Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul strongly encourages all U.S. citizens who have children born in the Republic of South Korea to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) as soon as possible after the birth of the child. A CRBA is an official record confirming that the child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. It can be issued only at a U.S. Embassy or a Consular Office overseas, and only before the child reaches 18 years of age.

Only the child’s parent or legal guardian may apply on the child’s behalf. Both parents along with the child must be present to sign the application before a U.S. consular officer. Please click here to make an appointment.

Parents are encouraged to apply for their child’s U.S. Passport and a Social Security Number at the same time as applying for his/her CRBA.

Forms: (Complete but DO NOT SIGN)

• Form DS-2029: Application for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• Form DS-11: Application for a U.S. Passport
  • The State Department requires the consent of both parents for the issuance of passports to U.S. citizens under age 16.  If only one parent can sign the application(s) before a consular officer or military passport acceptance agent, a notarized parental consent form (DS-3053) is required.
  • One photo - 2" x 2” (5cm x 5cm) photograph. The background must be plain white and should not show parents or parents' hands. The baby's eyes must be open. Polaroid photos cannot be used.
  • If you have not yet applied for your child’s social security number, please enter 000-00-0000 as the social security number in the passport application.
• Form SS-5: Application for a Social Security Card

Documents: (Originals or certified copy. All original documents will be reviewed by a consular officer and returned to the applicant.)

• Evidence of your child’s birth
  
  
  • This can be an original U.S. military hospital or Korean hospital birth certificate. A Korean certificate must be signed by the doctor and sealed with the official hospital stamp on the letter and must be accompanied by an English translation. 
    
    Please make sure that the child’s name and both parents’ names on the hospital birth certificate are consistent with the names on the submitted applications and IDs. Our office will not accept the hospital birth certificates that do not include the child’s name at birth or if the parent’s names are spelled incorrectly.
• Evidence of U.S. citizenship of the parent(s): (One of the following)
  
  
  • Passport
  • U.S. Birth Certificate (Please Note: Hospitals in the United States sometimes issue a commemorative "certificate of birth" which often has the baby's footprints. This hospital-issued certificate is not a proof of citizenship. Certified birth certificates are issued by the State or County government, not a hospital.)
  • Consular Report of Birth Abroad
  • Certificate of Naturalization
  • Certificate of Citizenship 
• Parents’ Passports
• Marriage Certificate
• Divorce decrees/Death Certificates (if applicable)
  
  
  • Family Census Register is acceptable for Korean citizens (A English translation must be included. The translation does not need to be notarized.)
  • If divorced, court order establishing custody and guardian ship
• Fee: $205 ($100 CRBA and $105 Passport)
• Evidence of the American parent’s physical presence in the U.S.
  
  
  • If the parents are married and only one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other is not, the U.S. citizen parent must provide evidence of his or her actual presence in the U.S. for five years (two of them after the age of 14) before the birth.
  • If the parents are not married and the mother is a U.S. citizen, she must present evidence of one year's continual physical presence in the United States.
  • If the parents are not married and the father is a U.S. citizen, more evidence may be requested along with the five years physical presence requirement.

Please note: Based on the evidence provided, it is up to the reviewing officer to determine if the eligibility for transmission of citizenship requirement has been met. If more information is required, these additional items, along with any missing documents, will be explained to you with an itemized list indicating the document(s) necessary to complete your child's application.

Upon receipt of a completed application, the processing takes about two to three weeks. A return delivery courier slip (available at the Embassy) filled out by you will be used to return your child’s CRBA and passport. Please note that you will pay for this service in cash directly to the courier upon delivery.

For American Citizen Services (ACS) inquiries, please e-mail us at seoulinfo@state.gov.

If you are an American citizen with an after hours emergency, please call us at 82-2-397-4114. If you have access to DSN, please call 721-4114.

For more information on how to contact us, please click here.


Updated: January 6, 2012