Each person travelling will be required to have the following documents:
A valid passport:
Each person travelling needs to have a passport that is valid for a minimum of 6 months after the return date back to South Africa.
Travellers with other nationality passports who do not have a South African passport will be required to have:
- A study visa valid for 6 months after the return date OR
- A work visa valid for 6 months after the return date OR
- A temporary residence permit valid for 6 months after the return date OR
- A permanent residence permit
Travellers with dual citizenship will be required to have both passports valid for 6 months after the return date.
South African citizens can apply for a Passport at the Dept of Home Affairs.
Foreign citizens must apply at their country’s Embassy / Consulate
Unabridged Birth Certificate:
Each child under the age of 18 travelling will be required to have an Unabridged Birth Certificate.
Please note that the Unabridged Birth Certificate contains both parents’ full names and surname as well as their ID numbers along with the child’s details.
This rule was implemented by the Dept of Immigration and commenced at the beginning of June 2015. Minors who do not have their unabridged birth certificate will NOT be allowed through immigrations in South Africa – departing and arriving.
If your child is not yet 18 years of age and does not have such a birth certificate, please apply now. The processing of the document can take several months, so it is of utmost importance that all students apply for it now.
All documents need to be in English. If they are not in English, they need to be OFFICIALLY TRANSLATED to an English document.
South African citizens can apply for an Unabridged Birth Certificate at the Dept of Home Affairs.
Foreign citizens must apply at their country’s Embassy / Consulate
Immigration Documents:
For a child under the age of 18 to enter/exit the country, passport control at the airports will request to see certain documents. These documents need to be prepared and taken with on tour.
Please see below required documents:
- Certified copy of Unabridged Birth Certificate of the child
- Parental Consent Affidavit (Home Affairs form – must be stamped and signed by a commissioner of oath)
- Certified copy of mother ID / female legal guardian
- Certified copy of father ID / male legal guardian
- In case of a deceased parent/s, a certified copy of the death certificate/s
- In case of adopted children, certified copies of the court documents proving adoption
- In case of legal guardianship, certified copies of court documents proving legal guardianship
Important Notes and Instructions
- The immigration requirements apply to all children that will not be 18 years of age by the day before departure.
- For the immigration requirements, the stamps which certify the copied document, needs to be original with the original signature of the officer / commissioner of oath.
- This means that no scanned and e-mail documents will be accepted for this purpose.
- Kindly note that a certified copy or commissioner of oath stamp is only valid for three months.
Further instructions regarding the immigration documents will be given through at a later stage such as the accompanying adult’s details. Please note that these documents are very important and passport control is strict. The child will not be allowed to exit/enter the country without the proper documentation.
A valid visa:
Please see below all the relevant details regarding the visa required: