Travelling abroad with minors – All you need to know Unabridged Birth Certificate

According to Home Affairs Director-General Mkuseli Apleni, as from Monday, the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa will require all passengers under 18 to travel with an Unabridged Birth Certificate.

What is it?

Under the new law, all minors under the age of 18 years will be required to produce, in addition to their passport, an Unabridged Birth Certificate (showing the particulars of both parents) when exiting and entering South African ports of entry.

When the new immigration regulation comes into effect on 1 June, it will be the responsibility of passengers to ensure their children have the correct documentation or risk being denied boarding. The new law will be enforced by airlines and immigration officials across the board (land, sea and air). In all cases an Unabridged Birth Certificate will be required for minors departing and arriving in South Africa … they will not be allowed to travel without it.

In cases where the Unabridged Birth Certificate is in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a sworn translation issued by a competent authority in the country concerned.

The new law does not apply to children travelling domestically (E.g. Between Johannesburg and Cape Town).

Children travelling with only one parent

When a child travels with only one parent, additional documents should include an affidavit in which the absent parent gives consent for the child to travel, a court order granting full parental responsibilities or legal guardianship of the child, or the death certificate of the absent parent. The affidavit should be no more than 3 months old from date of travel.

Children travelling without either parent

In the case of a child travelling with a person other than a parent, the Unabridged Birth Certificate must be supplemented by affidavits from the parents or legal guardians confirming that the child may travel with that person, copies of the ID documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian, and the contact details of the parents or legal guardian.

Similarly, a child travelling as an unaccompanied minor would have to produce not only the Unabridged Birth Certificate, but also proof of consent from both parents or legal guardians and contact details, plus documentation relating to the person receiving the child in South Africa. The latter documentation should include a letter stating the person’s contact details and residential address, contact details where the child will be residing, plus a copy of his or her ID document, passport or residence permit.

Minors travelling in school groups or with their grandparents are not exempt from the requirement.

Application process for Unabridged Birth Certificates

Since last year, Unabridged Birth Certificates have been issued automatically for newborns. If your infant was born after 14 March 2013, you should be in possession of a UBC.

Certified copies of documents are usually valid for 6 months only.

The Home Affairs Department on Tuesday said parents who needed to travel with their children and couldn’t get unabridged birth certificates in time, would be able to leave the country with a letter indicating that they’d applied for the documents.

Home Affairs Director General Mkuseli Apleni told Parliament his department would issue the letters.

According to Apleni said there was a way out for parents set to travel ‘soon’ but were still waiting for the unabridged birth certificates to be issued.

“In the event that we are not able to produce that unabridged birth certificate within six weeks and you need to travel, the office will issue a letter which has got the details of the father and the mother.”

Apleni said this was just a ‘transition measure’ and urged parents to apply for unabridged birth certificates for their children when they applied for their passports.

via Travelstart/EWN