The short answer
It's very strange that not even your mother is named on your birth certificate. You should make an affidavit explaining the situation and take it to Home Affairs, but you may end up needing legal help
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I’m trying to get my ID, but my birth certificate doesn’t include my father’s or mother’s name. My mother is South African, and my father was a foreigner. I was told that my mother’s family disapproved of my birth because my father wasn’t South African. She left when I was very young, and I have no idea where she is now. My father raised me with help from his family and friends, who took me in full-time after he passed away in 2018.
I have been battling with my ID application and I am at my wits' end. I am 20 years old.
The long answer
Generally, it used to be the case that when a couple was unmarried, only the mother’s name would appear on the baby’s birth certificate. The fact that you are now 20 would indicate that you were born at a time when it would be the rule that your mother’s name would be written on your birth certificate. The fact that her name does not appear on your birth certificate is inexplicable, really. I have no idea how that could have come about, but I can see how the absence of both parents’ names on the birth certificate would make it impossible for you to get your ID in the ordinary way.
Home Affairs previously held that both parents had to register a child’s birth, but in 2018 in the Naki case, the Eastern Cape High Court ruled that if one parent did not have the required legal documents to be in South Africa, the Births and Deaths Registration Act should be read to mean that both parents’ documents must be presented “where possible” when registering a birth.
As your mother is South African, her name and ID should be recorded by Home Affairs through the Births and Deaths Registration Act. Even though you don’t have her ID, if you have her full name, it should be possible to obtain a copy of your mother’s ID from Home Affairs and to have your birth certificate amended to include your mother’s details. You could ask Home Affairs for assistance in this matter.
In support of this, you could make a sworn affidavit explaining that:
Your birth certificate has no parental names on it.
As your South African mother (give her name) left you when you were very young and you do not know her whereabouts, you need her ID to make an application for an ID yourself. You are a South African by descent as your mother is/was South African.
Your non-South African father (give his name) died in 2018. You have lived here all your life and are now 20 years old and need your ID.
You should show them your father’s death certificate if you have it.
You should record all the details of the Home Affairs Office, the date of your visit, whom you spoke to and what you were advised to do. This is because if you eventually have to consult a lawyer to assist you, you can show them how you have tried to apply for your ID.
Home Affairs has a new Minister now, Leon Schreiber, and backlogs have been reduced significantly since he was appointed. You should bear in mind that Home Affairs, as a government body, is bound by the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act of 2000 (PAJA), which guarantees the constitutional right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.
But if Home Affairs does not assist you, you could approach one of the following organisations which have a lot of experience of dealing with Home Affairs, and ask for their advice and help on the best way forward:
For free paralegal advice, email: help@blacksash.org.za
Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865
Email: info@lhr.org.za
Tel: Musina: 015 534 2203, Durban: 031 301 0531, Pretoria: 012 3202943, Johannesburg: 011 339 1960. Cape Town: 021 424 8561
Email: info@scalabrini.org.za
Tel: 021 465 6433. You can also call the Legal Support Hotline on 066 076 8845.
To get in touch with their Advocacy Programme, you can call 078 260 3536 or send a please-call-me. This is operational between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
The Legal Resources Centre:
Email: info@lrc.org.za
Tel: Johannesburg 011 836 9831, Cape Town 021 481 3000.
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on Nov. 4, 2024, 4:06 p.m.
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