The Magistrate’s Permit – Movement of Children during the Lockdown

View the new regulations on Movement of children during the Lockdown

(Regulation 17)

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In order to move children between homes, you require the following:

1. Court Order; or

2. Parenting Plan registered with the Office of the Family Advocate; or

3. Parental responsibilities and rights agreement registered with the Office of the Family Advocate; and

4. The household to which the child has to move must be free of COVID-19.

Or

A Magistrate’s Permit

3 Steps to obtain a Magistrate’s Permit:

1. Visit your Magistrate’s Court.

2. Take with the child’s birth certificate or certified copy.

3. Provide written reasons as to why the movement of the child is necessary.

The household to which the child has to move must be free of COVID-19.

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Adoption Law in South Africa

The Child Care Act forms the foundation of the Adoption Law and is very much adhered when following through with the adoption process. The ultimate objectives of the Children’s Act is to:

• Protect the social and emotional well-being of a child.
• To implement structures within a community that can care and protect the child.
• To ensure that no child goes through starvation, abuse, exploitation and so forth.
• To ensure that the public (adults) are not taking advantage/exploiting or inflicting physical harm onto a child.

[caption id="attachment_4511" align="alignleft" width="300"] Call our law offices on: 0211110090
Email us at: [email protected][/caption] For free, expert legal advice on the Children’s Act, read our legal piece on The Law Regarding Children – The Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Feel free to call our law offices on 021 424 3487 for an online appointment for a professional legal consultation today.

Baby adoption process

1. Establish a mutual ground between you and your spouse: this means making sure that both parties are actively involved in the adoption process and that both parties would like to process with the process.
2. Social worker or adoption agency: A social worker mandatory to the process even though you may personally know the biological mother of the child. When it comes to a social worker and agency, you need to ensure that you can trust both the agency and social worker. These two factors will play an essential role in the outcome of the adoption process.
3. Screening process: this can be the most dreadful step.

• Interview with your social worker
• Police clearance
• Medical report
• Psychological assessment
• Summary of finances
• Clearance from National Child Protection Register
• Clearance from the National Register of Sexual Offenders
• Assessing of your marriage
• References
• Group sessions
• Social worker will have to visit your home to check for a stable, safe home for the child
• An overall family assessment

1. Wait for your child while the social worker determines an ideal candidate that suits the circumstances of the matter.
2. You will get to meet your child and you will have an idea of your child’s history and have a choice if you would like to proceed.
3. Complete the legal work: this is where a good, family legal expert comes in to help you through the process of the Children’s Court and other legalities.

• Adopting a child and the Law
• Child adoptions- domestic and intern-country
• Relocate with the minor child- parent refusing passport
• The law regarding Children’s Act

Latest regulations regarding the movement of children between co-holders of parental responsibilities and rights or a caregiver. Essentially, all children can move, with specific requirements to be in place – 16 April 2020

On 16 April 2020, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma made changes to the regulations regarding the movement of children during the lockdown.

The material change is that you do not have to have a court order or a parental responsibilities and rights agreement or parenting plan, registered with the family advocate. Possession of a birth certificate or certified copy of a birth certificate is now also allowed.

In summary, the new regulations published today applies as follows:

1. The movement of children should be between co-holders of parental responsibilities and rights or a caregiver;
2. The following must be in existence:
   • A court order;
   • a parental responsibilities and rights agreement or parenting plan, registered with the family advocate, or
3. the co-holder of parental responsibilities and rights is in possession of a birth certificate or certified copy of a birth certificate of the child or children. This is required to prove a legitimate relationship between the co-holders of parental responsibilities and rights;
4. In the household to which the child is to move, there is no person who is known to have come into contact with, or is reasonably suspected to have come into contact with, a person known to have contracted, or reasonably suspected to have contracted, COVID-19;
5. The parent or caregiver transporting the child concerned must have in his or her possession, the court order or the parental responsibilities and rights agreement or a parenting plan or the birth certificate of the child or children, as required.
6. All forms must be completed in full, including full names, identification or passport numbers and full contact details as required in the form and failure to do so will result in the form being rejected as invalid.

 

The relevant regulations are copied below:

  [caption id="attachment_9046" align="alignleft" width="856"] regulations-movement-children-16-April-lockdown[/caption]