Your child was born in Senegal and one of the parents is French? As far as France is concerned, the child does not yet exist until the birth is registered in the French civil status records. Without this record, there is no French passport or identity card.
Two possible routes
1. Declaration at the consulate, within 30 days. The French Civil Code sets the principle: abroad, a birth is declared to the consular officers within fifteen days, a time limit that may be extended by decree (article 55). At the French Consulate General in Dakar, the limit is 30 calendar days after the birth. The declaration is made by appointment only, in the presence of the child, with the original delivery certificate. The birth must also be declared to the Senegalese civil status office.
2. Transcription of the Senegalese birth certificate, with no time limit. After 30 days, or if you cannot travel, you apply for transcription of the Senegalese birth certificate. This formality is free. The file is submitted at the consulate without an appointment, Monday to Thursday from 2 pm to 3.30 pm, or by post if neither parent lives in Senegal. A foreign certificate is accepted as evidence if it is regular (article 47 of the Civil Code): this is where files get complicated.
The most common pitfalls
- Senegalese records must be provided as an original literal copy (copie littérale), never as an extract or photocopy.
- The full copy of the French parent’s birth certificate must be less than 3 months old.
- Unmarried parents: the father must have recognised the child, or be present at the declaration.
- The surname is chosen by joint declaration (father’s, mother’s or both joined). This choice is irrevocable and applies to subsequent children (article 311-21 of the Civil Code). Without a declaration, the child takes the father’s name.
- Files submitted by third parties are not accepted.
How we help
Legal Field Avocats helps you build a complete file the first time: checking the Senegalese records, choice of surname, forms, and appeals in the event of a refusal or a request to authenticate the certificate.
Questions about your birth registration file? Call us on +221 33 844 29 16.
Sources: French Consulate General in Dakar – Birth (in French); French Civil Code, articles 47, 55 and 311-21.
See also: French civil status in West Africa, country by country · French visa refusal lawyer
LEGAL FIELD AVOCATS
14 rue Woro Fila, Fann Hock, Dakar, Senegal
Phone: +221 33 844 29 16
Email: contact@fbavocat-sn.com
Our correspondent law firm in France:
FB AVOCAT
11 rue Galin, 33100 Bordeaux, France
Phone: +33 9 85 40 18 64
Email: contact@legalfb-avocat.fr