The Department of Home Affairs has provided a grace period to allow children to travel with parents or guardians without an unabridged birth certificate until end of September 2014.

The requirement came into effect as part of the Immigration Act, which was implemented on May 26.
Originally the Department said the new regulation would apply from July 1, but it took the decision on Tuesday to extend the grace period to October 1.

"From 01 October 2014, the requirement for an unabridged birth certificate for children travelling with parents will come into effect for the safety of children, including their protection from child trafficking, abduction and kidnapping," the department said in a statement.
The Department urged citizens and foreign nationals to apply for unabridged birth certificates for children. An unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the particulars of the parents is required in terms of the Immigration Regulation 6 (12)(a) for children travelling with parents.