Travelling with minors – a temporary respite

PARENTS across the country wanting to travel to or from South Africa with their children have been in a panic since the government announced that every minor had to have a new unabridged birth certificate from 1 October this year.

This announcement virtually renders international passports useless for any person under the age of 18. The approaching deadline meant that, in two weeks time, hundreds of South African families would effectively be faced with a travel ban for their minor children.

However the Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, announced this week that this requirement will now only come into effect on 1 June next year.

According to Niki Gerneke of Shepstone and Wylie’s commercial department, the Department of Home Affairs was unable to timeously issue unabridged birth certificates to children born before 2013, who were all issued with “abridged”, short form, birth certificates. They said the current delay was somewhere between six and eight months.

“This is in line with South Africa’s international obligation to curb child trafficking and also in line with the provisions of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act No. 38 of 2005).

‘The purpose of the amendment is to assist in curbing the abduction and kidnapping of children, sometimes even by one of their parents,” said Gerneke.

Regulation 12 requires as from 1 June 2015, that the parents must be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate for that child, if only one parent is travelling with the child a consent affidavit from the other parent is required or where applicable, a death certificate of the other parent registered as a parent on the unabridged birth certificate.

Where a person is travelling with a child who is not his or her biological child, he or she must produce a copy of the unabridged birth certificate of the child, an affidavit from the parents or legal guardian of the child confirming that he or she has permission to travel with the child, copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child and the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

If both parents are deceased and the child is travelling with a relative or person related to his or her parents, the will have to produce the same as above.

Any unaccompanied minor shall produce to the immigration officer proof of consent from one of or both his or her parents or legal guardian, as the case may be, in the form of a letter or affidavit for the child to travel into or depart from the Republic provided that in the case where one parent provides proof of consent, that parent must also provide a copy of a court order issued to him or her in terms of which he or she has been granted full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the child; a letter from the person who is to receive the child in the Republic, containing his or her residential address and contact details in the Republic where the child will be residing; a copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child in the Republic; and the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child.

“This Regulation has been presented as a public relations disaster for South Africa’s tourism industry, in particular, because most of our tourists will depart for South Africa armed only with their children’s passports.

“South Africa’s main tourist markets do not require our visitors to obtain a visa before entering the country, they simply receive the visa at our ports of entry.

“The likelihood therefore exists that the unabridged birth certificate requirement will go completely unnoticed by those travelling long distance with children.

“At best they will be denied boarding when their journey has reached a point of no return, or at worst, their children will be denied entry into South Africa and be put on the first plane straight back home,” said Gerneke.

Gigaba said the new regulations are not too onerous and parents can use their country’s equivalent of the documents while travelling.

He has encouraged foreigners travelling to South Africa to attend our foreign offices abroad should they be concerned about their children’s travel documents.

Gerrneke said Gigaba is presuming that they know about the changes to our immigration legislation in between the trials and tribulations of parenthood. She added that a further concern to South African parents, is what happens when they are estranged from each other, to the extent that they are no longer in contact?

“The unabridged birth certificate identifies who both parents are, and the law from 1 June 2015 requires both parents to comply with Regulation 12.

“As things will stand, therefore, the child will no longer be able to travel into or out of South Africa, until that second parent is located, and gives his/her consent, alternatively until a court orders that he/she is no longer fit to be a guardian of the child,” said Gerneke.