On the subject of obtaining the birth certificate of a newborn of a foreigner...............................................................................................................
You have 40 days to do this after the birth, otherwise you will have to do an additional tramite for the birth being registered late. Some hospitals will do the entire birth certificate for you at the hospital,.. but you can not do this if you are a foreigner and do not have a “libreta de matrimonio”. Lucky you. It may be easier if one spouse is an Argentine, I would hope so, but I don't know. Here are the steps we went through.
You have 40 days to do this after the birth, otherwise you will have to do an additional tramite for the birth being registered late. Some hospitals will do the entire birth certificate for you at the hospital,.. but you can not do this if you are a foreigner and do not have a “libreta de matrimonio”. Lucky you. It may be easier if one spouse is an Argentine, I would hope so, but I don't know. Here are the steps we went through.
- 1. Choose a name for your child from the official state list. <http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/registrocivil/nombres/busqueda/buscador_nombres.php?sexo=F&letra=A > ….. (Skip to step #10 if the name is not on the list.)
- 2. After having given birth, you will receive a medical certificate from your doctor with the name you have chosen, doctor's seal, etc. Don't lose this flimsy looking document!
- 3. You should have already made your appointment at your local registro civil for the birth certificate before the birth. You did this on-line here: http://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/areas/registrocivil/ (click on “solicitud de turno”). You have your printed turno.
- 4. Go to the registry, husband ,wife and baby, with all necessary documents. Make copies of everything before-hand.
5. Necessary documents: passport or DNI of both parents, Marriage certificate if applicable (translated and apostilled) the medical certificate the doctor gave you and the turno; simple enough!
6. If you are not fluent, or they think you are not fluent in Castellano, you will be required to have an official translator present- ($300.) Find one before you go down.
7. Go to the registry office. Hand in your turno, fill in some paperwork, wait to be called and then you and your spouse will sign the dotted line, (after approving the spelling of the name, dates, etc. ) The wife will be asked a couple of embarrassing questions and both of you a few other statistical questions. You can go home now.
8. Wait 5-7 days, go back down to the registry and pick up the birth certificate in the same office. (I think only one of you is required for this.) Bring your passport or DNI ! Sign for the birth certificate and the DNI. (The DNI will not be registered in the system yet, so don't get all giddy thinking you'll get the passport tomorrow. That's another subject.)
9. You'll now be required to go upstairs to receive a stamp on the birth certificate, that says to go downstairs to the caja and pay $50. They will stamp it paid. (Actually, I'm not sure what it was we were paying for, I think it was for the foreign name. Anyway, I just wanted to get out of there.) You are finished! Your kid has a name! Don't lose this flimsy looking document! You'll need it to obtain the passport and at the airport every time you fly out of the country.
….................................................................................................................................................
10. If you are so unlucky,.. as to want to name your child, a name not on the official state list, it is possible to do so,.. though a very lengthy process. If it's only one suspicious name you are after, you may be lucky and get it, especially if it is on your birth certificate and you brought it with you. If there are two unofficial names, it is unlikely they will let it pass. You must submit proof that both names exists. (They will give you a form called “pedido de nombre” at the registro. You may have to ask for it. You may have to be insistent.) Parent's birth certificates are very useful if you plan to name your child after your mother or father. Submit them if applicable. The other names you may have chosen but are not accepted,...well it gets harder. You'll need a document from your embassy stating that the name actually exists and is of the appropriate gender. From my experience, the document from the US embassy is worthless,..but you can try. (It's also free.) If you are from UK, you must submit evidence to them that the name exists in the UK. Again your birth certificate may be helpful. Other than that, look up the offending foreign names in the UK census records, voting records, etc., on the net. Take the records you have found / print and submit to the UK embassy. You will pay $480 pesos to the UK embassy for their seal. Ok,..the registry accepts the UK document(?) Yes, they do. Submit all of your documentation to add to the awkward name form from the registry.
11. Now,..wait 30 to 40 days for the registry to do it's wonderful magic. You are supposed to phone them and ask after 40 days. (Yeah, that's a joke because you can rarely, if ever, get through on the phone.) Go down in person (to the registry,) in about 25-30 days and ask. You may have to go down a few more times. You may have to do some office work for them such as, go upstairs to a few offices and ask them if it's been done. When it's been verified and done go back to step#3.
I do not remember going through that hell when my first was born ( ok, we were both Argentine the parents ) but now that my second will be born and the dad will be an expat with perm residency ( we got married here ) I wonder if we will have to go through this 
