Place of birth

The place of birth ('POB') is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. As a general rule with respect to passports, the place of birth is determined to be country that currently has sovereignty over the actual place of birth regardless of when the birth actually occurred. The place of birth is not necessarily the place where the parents of the new baby live. If the baby is born in a hospital in another place, that place is the place of birth. In many countries, this also means that the government requires that the birth of the new baby is registered in the place of birth.

In other countries, such as Sweden since 1947, there is a concept of födelsehemort ("domicile of birth"), which means that the domicile of the baby's mother is the registered place of birth. The location of the maternity ward or other physical birthplace is considered unimportant.

Sometimes the place of birth automatically determines the nationality of the baby, a practice often referred to with the Latin phrase jus soli (it depends on the law of the country to give the nationality). More often, this may also depend on the nationality or nationalities of the parents (referred to as jus sanguinis).

There can be some confusion on the place of birth if the birth takes place in an unusual way: when babies are born in an airplane or at sea, difficulties can arise. The place of birth of such a person depends on the law of the countries involved, which include the nationality of the plane or ship, the nationality/nationalities of the parents and/or the position of the plane or ship (if the birth occurs in the territorial waters or airspace of a country).

References

• 7 FAM 1300 Appendix D - Place of Birth Names in Passports