Jed remains officially nameless, after our failed attempt to register his birth at hospital today.  Arrgh … bureaucrats !

To : The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

Query on the Birth Registration Process

I took leave to go down to the hospital where my child was delivered today, to register his birth.

As I currently do not have my IC with me, I brought along my passport and birth certificate, hoping that these documents (in addition to the mothers IC) would suffice. However, I was turned away by the person at the birth registration counter. I was told that policy of requiring both parents’ ICs is one that is strictly adhered to.

I would like to know if the foregoing is indeed the case. If so, I find it incomprehensible that foreign passports are accepted, while local passports are not. I also note that processing time for the first loss of an IC is 1 month and 3 months for second and subsequent loss, which means that a parent who has lost his / her IC will probably not be able to register his child’s birth within the 42 days required by law. The policy of refusing to accept other identification documents in lieu of the IC again does not make sense in the light of this.

I will be grateful to have your clarification on the above matter. Unfortunately, I will now have to make another trip to ICA or the hospital to register the birth of my child, after I have my IC.