Legislation news in civil registration

In accordance with the Order of the Head of State to transfer public services into electronic format, the Ministry of Justice is actively working in this direction.

In this regard, on November 25, 2020 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Making Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Provision of Public Services”, initiated by the deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In order to optimize public services in the field of civil registration, amendments were made to more than 50 articles of the Code “On Marriage (Matrimony) and the Family” (hereinafter - the Code).

The main goal of the changes is to simplify the procedure for registering acts of civil status, not to take unnecessary documents, to significantly reduce the time for the provision of public services, to protect the rights and interests of children.

In particular, the state registration of adoption and the establishment of paternity was canceled, as well as the registration of such types of acts as divorce statement on the basis of a court decision.

For example, if now the spouses must dissolve the marriage through the court, and then apply to the authorities of the Civil Registry Office to get a certificate, then according to the changes, from the moment the court decision comes into force, a divorce statement will be registered automatically and there is no need to go to the authorities of the Civil Registry Office.

In order to preserve the secrets of the family, the secrets of adoption, and the birth of the child guaranteed by the Constitution and the Code, the sections of state registration of establishing paternity, state registration of adoption are excluded. At the same time, data on the personality of the child and their parents are indicated only in the birth certificate.

Now, when adopting or establishing paternity, 2 certificates were issued to the child - adoption or establishment of paternity and a birth certificate. According to new changes, in order to destroy unnecessary documents, by simplifying the procedure, both for citizens and for the registration authority, only a birth certificate is issued to the child.

Now, for the convenience of citizens, the state service for registering all types of instruments of civil status, making changes, corrections and additions to them, restoring and canceling acts of records, getting repeated certificates and references is provided on an extraterritorial basis.

For example, in case of loss of documents, a citizen can apply to any registration authority, regardless of the place of birth, where he/she lives, and receive a second birth certificate.

It excludes the need for citizens to submit documents to state agencies that can be delivered from information systems (court decisions, medical certificates, information on registered acts in the Republic of Kazakhstan, etc.).

There is also the possibility for parents to get legally a proactive service of birth registration by SMS.

At the same time, if a child was born in a maternity hospital, the child must be issued a birth certificate independently, even if there is no document proving the identity of the mother.

The list of documents that may be the basis for registering the birth of children born abroad has been expanded. For today, information about the birth of a child born abroad is not available in information systems, since the birth certificate is issued by foreign registration authorities.

In this regard, if the parents of the child want to issue the Kazakhstan birth certificate, then, if they wish, it is enough to contact the registration authority and submit a birth certificate issued abroad (affixed or legalized with an apostille seal if necessary). A new birth certificate is issued indicating the actual place of birth of the child.

For example, if a child was born in Uzbekistan, parents can present a birth certificate to the registration authority and receive a birth certificate in Kazakhstan, where Uzbekistan will be indicated as the birthplace of the child. It should be noted that apostilization or legalization of documents issued in the CIS countries is not required.

This novelty will allow citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan who are born abroad to receive all state services in relation to their children: queuing up for preschool education institutions, registering with healthcare organizations, receiving benefits, taking off debt, etc.

At the same time, in information systems it is possible to determine family relationships with parents, if you lose the certificate or damage it, if you wish, you can get a new one at any registration authority without sending a request to the place of birth.

In addition, if parents want to assign a double name to the child and if their name is spelled with a hyphen and the double name of the father, then the ability to correctly spell the middle name through a hyphen is introduced.

In the event that the mother brings up the child herself, then upon reaching the age of sixteen, the child, for choice, wants to change the surname to the surname of the mother (without changing the middle name of the child), a change to the surname of the mother is provided.

At present, relatives of the deceased person must contact the registration authority for a death certificate. When a tragic situation occurs in a family, relatives cannot come to the registration authority or there are cases when the deceased person has no relatives at all.

In order to optimally resolve this issue, if the application for registration of the death certificate has not been received within 3 days, the registration authority has introduced the possibility of registration on the basis of a medical certificate or court decision. If necessary, relatives can receive ready-made documents through the e-government portal, the Public Service Centers or, if desired, at the registration authority.

Summing up the speech, the changes in the Civil Registry Office will significantly reduce the time and financial costs of the population and transfer public services to digital format.