I recently travelled to Europe with my two young children. As a single parent, I was well prepared and made sure to carry all the required documents: certified copies of both of children’s unabridged birth certificates, a certified copy of my husband’s passport and the completed and certified suggested Department of Home Affairs (DHA) affidavit form. All of these documents met the requirements at check-in and passport control, and while things were a bit more time-consuming than usual, the whole procedure went fairly smoothly and everyone seemed to know what they were doing.
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However, when travelling back from Germany to South Africa, I took the opportunity to talk to one of the SAA check-in staff in Frankfurt, who confirmed to me that they had been sending numerous families away as they did not have the correct documents to allow them to board.
She said that in the beginning, airlines still rebooked families free of charge who did not have the correct paperwork, arranging new flights for them once the documentation had been obtained. This has changed, and now the airline charges extra for any flight changes. She says that judging by these families’ reactions, they would not be travelling to South Africa again any time soon.
She also mentioned that airlines had implemented a system where the boarding pass had to provide the date of birth of each child as well as the initials of the person handling the check-in. Should that family be turned away at passport control in South Africa, that check-in person would get a warning or dismissal. This proves that the responsibility of enforcing the new regulations is being forced on to the airline staff at the respective departure airports. In fact, she mentioned that she felt as if she was now working for the South African Department of Home Affairs!
Upon arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, I had a similar conversation with the gentleman at passport control. He also checked all my paperwork and commented that he wished all tourists would use the “proposed” affidavit form provided by the DHA as this would make his life much easier. He said that most tourists just drafted their own affidavit forms, which are missing important information and result in their being denied access into the country. He also confirmed that they had turned away and denied entry to numerous families on a daily basis – most of which originated from Asian countries.
So what do we learn from this?
Firstly, the feedback the industry is getting in terms of the number of families who have been denied boarding or access to the country on arrival is incorrect. The real situation is being swept under the carpet.
Secondly, DHA needs to come out with an official affidavit form, not just a "proposed" form for the affidavit/consent of the parent/s who is/are not accompanying the child/ren. It is very clear to me that the new regulations and supporting documents needed to enter the country have not been communicated effectively.
At the time of writing this letter, there are still numerous questions on paperwork required from families/single parents where adoption, children born to unmarried parents or children without a known father are involved. I had still not received an answer from DHA to the query on what documents are required for a single male to take his adopted son to SA. The adopted child was born in Haiti where there are no unabridged birth certificates issued; his new parents are now divorced but share custody. Which are the exact documents that single parents with adopted children need to take along when travelling to SA? Similar questions come up when we think of patchwork families or parents travelling with children who carry different surnames. What are the exact documents requirements for single parents where the unabridged birth certificate states that the father is “unknown”, which is not an unusual scenario nowadays?
All industry players urgently need answers and clarification to avoid further families being denied access to South Africa!
Juliane Loubser – MD of Fairfield Tours
