Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango said parents of children born in foreign countries can now apply for birth certificates through Zimbabwe’s embassies.
He said the parents are no longer required to come home to process the documents. Masango said the department had also slashed birth certificate processing fees for such cases from $50 to $2 payable using the multi-currency system for children above the age of six. He said registration for children under six years is free. Said Masango:
The Department received concerns and complaints from our citizens living and working abroad, particularly in South Africa, that the current cost of US$50 for an external birth certificate was too high and beyond the reach of many. This situation had resulted in a significant number of children born especially in South Africa remaining undocumented. These children faced numerous challenges that include failure to be registered in schools and parents that could not afford the fee of $50 ended up claiming, falsely of course, that their children were born in Zimbabwe, thereby affecting both the quality and accuracy of information given during and for the purpose of registration
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