Angola

The coordination mechanisms in Angola are being formalized. A multi-sectoral technical working group is being set up, which will include the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Economy and Planning, and the Ministry of Health. A memorandum of understanding has been drawn up and is awaiting signature by the ministers.

The lowest administrative unit where local civil registration offices are found is at the parish (municipality) level. There are 335 civil registration centres and 3,051 civil registration officers in Angola.

The average distance to a civil registration centre is less than 1 km. Most people travel to these centres on foot or by car.

The events covered by the civil registration system are listed in Table 1.

The legal framework for birth registration is stipulated in:

• Law 47678 on the Civil Registry Code (5 May 1967);
• Decree 31/07 (14 May 2007);
• Decree 80/13 (5 September 2013); and
• Birth Simplification Act, 2015.

The mother, father, relative/caregiver, nurse, midwife, traditional birth attendant, and community health workers are mandated declarants for birth registration. The Civil Registry Code, article 120, lists any person other than the mother or father who is authorized to declare a birth to the civil registrar.

Requirements for birth registration include:

• Identification of the child’s parent;
• Presence of the parents at the time of registration when they are not officially married;
• When the parents are officially married, the presence of one of them with the documentation of both is sufficient;
• Birth notification from the hospital (to obtain the date of birth);
• Immunization card (to obtain the date of birth if the child is not born at the hospital); and
• Child’s name.

The key data elements collected at birth registration include:

• Child: name, sex, date of birth, date of registration, place of occurrence, place of registration, type of birth (single or multiple), attendant at birth, and type of place of occurrence (hospital, home, etc.);
• Mother of the child: place of usual residence and occupation; and
• Father of the child: place of usual residence and occupation.

A birth certificate is required for education, vaccination, identification, and travel. The time allowed for registration is 30 days by law; children aged 0 to 5 years are entitled to free birth registration. A first birth certificate is issued free of charge and is provided together with the report (cedula) upon registration. Birth certificates expire after one year from issuance, and there is a fee for reissuing a certificate.

Regarding late registration, the Civil Registry Code, article 121, provides that:

“Once the legal deadline has elapsed, civil registration officials and administrative authorities shall inform the Public Prosecutor, who shall not only prosecute the person required to make the declaration, but also the verification, in the same process, of the elements necessary to draw up the register at the expense of the person responsible. Equal participation may be made by any person, even without special interest in registration. If there is no one who can be held criminally responsible for the lack of the declaration, the process will only be used to record the record; in this case, the Public Prosecution Service shall order the appropriate steps to collect the necessary information and shall request the court of the district, after obtaining them, to order the registration to be carried out officially.”

The legal framework for death registration in Angola is stipulated in Law 47678 of the Civil Registry Code (5 May 1967). The mandated legal informant to register a death is:

• Head of the family residing in the house where the death occurs (except when they are absent);
• Nearest capable relative of the deceased;
• Relatives of the deceased;
• Administrator, director, or manager of the public or private establishment where the death occurred;
• Minister of any religion present at the time of death or who has been called to render religious assistance to the deceased;
• Administrative or police authorities, in the case where the corpse has been abandoned; or
• Person or entity in charge of the funeral.

The time period allowed for death registration is 48 hours.

At registration, no fee is paid, but penalties are charged for late registration. The declarants are required to have a death declaration, which is issued upon presentation of the death certificate, free of charge by the doctor following the template provided by the Directorate General for Health, or, in the absence of printed matter, on plain paper free of stamps. If no certificate is presented, the civil registry official who receives the declaration requests the local health authority to verify the death certificate.

The key data elements collected at death registration include:

• Deceased: name, sex, date of birth or age, place of usual residence, and marital status;
• Death: date of death, date of registration, place of occurrence, place of registration, cause of death, and cemetery;
• Fetal deaths: date of fetal delivery, date of registration, place of occurrence, place of registration, sex of the fetus, and duration of the pregnancy (in months or weeks).

A death certificate is required for inheritance and for tracking communicable diseases.

There is a penalty for late registration. The civil code stipulates that:

“Once the legal deadline has elapsed without the declaration of death being made, civil registry officials and administrative authorities should inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will promote not only criminal proceedings against the person required to provide the declaration, but also the verification, in the same process, of the necessary elements to draw the record at the expense of the person in charge. However, if the death occurred more than one year ago, participation in court will only have the purpose of prosecuting the person responsible for the transgression. This though remains to be verified whether it’s the same in practice.”

The legal framework for marriage registration in Angola is provided for in the Civil Registry Code – Law No. 47678 (5 May 1967) and the Family Code – Law No. 1/88 (20 February 1988).

The legal age for marriage is 18 years for both sexes. The exemption is that boys may be allowed to marry at age 16 and girls at 15, considering the circumstances of the case and taking into account the interests of minors as to whether marriage is the best solution (Family Code, article 24).

The place of registration is the National Directorate for Registry and Notary Services, Ministry of Justice.

The requirements for marriage registration and divorce are as follows:

• For marriage of national citizens: birth certificate, photocopy of identity card, and military declaration (for male citizens age 35 or over);
• For marriage of foreign citizens: birth certificate, residence certificate, passport or photocopy authenticated by the notary office, and matrimonial capacity certificate. Documents issued by foreign institutions must pass through the consulate of Angola of the country of origin; and
• For divorce: birth certificates for the couple, residence certificate, and photocopy of identity card. If the couple has assets, they must present the agreement of division of property. If they have minor children, they must present the parental exercise certificate issued by the provincial court of Luanda (Family Room).

The following information is collected in the marriage register; 

• Spouses: date of birth or age of bride, place of usual residence of bride, date of birth or age of groom, place of usual residence of groom, and occupation of the spouses; and
• Marriage: date of occurrence, date of registration, place of occurrence, and place of registration.

A marriage certificate is used to prove evidence of marriage.

Registration fee

The costs of registering and certifying vital events are shown in Table 2.

The estimated backlog of unregistered births (any births that are unregistered after 1 year) or the estimated backlog of vital events is about 7 million birth records, which accounts for 23 percent of the estimated births registered population backlog.