Bangladesh will celebrate Birth Registration Day today, marking 10 years since July 3, 2007 that it was officially declared as National Birth Registration Day.
Birth registration is now compulsory to get 16 basic services for every citizen. A birth certificate serves as a legal age verification document acknowledging the individual’s existence and status before the law.
Birth registration falls under the Birth and Death Registration Act, 2004 (Act No. 29 of 2004), where name, gender, date and place of birth, parents name, nationality and permanent address of a person are provided to get a birth certificate.
It is mandatory to have a child’s birth registration completed with 45 days of their birth. The service is free of cost. There are legal penalties if the process is not completed with two years of a child’s birth.
The applicant can get the certificate within 15 working days. If the person or organization responsible for birth registration fails to perform the duties properly, actions can be taken against them under the Right to Information Act.
The 16 basic services that can be availed with a birth registration are: Passport, marriage registration, admission to school and colleges, applying for jobs, driving license, over ID, land registration, opening a bank account, import and export license, getting water, gas and electric connections, Tax Identification Number (TIN), Contractor license, approval of the home design, vehicle registration, trade license and getting on the voter list.
Expatriates also can register the birth of their children by providing a certified copy of a birth certificate.
One can register births in the city they are currently living in or where their permanent address is listed in their passport.
The place where can go to register for birth are with the chairman or councilor of their Union Council or any officer or member empowered by the Government, with the mayor of their municipality or any other officer or councilor authorized by him, with the mayor of the City Corporation or an officer or councilor authorized by him,the president of the cantonment board or any officer empowered by him, and with the ambassador of Bangladesh Embassies or with any officer empowered by him.
From July 2016 to June 2016 a total of 1,39,580 Births were registered in Dhaka North City Corporation while the number is significantly lower in Dhaka South City Corporation with just 26,994 registered births in the same period of time.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
