MVR 10,000 penalty for non-registration of newborns in a week
In the absence of the child's parents, the onus of registering births rests with the guardian.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday ratified a bill which stipulates a fine of MVR 10,000 if newborns are not registered within a week.
The bill, submitted by Henveiru North MP Ibrahim Muizzu on behalf of the government, was passed by the parliament in November. The purpose of drafting the law, which was ratified by the President, is as follows:
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To formulate rules for registration of births of newborn children in the country and those born to Maldivian people abroad
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Framing rules for making birth certificates of children born in the country
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Affixing NID card number and regulations for it
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To formulate rules for registration of deaths in Maldives and for Maldivians who die abroad
The Act states that the onus is on the parents of every child born in the country and born to a Maldivian abroad. In the absence of the child's parents, the onus of registering births rests with the guardian.
If the child was born in the Maldives:
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The birth of the child, within a week after birth, is required to be registered with the council of the island or city in which the child was born
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After the birth of a child in the country, the birth information of the child has to be established through the form
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It has to be done by a health worker or attendant who helped in the delivery of the child
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The council should register the birth of a child within a week of the application for registration of the child's birth
If the child was born to a Maldivian in a foreign country:
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If a child is born to a local in a foreign country, he/she has to register in the country in which the child was born and obtain an official document from the same place endorsing the registry
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If the citizen normally resides in the Maldives, he/she has to submit an application for registration of the newborn within a week of his/her return to the country
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If the child is from a Maldivian resident in another country, he/she should apply for registration in Maldives within six months from the date of registration in the country of birth
If any other person, who is mandated by law to do so in the absence of the child's parents or guardians during the period required for registration of birth of a child or during the period mandated to produce a birth certificate of the child, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding MVR 10,000 depending on the reason for not doing so, it said.
Prohibited under the Act:
Using a midwife form or birth certificate, an ID card or proof of death to:
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make non-permitted changes
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submit unverified information
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Cause deliberate harm
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the deliberate use of an unverified document
The regulation states that a fine ranging between MVR 10,000 and MVR 15,000 will be levied for any of the above mentioned offences.
