Posted: 08/02/2016 Author: Swaane Motsoenyane

The Departments of Home Affairs and tourism have finally announced that the controversial visa laws - which required all minors travelling to or going out of SA to have an unabridged birth certificates - will be replaced in favour of an updated passport for minors with printed details of both parents - to come into effect over 3 to 12 months' time.

The Department of Home Affairs said going forward, South Africans applying for new passports for minors will receive a document detailing both parents' particulars, and that this would be the accepted travel document instead of the unabridged birth certificate. The process however, still needs to be rolled out.

While South Africa has two versions of the birth certificate, an abridged (issued for new-borns up until 2013) and an unabridged birth certificate detailing both parents details (issued to all new borns since 2014) - this requirement has not been scrapped, since all parents need to apply for it when registering their babies, the department said.

What will change over the next 3 to 12 months is the need to travel with the birth certificate document, since the new updated version of the passport will become the recognised travel document.

Added to this, the department said international visitors who have gone through the process of applying for a visa in order to enter South Africa, would not be required to provide birth certificate identification provided both parents are travelling with the minor. Parents of minors from visa exempt countries are however advised to strongly travel with the birth certificate, should it be requested by immigration officials

Who is effected?

All foreign nationals travelling into South Africa with minors.

How Santa Fe can assist?

Keep clients updated on the roll out of the new travel documents by the Department of Home Affairs.

For more information on the new visas, or other immigration issues in Africa, please contact:

Swaane Motsoenyane

Immigration Manager Africa

Santa Fe Relocation Services Johannesburg

Tel: +27 10 595 2335 / +27 76 1965169

Email: swaane.motsoenyane@thesantaferelo.com

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Santa Fe Group A/S issued this content on 08 February 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 08 February 2016 14:33:57 UTC

Original Document: http://www.santaferelo.com/news-and-blog/Immigration-Update-to-introduce-new-passport-measures-for-minors