Children born in SA do not automatically qualify for citizenship

Source: IOL, 10/04/2017

Cape Town â€" The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is to review why
children born in South Africa to foreign parents are not automatically
awarded citizenship by the Department of Home Affairs.
Advocate Priscilla Jana deputy chairperson of the SAHRC said she been
unaware that unabridged birth certificates were not issued to children
born to foreign parents. We will look into this matter she said.


Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said the
departments policy was that for record purposes a notice of birth”
would be issued instead.


The Human Rights Commission will review why children born locally to
foreign parents are not automatically awarded citizenship by Home
Affairs. File picture: Independent Media
Cape Town attorney Joy van der Heyde said she had filed nine notices
against Home Affairs in the Western Cape High Court. They related to
the departments alleged refusal to issue unabridged birth certificates
to foreign parents.


In another matter Van der Heyde accused the department of failing to
issue an unabridged birth certificate to a refugee whose daughter was
born in the country.


The assumption that if a child is born in this country they
automatically get citizenship irrespective of whether their parents
are foreign or not is false she said.


A notice of birth is issued by the hospital this is not an identity
document on which the child can be registered at school or obtain
social grants. This notice therefore does not assist the child in
being able to enforce his or her rights Van der Heyde pointed
out.


Said Mokgola: In cases where one parent is South African the South
African citizen may apply for the child’s birth certificate. But Van
der Heyde said that was also problematic because the name of child’s
South African parent would be reflected on the unabridged birth
certificate but not the foreign parents name.


In one case Van der Heyde said a child was in ICU and required a
series of operations. Her foreign parent has a paid-up foreign medical
aid that has to bear the costs but because the child does not have an
unabridged birth certificate reflecting the foreign parents name which
the medical aid requires the costs cannot be paid.


Also this means that the foreign parent cannot travel in and out of
the country with their own child because their name will not be on the
unabridged birth certificate. There are cases where the high court
ruled that this is unacceptable.


Van der Heyde said it was “sad that there are three million adoptable
children in the welfare system many of whom are foreign children whom
prospective foreign adoptive parents are willing to adopt and who end
up staying in the system because they don’t have unabridged birth
certificates.


They don not have a name identity number or a country of origin. That
means we have this quota of children in the adoption system in the
social welfare system who can not be taken care of properly by parents
who want to adopt them.


“Without an unabridged birth certificate everything is affected â€" from
accessing medical assistance and social grants to schooling.
Esther Lewis spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Social
Development said they assist all children in need of care and
protection and the childs best interests will always be taken into
consideration. And all children must have birth certificates.


Without birth certificates the adoption process for any child whether
South African or a child born here of foreign parents can not be
finalized Lewis explained.


It is standard practice to issue foreign children born in South Africa
with handwritten birth certificates from the Department of Home Affairs.