Travel rule for minors amended
The amended law is expected to come into effect over the next three to 12 months.
THE Department of Home Affairs is amending its controversial rule that parents have to have their minor children’s unabridged birth certificates available before they can travel.
Mkuseli Apleni, the department’s director general, announced on Thursday, 4 February that the regulations were being reviewed and amended. The amended law specifies that parents’ details would be printed in the minor’s passport so they would not have to carry birth certificates.
Apleni said Home Affairs is working jointly with the national Department of Tourism to ensure the regulations are amended accordingly. The tourism department had previously argued that the unabridged birth certificate visa regulation that came into effect last year had hurt the industry.
Apleni said the department was working hard to implement the amended rule and that Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, was happy that the matter was being handled in collaboration with stakeholders.
The amended law is expected to come into effect over the next three to 12 months.
