Guidance

Fiji: Knowledge Base profile

Published 2 May 2025

Version 2.0

About: Fiji

This document contains useful information about Fiji 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 1 May 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Fiji: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Fiji.

Names in Fiji consist of:

• a Christian name

• a traditional name

Surnames are not commonly given in Fiji. The father’s traditional name may be used as a surname.

It is possible for members of the same family to have different surnames, and Fiji citizens may be known by different names at different stages of their life.

Various titles may be used as part of a citizen’s name, for example:

• where a citizen is of chiefly rank, they will usually use the title:

  • Ratu for male chiefs

  • Adi for female chiefs

• in the Rewa Province, the title Ro will be used for both male and female chiefs

• in the Lau Archipelago, the title Roko will be used for both male and female chiefs

• in Kadavu and western areas, female chiefs are titled Bulou

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in Fiji. This can be done by deed poll.

A change of name for a child must be done by the parents.

Fiji: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Fiji.

Dual nationality is recognised in Fiji.

Fiji: parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about parental responsibility in Fiji.

Parental responsibility

In Fiji, birth parents have shared parental responsibility until their child is 18 years old.

Fiji: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Fiji.

Adoption is legal in Fiji.

Adoptive parents must be resident in Fiji for the adoption to take place.

Fiji: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Fiji.

To be legal, marriages in Fiji must be conducted by licensed marriage officers. These can be:

• government officers

• ministers of any recognised religion

Fiji: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Fiji.

Birth certificates

Birth notification slips issued by hospitals in Fiji are used to register the birth at the District Registry Office. A copy of the registration is sent to the Registrar General’s office.

All births must be registered within 2 months. Late registrations are possible.

Mistakes made in birth registration are corrected in both district and central registration records.

Marriage certificates

The couple receives one copy of the marriage certificate following the ceremony, a second copy is sent to the Registrar General’s Office. The Registrar General’s Office must receive the marriage certificate within 7 days.

Death certificates

The Registrar General’s Office will register the death of a citizen if the death is in Fiji. This must happen either immediately after the burial, or within 2 months of the death. The next of kin is responsible for registering the death.

A copy of the Fiji death certificate can be applied for when the death has been registered.

Where a Fiji citizen’s death happens overseas, the death will not be registered in Fiji unless the citizen was at war at the time of the death.

Identity documents

Voter Identification Cards are issued through Fiji’s Electronic Voter Registration by the Ministry of Justice. These cards have been issued to citizens since 2014. Voter Identification Cards are issued to all citizens who are registered to vote in general elections.