Guidance

Bermuda: Knowledge Base profile

Published 16 April 2024

Version 2.0

About: Bermuda

This document contains useful information about Bermuda which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 2.0
• published for Home Office staff on 12 April 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Bermuda: names

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about names in Bermuda.

In Bermuda, children are usually given, their:

• father’s surname if the parents are married
• mother’s surname if the parents are not married

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Bermuda.

A customer can change their name:

• using a deed poll and publishing the change of name deed in a local paper
• if they are a child, by birth re-registration following baptism (using a Form C – certificate of name given in baptism)

Bermuda: nationality

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Bermuda.

Bermuda is a British overseas territory.

Dual nationality is allowed in Bermuda.

‘Belonger status’ is a legal term normally associated with British overseas territories. It refers to people who have close ties to a specific territory, normally by birth or ancestry. The requirements for ‘belonger status’ vary from territory to territory.

If the customer has belonger status in a territory, it’s the same as having indefinite leave to remain or indefinite leave to enter (being settled).

Belonger Status is dealt with by the Department of Immigration.

Bermuda: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Bermuda.

Legitimacy

From 19 January 2004, Bermuda does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means that births before or after this date are considered legitimate whether the parents are married or not.

Parental responsibility

Both parents will have parental responsibility in Bermuda if:

• they are married at the time of birth
• they marry after the child is born and father recognises the child
• they are unmarried and the father is named on the birth certificate

Parental responsibility can only be removed by a court.

Bermuda: adoption

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about adoption in Bermuda.

Adoption is legal in Bermuda. The adoptive parents must be domiciled in Bermuda.

Bermuda: surrogacy

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about surrogacy in Bermuda.

Surrogacy is not recognised in Bermuda.

Bermuda: gender recognition

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about gender recognition in Bermuda.

Transgender citizens are not recognised in Bermuda.

Bermuda: civil partnerships and marriage

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about marriage and civil partnerships in Bermuda.

Civil partnerships are not recognised in Bermuda.

Bermuda: documents

This section tells HM Passport Office operational staff about documents in Bermuda.

Birth certificates

Births in Bermuda are registered with the Registry General. The Registry General:

• receives notification of the birth from The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital using a ‘Form A – Notification of Birth’
• sends a ‘Form B – Particulars of Birth’ to the parents who must complete it and return it within 60 days
• will register the birth and send a birth certificate to the parents within 10 working days

The father’s details can be added to an already registered birth if:

• both parents ask the Register General to add the father’s details to the record
• paternity has been established by the court

If the customers birth has already been registered, they can get a new certificate from the Registry General within 2 working days. Only the person named on the certificate or the parents (where the named person is a child) can get a copy of the birth certificate.

Marriage certificates

Marriages in Bermuda must be registered at the Registry General to be considered legal, this means a marriage certificate will show a registration date after the date of the ceremony.

Death certificates

The Registry General will make an entry in the Death Register when they receive a ‘Notice of Death – Form E’ from a medical practitioner or the coroner.

Only relatives of the deceased can get a copy of the certificate from the registry general.