the translator who translated the documents must be notarized.

    Article 13 - Grounds for state registration of birth

    1. The grounds for state registration of birth are: 1) a birth certificate of the established form issued by the healthcare organization where the birth took place, or a birth certificate issued by a doctor or other medical worker, an authorized healthcare body in case of birth outside a medical institution; 2) documents certifying the identity of the child's parents (one of the parents), a marriage certificate (documents certifying the identity of the mother, if unmarried), or documents certifying the identity of a close relative, an employee of the territorial division of the authorized body for child protection; 3) documents (medical birth certificate, extract from the register, birth certificate, etc.) issued by the competent authorities of foreign states, confirming the fact of birth of children born in a foreign state, whose parents (or one of the parents) are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic; 4) an application of the established form. 2. In the absence of a medical birth certificate, the state registration of the birth of a child is carried out on the basis of a court decision that has entered into legal force establishing the fact of the birth of a child by a given woman. 3. During the state registration of the birth of a child, based on an application from the spouses who have given consent to the implantation of the embryo into another woman for the purpose of carrying it, a document confirming the fact of the implantation of the embryo issued by a medical organization must be submitted simultaneously with the document confirming the fact of the birth of the child. 4. An application for registration of the birth of a child is submitted by the parents or one of them, and in the event of illness, death of the parents or the impossibility for other reasons to submit an application - at the request of close relatives. If the mother of the child, who is not married to the father of the child, has died or refused to take the child from the healthcare organization after birth, or left the child in the healthcare organization after birth and her place of residence is unknown, the birth of the child is registered based on an application from the administration of the healthcare organization where the birth took place or where the child is located (abandoned), the territorial division of the authorized state body for the protection of children, or the person with whom the child is located. If the child's parents refuse to take the child from the healthcare organization after birth, the child's birth is registered upon application by the administration of the healthcare organization where the birth took place. 5. If the parents (parent) do not have documents proving their identity, state registration of the fact of the child's birth is carried out on the basis of an application for the child's birth and a medical birth certificate, and a birth certificate is issued. In this case, a corresponding note is made in the electronic record of civil status acts. State registration of the fact of the child's birth is carried out for children under one year of age. 6. State registration of the birth of a child who has reached the age of one year or more is carried out upon a written application from the parents (one of the parents) or a close relative, or a territorial division of the authorized state body for the protection of children, as well as upon an application from the child himself upon reaching the age of sixteen with the attachment of the necessary documents determined by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. 7. State registration of the birth of a child born on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, whose parents are foreign citizens or stateless persons residing on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, shall be carried out in accordance with Part 1 of this Article. 8. State registration of the birth of a child born during the introduction of an emergency situation or state of emergency on a separate or the entire territory of the Kyrgyz Republic shall be carried out in accordance with Part 1 of this Article and within a period of no more than one month after the cancellation of the emergency situation or state of emergency.

    The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Refugees

    Legal provision

    Article 13 - Rights and obligations of a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic

    A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic enjoys the same rights and bears the same obligations as foreign citizens permanently residing in the Kyrgyz Republic. A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic shall also be granted the rights and obligations of a person applying for refugee status, as stipulated by Article 6 of this Law. A person recognized as a refugee in the Kyrgyz Republic and his family members shall have the right to: - reside for three months in a temporary settlement; - choose a settlement from among those proposed by the Authorized Body in which his relatives reside as their place of permanent residence, subject to their consent to cohabitation; - work for hire or engage in entrepreneurial activity in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic; - acquire real estate under the conditions established for foreign citizens and stateless persons by the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic; - receive, with the assistance of the relevant state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic, information about property left behind in the state of previous residence; - have the necessary documents proving his identity and travel documents; - to receive medical care on an equal basis with citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic; - to receive administrative assistance when applying to state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic; - to mandatory registration of civil status acts and receipt of relevant documents.