South Africa has amended its Immigration Act so families travelling to the destination from the UK and other visa-free countries don’t need to carry birth certificates for children.
The amendment to the law came into effect at the beginning of this month.
The law had been introduced in 2015, in a bid to combat child trafficking. It required adults travelling with a child under 18 to provide the youngster’s full, unabridged birth certificate showing the names of both parents at airport check-in.
Parents travelling alone were required to provide a signed affidavit to prove the other parent had given consent for the child to travel.
The amendment had been promised several times, but not acted upon until now.
Children who are not accompanied by both parents will still need to comply with special documentary requirements.
