Unabridged birth certificates
Unabridged Birth Certificate
South Africans travelling internationally have, since the 1st of June 2015 been flummoxed by Home Affair’s new Unabridged Birth Certificate requirements pertaining to minors under the age of 18 travelling abroad. The department has added to the confusion by declaring that they would be dispensing with the term but this has only added to the perplexing situation
Intended to curb the rise in undocumented children entering and leaving the Republic with real risk of child trafficking, the new law sought to halt the crossing of over 14 000 minors under the age of 14 who had crossed our borders in the previous year.
What is the new Unabridged Birth Certificate and why is it different?
Prior to the new law, birth certificates contained details of the child and very scant information on the child’s parents. The Unabridged Birth Certificate however lists the legal parents detail in full and this can be cross checked against the travelling parent’s documentation or other required documentation to ascertain that they are indeed travelling with the legal parents permission.
Who does the law apply to?
The new law applies to all minors under the age of 18 entering or leaving through South African immigration.
What is required by the new law?
The law requires that all minors whether accompanied by their parents, biological or otherwise, present an original Unabridged Birth Certificate to an immigration officer upon entering or leaving South Africa.
Who is considered a parent?
Parents can be either or both the child’s biological parents or a legal guardian as indicated on the child’s Unabridged Birth Certificate.
If you or your minor children are planning to travel abroad Q-Pro can source these documents within 14 working days as part of our standard document sourcing service.
Feel free to contact Q-Pro who will assist you to source these valuable documents without which you will be unable to travel abroad.
Simply fill out the form and a friendly Q-Pro consultant will contact you to finalise the sourcing of your documents expeditiously.
Do you need to travel but can’t be bear to queue at home affairs?
Q-Pro can help.
Q-pro is an independent document sourcing specialist with no ties to Home Affairs.