Everything you need to know about travelling to South Africa with children

A number of readers have come forward in recent weeks having experienced difficulties travelling to South Africa with a child.

The latest letter came from Telegraph Travel reader, Joanne Caputo.

Joanne Caputo, writes:

In June my husband accompanied me to Gatwick Airport to travel to Cape Town via Dubai with our four-month-old son so I could visit my grandmother, who is 90, for a few days.

It’s too expensive to take the whole family to South Africa during the school holidays (I’m a teacher) so I bought a cheap off-season flight. I checked online what documents I needed (or thought I had) and knew I had to carry my son’s unabridged birth certificate. I had a letter of permission from my husband, and his passport.

Unfortunately, Emirates told me that, as I was a parent travelling alone with a child to South Africa, I must get my husband’s letter of permission signed by a solicitor. I tried to find a solicitor near Gatwick, but it was a Sunday and phones went unanswered.

I asked Emirates if they could put me on Monday’s flight once I got the letter signed but was told this was not possible and that only my agent, Travel Up, could help.

The manager at Travel Up, while sympathetic, says there is nothing to be done other than for me to buy a new return ticket. I am devastated as I can’t afford to spend another ￡700. Can you help?”

Travel to South Africa with children | What to bring

Gill Charlton, consumer expert, replies:

You are the third person to contact me in as many weeks to say they’ve been refused travel to South Africa as a lone parent because they don’t have a parental consent affidavit.

An affidavit is a signed letter sworn under oath in person before a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths. It costs ￡5. This requirement has been in place since June 2015 when the South African Department of Home Affairs brought in new regulations to prevent child trafficking. All children under 18 must travel to South Africa with their unabridged birth certificate showing the names of their parents – even if travelling with them. If the child is accompanied by one parent, South African immigration requires consent – in the form of an affidavit – from whoever is registered as the parent on the birth certificate.

The regulations were introduced to prevent child trafficking

The affidavit must be sworn within three months of travel and a certified copy of the absent parent’s passport attached. If you had booked direct with Emirates you could not have failed to see the warning about the documentation needed for children entering South Africa as it is set out in full on the “Review Your Itinerary” page before payment is taken. However, you booked through Travel Up which, like most online agents, does not alert customers to this and is not legally required to do so.

Your confirmation merely states that you should contact the visa agent CIBT to check entry requirements and that Travel Up is not liable for denied boarding due to invalid documents. Emirates could perhaps have flown you the following day as a goodwill gesture if you had booked direct with them, but it could not change an agency-issued ticket.

Travel Up is claiming that a warning about entry requirements for children is set out in its flight confirmation email. It may be now, but it was not when you bought your ticket in May. I don’t think this is a satisfactory situation. Both airlines and agents should have a legal liability to warn passengers about this complex issue.

For further information, see southafricahouseuk.com and click on the “Foreign Citizens” tab.