Parent Refusing Relocation, and Passport Application for Minor Child

[caption id="attachment_7084" align="alignleft" width="229"] Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf - Advocate of the High Court of South Africa

Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf – Advocate of the High Court of South Africa[/caption] Often times, a parent would want to travel overseas, relocate or emigrate, and take the child with. However, the practical aspects thereof are not that easy. For starters, your child requires a passport. And what does the law say about passports of a minor child? As you would see later, both parents holding parental responsibilities and rights of guardianship should consent to a minor child obtaining a passport. That is a requirement in Law. But let’s say your child already has a passport. Can you still take your minor child out of the country or relocate? Yes, you can, as long as you have the consent of the other parent. This article does not only apply to parents of minor children who are not married to each other or separated. It applies to all parents of children holding parental responsibilities and rights over them, married, separated, or divorced. Before we move on, let us look at the most popular countries South African’s relocate to.

Popular relocation countries for South Africans

If you wish to emigrate from South Africa, there are many places in this world to consider. Some would be more ideal than others. But it all depends on the reason for the relocation. Here is a list of the top countries South Africans and emigrating to:

United Kingdom (UK)
Australia
United States of America (USA)
New Zealand
Canada
Angola
Botswana
Chile
Zimbabwe
Germany
Netherlands
Swaziland
Israel
Portugal
Mozambique
Ireland
Malawi
Switzerland
Namibia
Greece

If you intend to relocate to a country or region not mentioned above, read on, this article still applies to you.

The parent refuses to consent to emigration

Parents of minor children differ on many things. Sometimes it’s minor issues. For instance, which clothes the child should wear. However, some disagreements are serious and exhausting. For instance, what school should the minor child attend, or extra-mural activities to partake in? What school a child attend can affect the contact rights of parents when they live in separate homes. Now turning to this article. What if one parent wants to go away on holiday or relocate with the child, and the other parent refuses to give consent. One obvious reason to object to a relocation would be that the parent that remains in South Africa may not see the child for some time. This becomes a problem if the reason for the relocation is work-related, or for a better life. Does this now mean a parent must not better his or her situation in life in consideration of the other parent? And what if the other parent does not pay child maintenance? Must you still give up the job offer overseas? Worst yet, if the reason for the relocation is due to the parent having custody of the child remarried, and his or her spouse wants to relocate due to work reasons. Now let’s unpack the law.

The Right to a Passport

The South African Constitution, Act 108 of 1996 affords everyone certain basic human rights. These rights are entrenched in its Chapter 2, of the Bill of Rights. Section 21 of the Bill of Rights deals with freedom of movement and residence. It states the following: 21 (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement. (2) Everyone has the right to leave the Republic. (3) Every citizen has the right to enter, to remain in and to reside anywhere in, the Republic. (4) Every citizen has the right to a passport. Now, seeing that every child has a right to freedom of movement, and a passport, what does this mean to the parent who wants to take a child out of the Country for relocation or holiday?

The law on Consent for Passports for Minor children

Section 18 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 deals with Parental responsibilities and rights in relation to minor children. According to section18 (3) read with section 18(5) of the Act, a co-guardian of a child must consent to the child’s departure or removal from the Republic as well as to the child’s application for a passport. The only exception would be if a court decides otherwise. Therefore, even if the child lives with the father and he cares for her, if the mother has guardianship over the child, her consent is required.

What can be done if consent is refused for emigration?

Now that we know that everyone has the right to obtain a passport, and leave the Republic, what does this mean to the parent who now wants to relocate with the minor child, but the other parent does not want to give consent? An application to the competent court has to be made if this happens. And in this case, it would be the High Court where the child resides. The Court would have to determine what is in the minor child’s best interest. The High Court would listen to why the parent wants to leave, and also why the other parent does not want the child to accompany that parent. Once all the information is before the Court, the court would make a decision. The decision would be based solely on the minor child’s best interests. The Court may also consider reports and recommendations from other experts. For example, the Office of the Family Advocate, a Social Worker or Psychologist. Obviously, their experts need to consult with both parents and the child and have all the facts before them before they can provide recommendations to the Court. They may decide to consult with the child’s school teachers, family member etc. A good report would deal with the actual circumstances overseas. For example, verifying the job, the school the child will be going to, and so on.

What are the factors the court would look at in relation to emigration?

If one parent leaves the country with the child, it would mean no physical contact for the other parent. This would be the major objection. On the other hand, a parent could object due to the country visiting being dangerous. In the case of relocation, an objection could be that the child’s education would be compromised. One other obvious reason would be that the child would not see the remaining parent and his or her family in South Africa. Counter-arguments could be the use of Skype, and holiday visits etc.

Advice to parents who wants to relocate or temporary leave South Africa with the minor child

If you need to relocate, with a child, and the other parent refuses to give consent, speak to a legal advisor, or to us. They would advise you on your case, and if need be, assist or direct you to the proper people for an Application to court for an order that the requirement of consent is dispensed with. Should you be successful in such an application, the Order would be shown to the Department of Home Affairs when applying for a passport and when leaving the Country. The Officials would comply with the Order. The Order of Court can also be shown to the officials overseas should they want to know where the consent of the father is. In the same manner, should you want to leave South Africa to go overseas on holiday with the minor, approach us for advice should the other parent refuse to give consent. Your visit overseas could be to visit a family member, or just for a break. There should be no reason why you cannot take the minor child with you on holiday. [caption id="attachment_6387" align="alignleft" width="300"]

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Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw

Parent Refusing Relocation, and Passport Application for Minor Child

Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf - Advocate of the High Court of South Africa — Advocate Muhammad Abduroaf – Advocate of the High Court of South Africa

Often times, a parent would want to travel overseas, relocate or emigrate, and take the child with. However, the practical aspects thereof are not that easy. For starters, your child requires a passport. And what does the law say about passports of a minor child? As you would see later, both parents holding parental responsibilities and rights of guardianship should consent to a minor child obtaining a passport. That is a requirement in Law. But let’s say your child already has a passport. Can you still take your minor child out of the country or relocate? Yes, you can, as long as you have the consent of the other parent. This article does not only apply to parents of minor children who are not married to each other or separated. It applies to all parents of children holding parental responsibilities and rights over them, married, separated, or divorced. Before we move on, let us look at the most popular countries South African’s relocate to.

Popular relocation countries for South Africans

United Kingdom (UK)
Australia
United States of America (USA)
New Zealand
Canada
Angola
Botswana
Chile
Zimbabwe
Germany
Netherlands
Swaziland
Israel
Portugal
Mozambique
Ireland
Malawi
Switzerland
Namibia
Greece

If you intend to relocate to a country or region not mentioned above, read on, this article still applies to you.

The parent refuses to consent to emigration

One obvious reason to object to a relocation would be that the parent that remains in South Africa may not see the child for some time. This becomes a problem if the reason for the relocation is work-related, or for a better life. Does this now mean a parent must not better his or her situation in life in consideration of the other parent? And what if the other parent does not pay child maintenance? Must you still give up the job offer overseas? Worst yet, if the reason for the relocation is due to the parent having custody of the child remarried, and his or her spouse wants to relocate due to work reasons. Now let’s unpack the law.

The Right to a Passport

21 (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement.

(2) Everyone has the right to leave the Republic.

(3) Every citizen has the right to enter, to remain in and to reside anywhere in, the

Republic.

(4) Every citizen has the right to a passport.

Now, seeing that every child has a right to freedom of movement, and a passport, what does this mean to the parent who wants to take a child out of the Country for relocation or holiday?

The law on Consent for Passports for Minor children

What can be done if consent is refused for emigration?

The Court may also consider reports and recommendations from other experts. For example, the Office of the Family Advocate, a Social Worker or Psychologist. Obviously, their experts need to consult with both parents and the child and have all the facts before them before they can provide recommendations to the Court. They may decide to consult with the child’s school teachers, family member etc. A good report would deal with the actual circumstances overseas. For example, verifying the job, the school the child will be going to, and so on.

What are the factors the court would look at in relation to emigration?

Advice to parents who wants to relocate or temporary leave South Africa with the minor child

In the same manner, should you want to leave South Africa to go overseas on holiday with the minor, approach us for advice should the other parent refuse to give consent. Your visit overseas could be to visit a family member, or just for a break. There should be no reason why you cannot take the minor child with you on holiday.

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Do you own Divorce (DIY) No lawyers needed!
If you want to get divorced from your spouse, I strongly advise that your approach a legal practitioner, or an attorney to attend to it on your behalf. This I would implore even more under the following circumstances:
There will be a dispute over care and visitation rights over the child/children
One of the parties will be applying for forfeiture of patrimonial benefits from a marriage in community of property;
The joint estate is huge or complicated; or
The other party will be making use of legal representation.
If, however, you would like to know the general procedures on how to go about a divorce, they are listed summarily below. There are many rules that regulate divorce processes and the summary below does exclude certain of them. These include exceptions, strikeouts, compelling compliance, service addresses etc. Other matters incidental to divorce proceedings, e.g. interim arrangements, pending the divorce regarding maintenance for you or your children and care and contact regarding children are not dealt with. Therefore, please consult a legal practitioner or the divorce court throughout your divorce process should you decide to do the divorce yourself.

Summons and Particulars of Claim

A summons needs to be drafted which will be issued by the divorce court to commence the divorce process. It should have on it the details of the court you will be issuing divorce, details of the parties, e.g. names, occupation, and address etc. Every High Court in the area where you live has the authority to attend to a divorce. There are however specialized divorce courts that may attend to a divorce as well. You should then draft particulars of claim, outlining relevant matters concerning the marriage, children, reasons for wanting a divorce and what do you want the court to grant you in a divorce order. These particulars of claim you attach to the summons. Here is an example of a summons and particulars of claim for a divorce for a couple married in community of property with no children getting a divorce in the High Court in Cape Town.

Summons

IN THE HIGH COURT OF South Africa CASE NO.: (Western Cape High Court, Cape Town) In the matter between: John Smith (Plaintiff) And Jane Smith (Defendant) To the Sheriff or his/her Deputy INFORM Jane Smith (hereinafter referred to as the defendant an adult female, self-employed as a singer currently residing at 12 Club Road, Waterfront, Western Cape and whose full and further particulars are unknown, That: John Smith (hereafter referred to as the plaintiff), an adult male self-employed painter residing at Garden Road, Cape Town, Western Cape, Hereby institutes an action against her in which action the Plaintiff claims the relief and on the grounds set out in the particulars annexed hereto marked A. INFORM the Defendant further that if she disputes the claim and wishes to defend the action she shall (a) within 10 (TEN) days after the service upon her of this Summons, file with the Registrar of this Court at Kieron Street, Cape Town a notice of her intention to defend, and serve a copy thereof on the Plaintiff, on which notice shall be given an address (not being a post office or poste restante) referred to in Rule 19(3) for the service upon the Defendant of all notices and documents in the action; and (b) thereafter, and within 21 (TWENTY-ONE) court days after the filing and serving such notice of intention to defend as aforesaid, file with the Registrar and serve upon the Plaintiff a Plea, Exception, Notice to strike out, with or without a counterclaim. INFORM the Defendant further that if she fails to file and serve notice as aforesaid, judgment as claimed may be given against her without further notice to her, or if having filed and served such notice, she fails to plead, except, make application to strike out or counterclaim, judgment may be given against her. INFORM the Defendant also that if she does not intend to defend the action, she will inform the Registrar in writing to enable the Registrar to, on request in writing from Plaintiff, immediately set the matter down for hearing. AND IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER serve on the Defendant a copy of this Summons and return same with whatsoever you have done thereupon. DATED AT CAPE TOWN ON THIS ____ THE DAY OF _________2018. ……………………………………………………………… REGISTRAR OF THE HIGH COURT ……………………………………………………………… Plaintiff in Person __________________________

Particulars of Claim “A”

(A) Parties Plaintiff is John Smith, an adult male Bus Driver, residing at no. 5 Truck Apartments, Cape Town, Western Cape. The defendant is Jane Smith (born Smit) an adult female, employed as a hairdresser, residing at Hectic House, 2 Main Road, Strand, Western Cape.

(B) Marriage

Plaintiff and Defendant (hereafter referred to together as “the Parties”) married each other on 10 August 2003 at Pretoria, in community of property and the marriage still subsists. Kindly find attached hereto a copy of the marriage certificate marked “MC”. The Parties are domiciled within the area of jurisdiction of this honourable court. There are no children born out of the marriage.

(C) Irretrievable breakdown

The marriage between the Parties has irretrievably broken down and there are no reasonable prospects of the restoration of a normal marital relationship between them in that: Defendant left the common home approximately 2 years ago; There is no love and affection, understanding and communication between the parties; The Parties are incompatible and continue arguing; and Plaintiff has a gambling problem.

(D) Prayer

WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays for Judgement against Defendant in the following terms: A decree of divorce; Each party retain the property in his or her possession as his or her sole property; Cost if this action is opposed; and Further and/ or alternative relief. DATED AT CAPE TOWN ON THIS THE ______ DAY OF______ 2018. _____________________________ Per: John Smith (Plaintiff in Person) Service Address Once you have your summons and particulars of claim in order, make three (3) copies of your set of documents and have it issued at court.

Issuing & Service of Summons

Once you are at the court, go to the clerk of the court and have your documents issued. The clerk will sign the summons and provide a case number and write it on the summons. You should then take the original and a copy (both must be signed and stamped by the clerk of the court) and take it to the sheriff which serves documents where your spouse works of lives. You can ask the clerk of the court for that details. The extra—copy of the summons & particulars of claim you keep for your file and records.

Notice of intention to defend

Once the sheriff has served the documents, your spouse has a defined period to inform your whether he or she will be defending the divorce. This information is outlined in the summons as shown above.

Plea to particulars of claim

Once you received notice of your spouse’s intention to defend the divorce, about a months later, your spouse or their attorney will serve and file a plea. The plea will outline which parts of your particulars of claim your spouse agrees (or disagree) with which would give a direction of what to prove in court.

Counter Claim

Your spouse might want to file a counterclaim. In the same way, which you outlined your case as to what you want from the court and the reasons therefore in your particulars of claim, your spouse can file on your as well a counterclaim. A counterclaim might still be filed if your spouse agrees to a divorce, by maybe wants care of the children, but in your particulars of claim, you asked for care. You should then within 10 (ten) days plead to the counterclaim the same manner in which your spouse pleaded to your particulars of claim.

Obtaining a Trial date

Once you received the plea, without a counterclaim, or have pleaded to your spouse’s counterclaim, you should then approach the clerk of the court for a trial date. This you or your spouse may do.

Discovery

While you waiting for a trial date, and way before the trial, you may ask or may be asked to provide, under oath, a schedule of books and documents in your possession and under your control relating to the divorce. This could be policy documents, deeds etc, and which you or your spouse might want to make use of at trial. Once you received this schedule you may inspect and request copies of the documents.

Divorce day / Trial

If your spouse does not defend the divorce within the time period, go back to court and ask for an unopposed divorce date and attend to your divorce on that date. If, however, your divorce is defended, a trial will ensure. During the trial, each party will prove his or her case. Witnesses will be called and at the end, the Magistrate or Judge will deliver the verdict. Best of luck, and please, don’t take my word, contact a legal practitioner should you decide to get divorced.

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This and other articles and posts found on this website are written by Adv. Muhammad Abduroaf to assist people with various family law related issues they may have. If you find any of our articles, free resources and posts interesting, or possibly useful to others, please like and share it on Social Media by clicking on the icons below. For more interesting articles and information on Family Law, view our articles and Q&A page. If you have a family law related legal issue and you want someone to answer or reply to it, feel free to post it on our Family Law Blog. Therefore, kindly like and share. Should you require any other legal services and advice, not related to family law, visit Private Legal.

Posted on 11 February 2025 by Telelaw