Digital birth and death certificates will be issued in place of physical certificates from May 29, 2022, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said.
Birth certificates
Parents will have to register the birth of their newborns via LifeSG application, previously known as "Moments of Life".
LifeSG is an integrated platform for parents to register their child's birth and apply for relevant government programmes and schemes such as the Baby Bonus.
Following which, they will be notified to download the digital birth certificate of their child via an ICA e-Service, known as the "electronic Retrieval of Certificates and Instant Verification", via ICA's website or MyICA Mobile.
Parents will no longer have to travel to the hospital or the ICA building to collect a physical birth certificate anymore.
Death certificates
For death certificates, the deceased's next-of-kin (NOK) will no longer have to register the death from May 29.
After the death is certified by a registered medical practitioner, an NOK will be able to receive a digital death certification from My Legacy portal.
This will ease the administrative burden of post-death matters on bereaved family members, ICA said.
Why go digital?
"The digitalisation of the birth and death registration processes is part of the government’s continuous efforts to integrate and improve the delivery of services," ICA added in their press release.
ICA assured that data protection and privacy measures have been put in place to prevent data loss or theft, unauthorised access, as well as undue disclosure.
Digital certificates can be verified by authorities or organisations with a QR code that is linked to an ICA system.
Any person caught giving false information can be investigated and charged under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act or the Penal Code.
ICA’s Deputy Commissioner (Policy and Transformation), Cora Chen, said:
“The digitalisation of the birth and death registration processes, and issuance of digital certificates will provide greater convenience for parents of newborns, and reduce administrative hassle for NOK of the deceased so that they may focus on other immediate tasks on hand, such as funeral arrangements.
These parents and NOK can transact with us on-the-go and save a trip to ICA or the registration centre. This initiative will bring us another step closer to ICA’s vision of Services Centre Next Generation (SCNG), where online transactions and digital documents will become the norm.
In anticipation of the growing number of digital documents, there are also plans to launch a secure one-stop digital document repository for our citizens to access their official documents with ease.”
Citizens who are unable to go online or cannot find someone to assist them with the new processes can call the temporary dedicated hotline 6589 8707.
Related story
Follow and listen to our podcast here
Top photo via Francis Kok/Google Maps
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.
“Dharwadker, Sanjay; Mills, Samuel. 2019. Options for Digital Birth Certificates. Health, Nutrition, and Population Discussion Paper;. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. //openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/32542 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
A birth extract is a certified true copy of the Birth Certificate (BC). Once a birth certificate is lost and a replacement is required, applicant has to apply for a birth extract. All applications for a certified extract of these records have to be made on the requisite application forms. Applications can be made in person or via the Internet.
Eligibility
- The BC holder or his parents.
- Applications made on behalf of relatives or friends must be accompanied with a letter of authorisation stating the name and identification number of the applicant and his/her IC relationship with the BC holder. If the applicant is not holding a Singapore Identity Card, a certified copy of his/her official identification document (e.g. identity card, passport, driver's licence, etc) must also be submitted.
Application in Person
Kindly contact the Mission for the application form (BD 40) and submit it together with the following required documents:
- Photocopy of your relevant identification documents i.e. Passport, NRIC, Birth Certificate, Citizenship Certificate (if applicable)
- A5 size courier bag (for the return of your documents)
- NZ$44.00 – Fee per Certified Birth Extract (if a copy of Birth Certificate is produced)
- NZ$44.00 – Search fee per month
- NZ$88.00 – Total fee for Search (of one month) and Certified Birth Extract
Note: If the Birth Registration Number is not furnished, applicants are required to pay a search fee.
Please submit your application with the appropriate fees in cash or Bank Cheque made payable to the "Singapore High Commission" (Note: personal and company cheques will not be accepted and fees are subject to change without prior notice).