Changes to Travel Requirements for Minors

October 2018 - Implemented in 2015, South African law stipulated that minors, when travelling to and from South Africa, needed to provide an unabridged birth certificate (UBC) and have parental consent if travelling alone or with just one parent.

In September 2018, South African Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, announced several changes to the UBC requirements.

These include:

• • Rather than forcing all foreign minors to carry documentation proving parental consent and birth certificates, the department instead strongly recommends that parents carry this documentation.
• • Immigration officials will only insist on documentation by exception, for instance, high-risk situations.
• • Rather than denying entry where documentation is absent, travellers will be given an opportunity to prove parental consent.

The UBC law came into effect in June 2015. It required all minors under the age of 18 travelling to and from South Africa, to provide an unabridged birth certificate showing the details of both parents. This is in addition to their passport.

As the festive season approaches, the Department of Home Affairs will do away with regulations requiring parents travelling with minors to present an unabridged birth certificate at ports of entry. Minors will still require the consent of both parents to leave the country. Minors may, however, travel with a birth certificate and a minor passport, which is in the process of being rolled out.

Revised Requirements for Highly Skilled Foreign Workers

Gigaba also announced the implementation of long-term, multiple entry visas for frequent travellers:

• • A three-year multiple-entry visa for frequent trusted travellers to South Africa, and
• • A ten-year multiple-entry visa for business people and academics