Travelling With Children: Documents Checklist
Taking a child across the border? Choose who’s travelling to see the documents you need, then make a consent affidavit if you need one.
Documents to take
Take originals, or copies certified by a commissioner of oaths. Tick them off as you pack.
Make a parental consent affidavit
Fill this in for each child and each parent who isn’t travelling. Print it, then sign it at a police station or in front of another commissioner of oaths. Don’t sign it before then.
What you type here stays on this page and isn’t saved or sent anywhere.
Fill in the affidavit
Also see the SARS traveller declaration and duty-free guide. Everyone needs a declaration, including children.
A guide to help you plan, not official advice. Home Affairs at the border makes the final decision. Figures last checked against official sources on .
How it works
The checklists follow the Department of Home Affairs’ requirements for children travelling through South African ports of entry and its immigration leaflet. They apply to children under 18 leaving or entering South Africa by air, road, sea or rail.
The affidavit includes what Home Affairs asks for: the consenting parent’s details and contact information, the child’s details, who the child is travelling with, and the trip. Border officials can ask for more, so take every document on your list.
Figures last checked against official sources on .
Questions
Do South African children still need an unabridged birth certificate to travel?
Home Affairs says every child needs a valid passport and a birth certificate (or equivalent document) showing the parents, and may ask for it at the border. South African children returning on a South African passport can be helped without it, and the details in a passport count only if that country prints parents’ details in passports. Airlines often check at check-in, so take the birth certificate.
How old can a parental consent affidavit be?
Not older than six months when you present it at the border. It must be signed in front of a commissioner of oaths, such as at a police station. Outside South Africa, a South African embassy can do it free of charge. The same affidavit covers the way out and back on the same trip.
We’re divorced. Do I need my ex’s permission?
If you share parental responsibilities, yes: you need the other parent’s consent affidavit, even if the child lives with you. If a court gave you full parental responsibilities and rights, take the court order instead. If the other parent refuses, you can ask a court for permission.
Does a school trip need these documents?
Yes, when it crosses the border. The teacher is “another adult”, so each child needs a passport, a birth certificate, a consent affidavit from both parents, copies of the parents’ IDs and their contact details.
Do these rules apply for road trips to Namibia, Botswana or Lesotho?
Yes. They apply at every South African border post, by road, air, sea or rail. Neighbouring countries also check children’s documents, so check their rules too.