Newborn Rohingya babies are given birth certificates for keeping their records which has no relationship of awarding them Bangladeshi citizenship, foreign ministry sources said.

Ministry officials said that the government is giving birth certificates to newborn Rohingya children as every child is entitled to get it. According to them, it is not the same birth certificate which is given to Bangladeshi children.

According to Bangladesh Citizenship Act, if a child is born in Bangladesh, he/she shall be considered as Bangladeshi national, provided his/her parents are Bangladeshi citizens. “If not, the newborn baby won’t be considered as a Bangladeshi national,” the Act reads. “It is also applicable to Rohingya children.”  

While giving birth certificates to Rohingya children, the government maintains strong vigilance. If they are given Bangladeshi citizenship then the repatriation process will be hampered as Mynamar government will take the chance by refusing to take them back to their homeland.

Extra caution is being taken so that it cannot keep an adverse impact on the Rohingya repatriation process, the officials maintained.