With effect from 2 January 2010, parents would be required to declare the race of their newborns during birth registration. Parents will now be required to fill in an additional field under “Race” in the Birth Report Form (BRF). Please see Annex A for the revised BRF.

2. The introduction of this requirement offers parents of mixed race marriages the flexibility and choice to decide and declare their child's race upon birth registration. For example, a Caucasian-Chinese couple may choose to have the race of their child recorded as Caucasian, Chinese or Eurasian in his BRF.

3. However, if parents are unable to decide on the child's race during birth registration, the child’s race will be recorded provisionally to follow that of the father until the child turns 15 years old and is required to register for an identity card. Parents may still change the child's race in ICA’s record at any time before their child turns 15 years old. The option to amend the child’s race in ICA’s record can be processed at the ICA Building or at the child’s school[1] . Any change will be effected only with the consent of both parents.

[1] Only at MOE-registered government, government-aided and independent schools.

Other Birth Registration Centres (Hospitals)

4. The new requirement to declare a child’s birth is applicable to births registered at the Registry of Births and Deaths in ICA Building and all existing Birth Registration Centres. Parents will be able to register their child's birth even under the revised procedure at the respective hospitals as per current practice. For reference, the Birth Registration Centres are as follows:

a) East Shore Hospital
b) Gleneagles Hospital
c) KK Women's and Children's Hospital
d) Mount Alvernia Hospital
e) Mount Elizabeth Hospital
f) National University Hospital
g) Raffles Hospital
h) Singapore General Hospital
i) Thomson Medical Centre

Frequently-Asked-Questions

5. For enquiries on the declaration of a child's race during birth registration, parents may wish to visit the ICA website at www.ica.gov.sg for a list of frequently-asked-questions or contact:

Registry of Births and Deaths
Citizen Services Centre
3rd Storey ICA Building
10 Kallang Road
Singapore 208718
Hotline: 6391 6349
E-mail: [email protected]

END OF NEWS RELEASE

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
28 December 2009

Annex A