Civil status and papers

Where do you get Ivorian papers when you live abroad?

Outside Côte d’Ivoire, your main point of contact is the Ivorian embassy or consulate general responsible for where you live. It registers your civil status records, issues the consular card, legalises your documents and handles enrolment for the passport.

The Office national de l’état civil et de l’identification (ONECI, the national civil registration and identification office) manages the national identity card (CNI). The Ministry of Justice issues the nationality certificate, online at e-justice.ci. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan issues certified copies of the records registered by embassies and consulates.

Documents, fees and how to apply vary from one post to another. In Canada, for example, the embassy handles consular services by post, except passport enrolment, which is by appointment. Read your post’s exact page before sending anything.

• Identify the post responsible for your city (embassy or consulate general).
• Download its list of documents and forms for the procedure you need.
• Check how to pay: the embassy in Canada, for example, takes all payments by bank card on ci-embassyepay.org.
• Check whether you need an appointment or to apply by post, and how your file will be returned to you.

In what order should you do things?

The birth certificate always comes first, because every other document depends on it. The nationality certificate requires a birth certificate. The ID card requires a birth certificate and a nationality certificate. The passport, if you have no ID card, requires both.

For someone born abroad, an Ivorian birth record only exists once the consulate has registered (transcribed) the foreign birth certificate. ONECI then asks for a certified copy issued by the Ivorian embassy in the country of birth or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A foreign certificate that has not been transcribed is not enough for the ID card.

The consular card (consular registration) is often required as well. The embassy in Canada makes it compulsory for the passport and for most consular services. It costs 25 Canadian dollars there.

• 1. Ivorian birth certificate (transcription if you were born abroad).
• 2. Consular card from your post, if required.
• 3. Nationality certificate on e-justice.ci.
• 4. ID card from ONECI, through your embassy.
• 5. Passport through monpasseport.ci and your embassy.

How do you register the birth of a child born abroad?

A child born abroad to an Ivorian parent is Ivorian: their local birth certificate must be transcribed into the consulate’s registers. The consulate general in Paris points this out: under nationality law, anyone born to an Ivorian is Ivorian by origin, even if they have also acquired the nationality of their country of birth.

Transcription means entering into the Ivorian registers a record drawn up by a foreign authority. It is provided for by Law No. 2018-862 of 19 November 2018 on civil status. Once the record has been transcribed, certified copies can be requested from the consulate or from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abidjan.

The basic list published by the Ivorian public service includes the documents below. Each post adds its own requirements. The consulate general in Paris asks for a full copy of the birth certificate less than three months old. The embassy in Canada also asks for proof of the parents’ address and occupation, and the consular card.

Do it early: some posts charge more after a certain time. In Canada, transcription costs 40 Canadian dollars within three months of the birth and 60 Canadian dollars after that.

• Original local birth certificate, issued by the town hall or administrative office of the place of birth.
• Original Ivorian nationality certificate of the person concerned if an adult, or of a parent for a minor.
• Photocopy of each parent’s ID card, passport or identity certificate.
• Photocopy of each parent’s birth certificate.
• Translation into French by a sworn translator if the certificate is in another language.
• The post’s form and the receipt for the fees.

How do you get a copy of an Ivorian birth certificate from abroad?

It depends on where you were born. If you were born in Côte d’Ivoire, your record is held by the town hall or sub-prefecture of birth. If you were born abroad and the record has been transcribed, it is held by the consulate and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

If you were born in Côte d’Ivoire, you can order a copy online on documents.ci, the service of La Poste de Côte d’Ivoire listed on the servicepublic.gouv.ci portal. The portal gives 3,500 FCFA per copy when the request and collection are in the same region, 5,000 FCFA otherwise. The stated time is at most five working days for a town hall, ten for a sub-prefecture.

If you were born abroad, ask the consulate that transcribed the record for a copy. In Canada, a copy costs 20 Canadian dollars. You can also go through the Directorate General of Legal, Consular and Civil Status Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ivorian public service gives a 500 FCFA tax stamp per copy there, and one week.

The request is made on the basis of a copy of the record or its references: always keep a copy of your latest certificate, which shows the record number and date.

• Check how recent it must be: for the ID card, ONECI asks for a certificate less than two years old for a renewal, and the embassy in Canada does so for any application.
• If delivery abroad is not offered for your country, have it delivered to someone close to you in Côte d’Ivoire who will send it on.

How do you get an Ivorian nationality certificate online?

The nationality certificate is requested online on e-justice.ci, the platform of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. It costs 2,500 FCFA, plus a 500 FCFA service fee. It is issued by a court of first instance or a court section.

The platform asks for a birth certificate and proof of Ivorian nationality. For someone Ivorian by descent, the Ivorian public service explains that, in practice, the applicant’s original birth certificate and a photocopy of one parent’s ID card are required. People who became Ivorian by marriage, naturalisation or declaration also provide the document proving it.

The certificate is issued only once in digital form on the platform. For another copy, request a duplicate on e-justice.ci. The paper version is obtained from the competent court.

For the ID card, ONECI accepts any certificate less than two years old, including one obtained on e-justice.ci, whose authenticity is checked at enrolment.

How do you get or renew an Ivorian ID card abroad?

The ID card is requested from ONECI, which publishes a list of documents specifically for the diaspora, and embassies pass on the procedure. First ask your post where and when ID card enrolment takes place.

There are three online steps before the appointment. You buy the enrolment stamp on the ONECI website, fill in the pre-enrolment form, then book an appointment. The embassy in Canada gives a fee of 20,000 FCFA for a first application, a renewal or a duplicate. The payment receipt is required for every type of application.

For a first application by someone born outside Côte d’Ivoire, ONECI requires a copy of the birth certificate issued by the Ivorian embassy in the country of birth or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Add an original nationality certificate less than two years old and a copy of a parent’s ID card.

For a renewal, bring the old ID card, a photocopy of it, an ONECI identity record or any document showing its number. If it has been lost, a duplicate requires a certificate of declaration of loss. You then track the application on the ONECI website, and collection is on presentation of the enrolment receipt or the collection message.

• Copy or full copy of the birth certificate, original, less than two years old.
• Original nationality certificate less than two years old, preferably obtained on e-justice.ci.
• Legible copy of a parent’s ID card, preferably the one used for the nationality certificate.
• Proof of occupation, compulsory for so-called specific occupations.
• For a married woman: birth certificate bearing the note of the marriage, or marriage certificate.
• Stamp receipt, pre-enrolment form and appointment form.

How do you get or renew an Ivorian passport from abroad?

The application starts online on monpasseport.ci, the platform named by embassies for pre-enrolment, appointments and payment. You create an account, give your place of residence, fill in the form, choose a slot and pay. You receive by email the appointment confirmation, the receipt and the form, to print.

The fee shown by the embassy in Canada is 115 euros, paid on monpasseport.ci. On the day of the appointment, you go to the post with your printed documents and the required papers for biometric enrolment.

For a first application, the embassy in Canada accepts a copy of a valid ID card, on presentation of the original. Failing that, it asks for the original full copy of the birth certificate, the original nationality certificate and a copy of a parent’s ID card. For a renewal, the file consists of a photo, the form and a photocopy of the old passport, with the receipt and appointment; in Canada, the consular card and a return envelope are added.

A minor attends with their parent or legal guardian, a legalised parental authorisation and their Ivorian birth certificate. The embassy in Canada gives a collection time of one to three months after enrolment.

• Don’t renew too early: the embassy in Canada does not accept a passport still valid for more than six months.
• If it has been lost, attach the declaration of loss made to the police in your country of residence.
• Pay only on monpasseport.ci: the receipt and appointment it generates are part of the file.

How do you register a marriage celebrated abroad?

A marriage celebrated before a foreign authority is transcribed into the Ivorian consular registers. Transcription then allows you to request Ivorian copies of the record, from the consulate or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It also matters for your papers: for a married woman’s ID card, ONECI asks for a birth certificate bearing the note of the marriage, or a marriage certificate.

If you marry before a foreign authority, your consulate can issue a certificate of capacity to marry, based on your birth certificate. At the embassy in Canada, it costs 20 Canadian dollars. You must provide a certificate less than six months old, issued by the embassy if you were born in Canada, or legalised by the Ivorian authorities if you were born in Côte d’Ivoire.

For the transcription itself, the embassy in Canada asks for the documents below. It charges 40 Canadian dollars within three months of the marriage and 60 Canadian dollars after that. The consulate general in Paris asks for a full copy of the marriage certificate less than three months old.

• Transcription form and a request addressed to the head of post.
• Original foreign marriage certificate, with the witnesses’ names and its sworn translation if needed.
• Original birth certificate of each spouse, less than a year old according to the embassy in Canada.
• Colour photocopy of both spouses’ identity documents.
• If a spouse is divorced: the exequatur decision for the divorce issued by the Ivorian courts.
• Payment receipt and consular card if the post requires it.

How do you legalise an Ivorian document for use abroad?

An Ivorian document intended for a foreign administration often has to be legalised, that is, authenticated by a chain of authorities. The embassy in Canada describes the chain: the town hall in Côte d’Ivoire, then the relevant ministry, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the embassy.

The relevant ministry depends on the document. The Ministry of the Interior handles birth certificates, marriage certificates and certificates of single status. The Ministry of Justice, through its Directorate of Civil and Criminal Affairs, handles criminal records and nationality certificates. At the embassy in Canada, legalisation costs 20 Canadian dollars per page, and the time taken depends on the ministry, not the embassy.

For a foreign document to be used in Côte d’Ivoire, or if the foreign administration mentions an apostille, don’t assume anything. Ask the administration that will receive the document what form of authentication it requires, and have your consulate confirm the procedure before paying any fees.

• Have any document written in another language translated into French by a sworn translator.
• The embassy only legalises a document already legalised by the Ivorian authorities: do those steps in Côte d’Ivoire first.

Death, divorce, loss: special cases

Births and marriages are not the only records to transcribe. The consulate general in Paris also transcribes death certificates and acknowledgements of a child, divorce decisions and adoption decisions occurring within its area.

For a death abroad, the consulate transcribes the local death certificate and issues the authorisation to transfer the body if the family repatriates the remains. In Canada, transcription costs 40 Canadian dollars within three months and 60 Canadian dollars after that, and the transfer authorisation 20 Canadian dollars.

If you lose an identity document abroad, start with the declaration of loss. ONECI requires a certificate of declaration of loss for a duplicate ID card. The embassy in Canada asks for a certificate of loss issued by the Canadian police to replace a lost passport.

Key points

• Start with the birth certificate: without it, no nationality certificate, ID card or passport.
• Have births, marriages and deaths abroad transcribed, preferably within three months.
• The nationality certificate is requested on e-justice.ci: 2,500 FCFA plus a 500 FCFA fee.
• For the ID card, the birth certificate and nationality certificate often have to be less than two years old.
• Use the official platforms (ONECI, e-justice.ci, monpasseport.ci), never an intermediary who promises to speed things up.
• Fees and times change: check them on your post’s page on the day you apply.

Frequently asked questions