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The following question is part of Groundup's Answers to your questions series and comes from a reader with a question regarding South African citizenship.
How can I add my 6 month-old daughter born in Zimbabwe to my permit?
The short answer
You need an “accompanying visa”, which must be applied for in Zimbabwe
The whole question
My daughter is 6 months-old and was born in Zimbabwe. How do I add her to my permit?
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking how you can add your 6 month-old daughter born in Zimbabwe to your permit.
It seems that Home Affairs is demanding that dependent children must apply for “accompanying visas” and that these visas must be applied for from Zimbabwe. This has meant great hardship for many mothers, as the visas could take up to 8 weeks to be issued.
If your daughter does not have a birth certificate issued in Zimbabwe, you may apply for it at the Zimbabwean Consulate in Cape Town or Johannesburg, or the Zimbabwean Embassy in Pretoria.
You could ask the following organisations for advice and assistance:
Lawyers for Human Rights at:
- Musina 0115 534 2203,
- Durban 031 301 0531,
- Pretoria 012 320 2943, or
- Johannesburg 011 339 1960 (where their Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme (RMRP) is based)
Legal Resources Centre at info@lrc.org.za, or in Johannesburg at 011 836 9831 and Cape Town at 021 481 3000.
The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town at info@scalabrini.org.za, or at 021 465 6433
Answered on March 2, 2020, 9:35 a.m.
Published originally on GroundUp.
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