New South African Regulations for Travelling with Children

Please take note of the following new information for everybody (South Africans and foreigners) who are travelling with children to / from South Africa:

South Africa's immigration laws have recently undergone an intense revision with newly appointed Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba saying the amendments are "in the best interest of South Africa's security and allows for efficient management of migration".

The department also expressed concern about the growing issue of child trafficking and has announced new requirements for adults travelling with children - effective from the 01st of July 2014.

What you need to know:

Parents travelling with children would now be requested to provide an unabridged birth certificate of all travelling children. This applies even when both parents are travelling with their children and it also applies to foreigners and South Africans alike. When children are travelling with guardians, these adults are required to produce affidavits from parents proving permission for the children to travel.   

Following are the new South African immigration regulations concerning travelling with children:

Regulation 6: (12)

(a) Where parents are travelling with a child, such parents must produce an unabridged birth certificate of the child reflecting the particulars of the parents of the child.

(b) In the case of one parent travelling with a child, he or she must produce an unabridged birth certificate and-

(i) consent in the form of an affidavit from the other parent registered as a parent on the birth certificate of the child authorising him or her to enter into or depart from the Republic with the child he or she is travelling with;

(ii) a court order granting full parental responsibilities and rights or legal guardianship in respect of the child, if he or she is the parent or legal guardian of the child; or

(iii) where applicable, a death certificate of the other parent registered as a parent of the child on the birth certificate;

Provided that the Director-General may, where the parents of the child are both deceased and the child is travelling with a relative or another person related to him or her or his or her parents, approve such a person to enter into or depart from the Republic with such a child.

(c) Where a person is travelling with a child who is not his or her biological child, he or she must produce-

(i) a copy of the unabridged birth certificate of the child;

(ii) an affidavit from the parents or legal guardian of the child confirming that he or she has permission to travel with the child;

(iii) copies of the identity documents or passports of the parents or legal guardian of the child; and

(iv) the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child, Provided that the Director-General may, where the parents of the child are both deceased and the child is travelling with a relative or another person related to him or her or his or her parents, approve such a person to enter into or depart from the Republic with such a child.

(d) Any unaccompanied minor shall produce to the immigration officer-

(i) proof of consent from one of or both his or her parents or legal guardian, as the case may be, in the form of a letter or affidavit for the child to travel into or depart from the Republic: Provided that in the case where one parent provides proof of consent, that parent must also provide a copy of a court order issued to him or her in terms of which he or she has been granted full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of

the child;

(ii) a letter from the person who is to receive the child in the Republic, containing his or her residential address and contact details in the Republic where the child will be residing;

(iii) a copy of the identity document or valid passport and visa or permanent residence permit of the person who is to receive the child in the Republic; and () the contact details of the parents or legal guardian of the child. 

With rhino poaching at an all-time high in South Africa, two of Africa’s leading conservation companies, Great Plains Conservation and &Beyond, have joined forces to safely translocate up to 100 rhino from South Africa to the safe haven of Botswana.

“There is a battle for Africa’s wildlife raging as we speak. Rhinos are being poached at a rate of one every nine hours and the official number is 1 004 dead in 2013 alone. The unofficial number, because we simply do not find them all, is well over 1 000. Like everyone, I’ve been watching this desperate situation worsen, which is why Great Plains Conservation and &Beyond have decided to take action. This is not a Great Plains Conservation project or an &Beyond one, it is a global one that we can all play a role in, small and large. I don’t believe in branded conservation — it needs to be something we all get behind to save a species,” says Dereck Joubert, Great Plains CEO.

“Botswana has an excellent security system in place to protect these endangered animals and will be a safe haven for the relocated rhino. Translocations are fundamental to secure the ongoing survival of endangered species and this groundbreaking project aims to protect the species for future generations to enjoy. A project this size requires a strong partnership and a huge resource pool to pull it off. We are therefore very pleased to be joining forces with Great Plains Conservation for this mass translocation. We share the same mission and operating ethos and together we believe we can make this happen,” says Joss Kent, &Beyond CEO.

Having successfully translocated six rhino from South Africa to Botswana last year, &Beyond’s conservation team will lend its expertise to the project. Up to 100 rhino will be captured and safely transported from South Africa and released in Botswana’s remote wilderness. Each rhino will be tagged and microchipped for research and monitoring purposes. A dedicated anti-poaching team will then work in conjunction with the Botswana government agencies to monitor the animals using the latest technology.

This operation will cost USD8 million and both Great Plains Conservation and &Beyond will announce specific fundraising initiatives to enable tourism stakeholders, travel partners, tour operators and guests to help save this iconic species and ensure Africa’s Big Five remains for future generations to enjoy.

The battle to save the rhino from extinction won’t be won tomorrow; however, with joint initiatives such as this, the battle won’t be lost tomorrow either.

ABOUT GREAT PLAINS CONSERVATION
Great Plains Conservation uses tourism to support the economics of conservation. Each safari camp provides a meaningful and life-enriching experience, and does so with a strong commitment to the lowest impact and highest value safari operation. Its seven camps in Botswana and Kenya are leaders in environmental sustainability and community partnership. Great Plains Conservation is continually recognised for its role in harmonising the needs of local communities and wildlife to provide havens for Africa’s wildlife and the ultimate in guest experience.

ABOUT &BEYOND
&Beyond is one of the world’s leading luxury experiential travel companies, designing personalised luxury safaris in 15 African countries, as well as India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The company also owns and operates 33 extraordinary lodges and camps in Africa and India’s natural highspots. Established in 1991, &Beyond takes exceptional care of its guests in order to make a difference; its commitment to sustainable responsible travel and community empowerment is world renowned.

We've tried to tell you it's amazing; and now you have a fairly strong independent recommendation as well!   Cape Town has topped the NY Times' list of places to visit in 2014, and Namibia has not done too badly either, coming in at number 6!

THE BLUE TRAIN IS NAMED AFRICA’S LEADING LUXURY TRAIN - AGAIN!

At a glittering gala event held in Nairobi, Kenya on the 16th October 2013, The Blue Train was yet again named Africa’s Leading Luxury Train by the World Travel Awards!
 
The Blue Train has enjoyed this award for a record-breaking five consecutive years.  
 
World Travel Awards, popularly known as the “Oscars” of the travel industry, are voted for by travel and tourism professionals worldwide to celebrate and reward those brands in the travel and hospitality industry that have excelled and made positive strides in service excellence in the past twelve months.
 
“Being nominated in these awards is already an honour, but to win it for five consecutive years is beyond words! We are very proud of this achievement. This is testament to the hard work The Blue Train team as well as all our partners and stakeholders have put in over the past twelve months. It also serves as encouragement to continue in our efforts to take this brand to ever greater heights!” said Hanlie Kotze, Executive Manager of The Blue Train.

The following is a statment released by the Kenya Tourism Board in relation to the tragic terror attack currently underway in Nairobi:

"Following the incident on Saturday 20th September at Westgate Mall in Nairobi's Parklands, resulting in the death of at least 39 people and the injury of at least 150 others, His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has increased security across the country and has asked for people to remain calm and vigilant.  The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has amended the travel advice to include details of the incident but has not changed their level of advice on travel to Kenya.

We wish to give the Kenya Tourism Board’s assurance that the Government considers the security of tourists and Kenyans alike to be of paramount importance.  We will update you with official statements as more information flows in.  Meanwhile the Kenya Tourism Board will be looking at the short and long term implications of this attack and assessing what activity and action will need to be taken in regard to the impact if any on tourism to Kenya.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those involved in this incident together with their family and friends, the tourism fraternity and the people of Kenya.

It is with much excitement that we welcome Diederik Vandenhoeke to the African Ubuntu team!  

Diederik is an extremely experienced African traveller and specialist consultant, and will be based for us in Kampala, Uganda.

This now means that we have offices in Sydney, Johannesburg and Kampala, and are therefore perfectly positioned to help you with your African travel plans.

Diederik has lived in East and Central Africa for most of his life, guided tours throughout Southern Africa, and run safari companies in Kenya and Uganda, so he brings with him a true lifetime of expertise.

Having worked with Diederik before and developed a friendship over a number of years, it is an honour to have him join us and have him bring his amazing qualities to African Ubuntu Safaris.

Just a quick update about the Nairobi Airport Nairobi situation.  Although massively damaged, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is functioning, and normal flight schedules should fully resume this weekend.

We expect that there will be certain delays for travellers when landing and going through immigration, but we won't know the full extent of it until next week, and after.

But for travellers booked to travel to Kenya, don't stress, you will be able to land, and your flighst should operate on their current schedule.   If this changes, we will update the information as soon as possible.

The fire at Nairobi International Airport is surely going to cause a huge amount of disruption and concern to travellers.   We do not yet know what the full extent of flight disruptions will be, but will update all of our affected travellers as soon as we have more news.

Below is yesterday's statement from the Kenyan government:

"Following the fire incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the scene this morning and was dismayed by the disruption and damage caused by the fire.  To the thousands of passengers, including tourists, whose journeys were disrupted, the President shares your concerns and regrets the inconvenience.

 We are concerned that the incident interrupted travellers schedules and appreciate that they are being routed to their destinations as soon as is possible.

 President Kenyatta wishes to inform all stakeholders and Kenyans that the fire has been contained. The cause of the fire is being investigated. There is no reason to speculate at this point.

 There was no loss of life.

 There has been serious disruption of the aviation operations at the airport. Contingency measures have been put in place to stabilise the situation and to return the airport to normal operations.

 President Kenyatta wishes to reassure the entire aviation industry, investors, local and international travellers that everything is being done to resume normal operations.

 We expect cargo and domestic services to resume from this airport this afternoon. They will operate from the Cargo terminal.

 A time-frame for the resumption of international flights will be relayed later. However, the Kenya Civil Aviation has granted clearance for the use of Unit 3 for international departures and arrivals.

 We want to guarantee the safety and security of all passengers, and that is our most important consideration at this time.

 Help lines have been set up where those who wish to get further information.

 Manoah Esipisu

Secretary Communication & State House Spokesperson"