Regulations for families travelling to South Africa – UPDATE

REGULATIONS FOR FAMILIES TRAVELLING TO SOUTH AFRICA – UPDATE

In 2015 South Africa introduced several regulations for Australian passport holders travelling as a family to South Africa. As from 01 December 2018 this has been relaxed as follows. Please note that the below applies to nationalities who do not require a visa for South Africa only.

• If you are a passport holder of a country that requires a visa, such as New Zealand, and are travelling with children under 18 years of age please contact the South Africa consulate for details as regulations will apply and certain paperwork is required to enter and exit South Africa.
• Children travelling without their parents to South Africa will still need special documentation, including a copy of their birth certificate and a letter of parental consent. A common circumstance may be grandparents travelling with grandchildren. Please contact the South African consulate.
  

South Africa is no longer requiring families travelling to South Africa from visa-free countries to carry birth certificates for children. The change in the law, announced as part of new government immigration regulations came into effect on 01 December 2018. Since 2015 the law, introduced to stop child trafficking, has stated that adults travelling with a child under 18 must provide the child’s full, unabridged birth certificate showing the names of both parents at airport check-in. If one parent was travelling alone, they had to provide written consent, by way of a signed affidavit, showing the other parent had given consent for the child to travel. Children travelling without their parents to South Africa will still need special documentation, including a copy of their birth certificate and a letter of parental consent.