Everything You need to Know about giving Birth Abroad - applying for all the things


Giving birth comes with so many extra steps you wouldn't even think about until you experience it for the first time. From applying for birth certificates to social security cards the process can become extremely over whelming, now add giving birth over seas and applying the certified birth abroad certificate adds even more hoops to jump through, something that stressed me out. Where do I start, what do I need, How do I do this? All questions I asked myself- being sleep deprived I so wished I had a step by step list to follow, so I made one for you!! We welcomed our son on March 31, 2023 and this was how it went for us. Like everything, this was our experience and we gave birth on base so it may be different for you but here is the run down of the basics, I hope it helps!


Passport and Birth Abroad

First things first you need to apply for the passport and official birth certificate so you can apply for the social security card. In order to do this you need to make your appointment with the embassy.

  1. Get all the documents from the hospital before you leave. We were given a folder with a copy of the unofficial birth certificate In a folder for the embassy and one for deers, as well as several extras.
  2. Schedule your appointment with the embassy to report the birth abroad and passport. Google US Embassy Seoul, it should be the first link
  • click on the menu and click on US citizen services
  • click on view more local information
  • click on " click here for appointment page"
  • click on " click here to make appointment "
  • follow instructions for the appointment


You will need several documents for your appointment

  1. Certificate from hospital
  2. marriage license
  3. passports
  4. proof of residency in states for at least 5 years
  5. passport photo
  6. we also took a copy of my husbands orders
  7. the application for the brith certificate as well as passport - you should be Able to print these and fill out after making your appointment


this was what we took but read the website as things may have changed, as they do so often so just double check the website for the most recent information.


The day of your appointment, parking is pretty much zero around the embassy so we ended up parking farther down and walking it took us about 20 minutes from Dragon Hill Lodge driving. If you are good with public transportation I highly recommend. They will not let you in until 15 minutes before your appointment time. My oldest son was allowed to bring all his toys and snacks etc. We had to leave things like cameras, phones keys with them at the front. Then we entered, grabbed a ticket and waited our turn. It was an extremely easy process. We were required to pay once we got there, they do not accept cash, so we had to pay with card. We were also not able to use our PO Box as an address to have our documents sent to us so we used the carrier service they offer and they will meet you at the walk in gate. It took around 4 weeks for us to get my sons documents.

We made a trip out of the whole experience and staid in Seoul for a few days! We went to the palace, zoo and aquarium.


Once you get the passport and birth certificate you can apply for the social security card. I just googled apply for social security card and filled out the application. I was not comfortable sending in the actual documents so I got certified copies made at the legal office in Mude Hall. They needed the birth certificate, passport of both baby and parents and license. Once you get all this done, you can mail the documents to the nearest social security office which is located in the Philippines.

  1. go to ssa.gov
  2. scroll down to the bottom and click support
  • click support and then find an office
  • scroll down to the locate an office by zip and click on it
  • there will be a box to enter a zip code under it it says zip code look up and services outside the United States
  • click on services outside the United States
  • scroll down and look for the heading Foreign Countries Served by Social Security Administration

under the paragraph there is a link " country and region office contact information, click on this link

  • there will be the alphabet towards the top of the page, click on k for Korea as that is where we are at! find South Korea and all the information you need it right there! You will send the documents for social security card to this address.

Federal Benefits Unit

1201 Roxas Boulevard

Ermita, Manila 0930

Philippines

Phone: 632-5301-2000

I recommended by the post office on base to mail the documents from a local Korean post office as the post office on base is required to mail them via internationally and you will not receive tracking for the documents/ it can take up to 4 months. I used the post office right outside of millet gate. I will post the pin below

Waze: 48,Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do

yay! you're done! One less thing off your plate congratulations!!


On Base you need to get done

Somethings to take care of on base: I am not going to touch to much on these as my husband took care of it all and I don't want to give false information but you also need to get this done.

  1. Add baby to orders
  2. get SOFA stamp in passport- located in Mude Hall
  3. update the NEO packet
  4. get CBRN mask from CIF

As always double check things as they do change but I hope this gives you a start and saves you the hours of running around we did trying to figure it all out!