Parents of newborns in Qatar can now obtain birth certificates for their children within an hour of submitting their paperwork, via a new electronic system that the Supreme Council of Health introduced this week.

The new service simplifies the sometimes-arduous procedure of obtaining birth certificates in Qatar, especially for babies not born at Women’s Hospital.

It will also ideally ease some of the paperwork the government must process, as HMC alone sees up to 50 births a day, and the population continues to grow exponentially in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup.

A new office has been set up at the hospital near the pharmacy to facilitate the process, according to Al Arab. Once the proper documents are submitted, the birth certificate will be issued electronically, at both private and government hospitals, QNA reports.

Time-saver

Previously, residents whose babies were born in private hospitals were required to take the necessary paperwork to HMC’s main hospital, obtain a registration number, go to Women’s Hospital, submit the application form, pay a fee, and return to the hospital up to a week later to collect the certificate (in English and Arabic).

Those whose children were born at HMC also had to drop off paperwork and wait a period of days before returning to collect their document.

Paperwork requirements vary for newborns, depending on their nationality. But passport copies, marriage certificates and a notification of live birth from the hospital in which the baby is born are among the general requirements.

More information can be found in the SCH’s handy chart here.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo for illustrative purposes only by World Bank