Visa requirements for foreigners travelling to SA revised

Cape Town - South African children under the age of 18 will still be required to travel with an unabridged birth certificate, but the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) task team – established to investigate the effects of SA’s controversial immigration regulations has recommended that the requirement be revised for children of foreign visitors.

Cabinet approved the recommendations on Friday, which included changing the term “unabridged birth certificate”  to “birth certificate containing parental details”.

Child-travel requirements 

South African children traveling out of the country will still be required to submit the current child-travel requirements, including a parental consent affidavits as a means to protect the minors - with the validity of the affidavit extended to no longer than 6 months.

Details of parents will also be printed in passports, so that parents whose particulars are printed would therefore not be required to carry the birth certificates.

In respect of inbound travelers, the IMC took the position that proof of original birth certificates or certified copies would only be required during the application process, as this is in line with practice in many other countries.

Certain application to be accepted via post

Visitors traveling from countries where no visa facilitation centers exist will be allowed to submit their application to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) by post. These individuals will then be required to submit biometrics, including fingerprints and photos on arrival at ports of entry.  This concession will only be applicable to visitors/medical Visa, Cabinet said.

The Biometric pilot site Ports of entry are, OR Tambo Airport, King Shaka Airport, Cape Town International Airport.

Cabinet said all other administrative issues affecting the relevant departments will be resolved through inter-departmental engagements, and believed the endorsed recommendations would address the unintended consequences raised, without compromising the safety of the children traveling to and from the country.

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