This article only deals with the new regulations that impact on biological parents travelling with their children. There are additional regulations dealing with non-biological persons travelling with minor children.

If you are travelling overseas with your children you now need to present the unabridged birth certificate of each child, reflecting the identity of both parents, at the airport together with your own proof of identity (such as your Identity Document or Passport).

If you do not have the unabridged birth certificate of any of your children you should apply for one as soon as possible as this can take several weeks or sometimes months to obtain.

The first scenario described above is relatively straight forward. The situation becomes a lot more challenging when only one parent is travelling with a child.

When only one parent is travelling with a child you will still need to present that child’s unabridged birth certificate as well as, depending on the circumstances, one of the following supporting documents:

1. an affidavit from the non-travelling parent reflected on the birth certificate authorising you to enter into or depart from the country with the child. You will need a seperate affidavit for each trip, a single general affidavit will not suffice; or

    

2. a court order that shows you were granted sole (i.e. not joint or shared) parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship in respect of the child. Note that In divorce proceedings it is extremely rare that a court grants one parent sole parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship and these rights are usually granted jointly.

    

3. where applicable, the death certificate of the other parent reflected on the birth certificate.

The new regulations are intended to mitigate against and curb the international scourge of child trafficking, a noble goal for sure.

However the difficulty that many single parents may face, whether divorced from or never married to the other parent, is when the other parent’s whereabouts are unknown or if he or she unreasonably refuses to provide the required affidavit. It appears that the only remedy currently available would be to approach the High Court, as upper guardian of all minor children, for an order substituting the permission otherwise needed from the absent or uncooperative.

​There are currently several court challenges underway where people who have been adversely affected are challenging various aspects of the new regulations. In the meantime however if you have questions or concerns about how the new regulations affect you it is recommended that you consult an attorney to obtain detailed advice.  

Reference List:

• Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002
• Regulations in GG 37679