Dominican Republic

Administrative blockage for children of mixed status parents

In the Dominican Republic, there is a bifurcated birth registration system for citizens/non-citizens. Migrants and children whose mothers cannot prove their migration status are registered in the Foreigners Book. The bifurcated procedure came into force in 2007. Registration as a foreigner is not formal birth registration, which must instead be done at the consulate of the parent’s country of origin. This has created obstacles for children of Dominican fathers and foreign mothers, mothers of Haitian origin, or mothers who have irregular status. CEDAW (2022), CRC (2023) and CESCR (2016) have all expressed concern and/or issued recommendations regarding the difficulty of registering children of mixed couples.