Home Affairs scraps ‘damaging’ birth certificate rule

Parents can breathe a sigh of relief after the Department of Home Affairs announced on Thursday it is amending its controversial rule that makes it a requirement for parents to have their minor children’s unabridged birth certificates available before they can travel.

Mkuseli Apleni, the department’s director-general, said the regulations were being reviewed and amended.

The amended law would stipulate that parents’ details would be printed in the minor’s passport, meaning they would not have to carry birth certificates.

“Home affairs is working jointly with the national department of tourism to ensure the regulations are amended accordingly,” he said.

The tourism department had previously argued that the unabridged birth certificate visa regulation that came into effect last year had hurt the industry.

Apleni said the department was working hard to implement the amended rule and that Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba was happy the matter was being handled in collaboration with stakeholders