Unabridged Birth Certificate for minors Traveling to Namibia

The Namibian authorities have recently decided to enforce the regulations for minors under 18 traveling to and from Namibia more stringently. These regulations were announced in December 2016 and they are very similar to those that are already in force in South Africa and Botswana. The essence is that all children under 18, or those traveling with them, need to have an original version or a certified/notarized copy of their Unabridged Birth Certificate with them. The exact contents of Unabridged Birth Certificates vary among the different jurisdictions that issue them, but the key distinction between “abridged” and “unabridged” versions is that an Unabridged Birth Certificate identifies both parents of the child.

If minors are not traveling with both parents identified on their birth certificate, they will also need an affidavit from the parent(s) that are not there stating that they have given permission for the minor to travel – or a certified copy of the parent’s death certificate if appropriate. Please see this statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration which was released in December 2016 and gives more detail on specific requirements.

Please ensure that all of your visitors travelling to Namibia with minors are made aware of this requirement well before they travel in order to avoid any potential aggravation at any border posts. They will not always be asked to provide the documents specified, but they will definitely need to have them in case they are requested to produce them by the Namibian Immigration authorities on arrival – or by airline staff when checking in for flights.