Birth Certificate Error Complicates Belizean Citizenship Claim by Descent  

A U.S. national wants to claim Belizean citizenship by descent, but there’s a complication. His birth certificate lists his parent as being born in the United States, even though that parent was actually born in Belize. Immigration Minister Kareem Musa says cases like this are more common than people may think. He says the ministry will not investigate whether the parent committed fraud in the U.S., but it does require that parent to sign a declaration before the child can be certified as Belizean. Musa explains how the process works.

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration

“That particular instance is a very delicate one and it is actually more common that just one case. What I have been advised is because it involves a birth paper in the U.S. that says the parent is born in the U.S. and that parent was actually born in Belize. What we are asking for is that the parent fills out a declaration, because they will be producing the child’s birth paper from the U.S. which is the source document. So if you are going based on the source document to get a nationality by descent that says you are born in America, you have to clarify for the Belizean authorities to protect our public officer and immigration officers that you are one and the same person. You can’t be born in two places. So, filling out a declaration when you are applying for nationality by descent saying I am that person and I was born in Belize. We are not going to get involved in whether it was fraud. Maybe you made a mistake or an error in saying I was born in the U.S. it could be something as innocent in that because you are just filling out paperwork.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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