What is the Difference Between an Unabridged and Abridged Birth Certificate?
the South African Department of Home Affairs made it mandatory for all passengers under the age of 18 to use an Unabridged Birth Certificate to travel in and out of the country.
The immigration law was passed to help combat child trafficking. There are numerous other reasons that South Africans need an unabridged birth certificate. Since unabridged birth certificates suffice for all uses.
What is an unabridged birth certificate?
Unabridged birth certificates are documents that contain information about a person’s two biological parents or legal guardians. Further, an unabridged birth certificate is a computer generated print out of a full birth certificate issued at the department of Home Affairs. It is printed on specialist watermarked paper, signed and stamped by a designated officer of Home Affairs. The credentials of the officer can be verified by The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).
Persons under the age of 18 years need to provide unabridged birth certificates along with other legal documents when travelling abroad. All birth certificates issued after 2016 are Unabridged Birth Certificates and are referred to as a “Birth Certificate”.
Unabridged birth certificates are mostly required for:
• International travel
• Emigration purposes
• Obtaining visas for certain countries
Who needs an unabridged birth certificate?
If you are a minor (under the age of 18), and plan to travel into or out of South Africa, you will need an unabridged birth certificate.
Often for visas, overseas marriages and foreign citizenship applications, a South African would require an unabridged birth certificate. The document usually does not lapse or expire, although some jurisdictions and countries do require them to be within a certain validity or age.
For South African Travelers:
In addition to the unabridged birth certificate, if the child is accompanied by one parent, that parent must provide one of the following documents in addition to the birth certificate:
- An affidavit not older than three months consenting to the child’s travel, or
- A court order that grants the parent sole guardianship or parental responsibilities, or
- A death certificate for the other parent.
For Foreign Travelers:
If foreign parents are trying to enter or leave South Africa with a minor, besides the unabridged birth certificate, they will need to provide the following documents:
- Court order bestowing full parental custody or rights to the parent, or
- Authorised consent from the other parent, and
- The contact details of both parents and/or guardians
We specialise in helping our customers obtain all their official documents such as unabridged birth certificates an unabridged marriage certificates. An applications for an unabridged birth certificates are always lodged with the South African Department of Home Affairs, although they can also be processed at South African embassies, missions, or consulates.
How to apply for an unabridged birth certificate?
To apply for an unabridged birth certificate, you will need to send us:
• Your ID document in a clear PDF scan
• Copies of the IDs of both your biological parents in clear PDF scans
• completed form – filled in with black ink and PDF scanned to us.
How long for an unabridged birth certificate?
The Department of Home Affairs does not store all the information, used to issue an Unabridged Birth Certificate, digitally on their system. This means that to collect the information and issue the certificate, they first need to obtain the original birth certificate (called a vault birth certificate) in their rather messy archives. Therefore, after application, there is a search for the vault copy and thereafter your Unabridged Birth Certificate is actually typed out and printed for stamping and signature.
Depending on how easily accessible your details are in the archives, our process generally takes less than 15 – 20 workings days.
How we can help you with unabridged birth certificates?
If you need to obtain an unabridged birth certificate but do not wish to stand in queues at Home Affairs, we can take the stress out of the situation
We can assist you in obtaining an Unabridged Birth Certificate. We handle everything on your behalf, remotely. We make the process of getting your certificates and passport applications from Home Affairs South Africa processed much faster and hassle-free