Asylum seekers can apply for distress grant for caregivers

ENCA – 06 October 2021

Unemployed carers of child grant recipients who don’t have identity documents can apply for the COVID-19 special relief of distress grant, They can use their SASSA system-generated ID number

 JOHANNESBURG - Asylum seekers and unemployed carers of child grant recipients who don’t have identity documents can apply for the COVID-19 special relief of distress grant.

They can use their Sassa system-generated ID number.

Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said, "I think, the intention here is to make sure that especially asylum seekers who do not necessarily have the ID number with them, because we can recall that if you come to South Africa from outside and coming here without the necessary documentation."

"These are the people who have gone to Home Affairs made an application to be refugees so we are trying to make sure that we accommodate them, but obviously, you must go to Home Affairs to make an application send it to us as Sassa and we will generate a unique number which is given to you it basically ends with…and then that number then you can be able to use to make an application to access the R350 grant.

www.samigration.com

Section 10 of Births and Deaths Registration Act 'impairs dignity of unmarried fathers' - ConCourt

News24 – 08 October 2021

Section 10 of Births and Deaths Registration Act has been declared unconstitutional.

• The Constitutional Court has declared a section of the Births and Deaths Registration Act unconstitutional.
• The section does not allow an unmarried father to register his child's birth under his surname, unless the mother gives consent or is present.
• A ConCourt judge says there is no justification for differentiating between married and unmarried fathers.

The Constitutional Court has declared section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act - which does not allow an unmarried father to register his child's birth under his surname, unless the mother is present or gives consent - unconstitutional. 

In a judgment by Justice Margaret Victor on Wednesday, which was read out by Justice Steven Majiedt, the court found there was no justification for differentiating between married and unmarried fathers.

"Section 10 of the act impairs the dignity of unmarried fathers, whose bonds with their children are deemed less worthy than the children of married parents," Majiedt said. 

The apex court confirmed a 2020 ruling by the Eastern Cape High Court, which found the act invalid and inconsistent.

Father Menzile Lawrence Naki approached the court after the Department of Home Affairs refused to register his child under his surname because the mother was an undocumented Democratic Republic of Congo national.

Consent

The department would also not allow him to register the birth, without the mother's consent.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng was one of two dissenting justices. He acknowledged that the act discriminated against unmarried fathers, but held the discrimination was reasonable, justifiable and fair. 

"The chief justice holds that children are vulnerable and their best interests are of paramount importance in issues that concern them have to be addressed.

"The chief justice further reasons that they must be protected and not exposed to the risks of being easily claimed and adopted by people, whose relationship with them or subsequently to be in their lives, has been established," said Majiedt.

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Matriculant petitions for stateless youths to get into universities

She is among many South African-born children with immigrant parents struggling to get identification documents

08 October 2021 Groundup 

• A Cape Town matriculant has started to petition the Department of Home Affairs to make special provisions for children born in South Africa with immigrant parents to apply for identity documents.
• She has collected over 25,000 signatures to date.
• The matriculant has been struggling to submit online applications to universities across the country because she does not have an ID or passport number.
• She has been advised to contact the representing body, Universities South Africa, for assistance.

A Cape Town matriculant has started a petition, calling for the Department of Home Affairs to make special provisions for children born in South Africa with immigrant parents to apply for identity documents. At the time of publication, the petition had more than 25,000 signatures.

Karolyn Mujinga is among scores of South African-born children of immigrants who are struggling to enrol in tertiary institutions and to access funding to further their studies. With the refugee reception centres still closed, many young people have been left in limbo and are unable to apply for citizenship or identity documents.

Mujinga, 18, was born in Cape Town and has lived in South Africa all her life. Her mother is originally from Congo.

“When I was applying to university, most did not have provision for refugee applicants or asylum seeker students. It’s like we don’t even exist. I couldn’t use my birth certificate because there’s no ID number,” she said.

Mujinga tried applying online to the University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, Wits University, University of Cape Town, and Nelson Mandela University, where she hoped to study Law, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering.

She said most of the institutions’ websites would only give the option to select, “South African citizen, permanent resident, or international student to use with a passport number”.

Mujinga said although she was able to enrol at school, she could not apply for funding or bursaries. “It’s quite disheartening when most of the bursaries are just for South African citizens. There needs to be at least something where 20% of the students they accept are refugees and asylum seekers, and 80% are South Africans,” she said.

“When you step into primary school, you believe that you are all equal. You believe that when you leave high school, you’ll leave with a choice on whether to study further, take a gap year or work. But for most immigrants, it isn’t a choice,” she said.

In December 2019, a ruling by the Makhanda High Court on the Admission of Learners to Public Schools stated that all children must be conditionally admitted to school while parents try to get documents. But for many refugee and immigrant children, the process has not been as simple, with many being unable to access state schools.

Lawyers for Human Rights legal researcher Tshegofatso Mothapo said although the law provides for a provisional admission to school, it has “proven to be a barrier for children of refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented South Africans, undocumented or migrants, and those with stateless parents because they are unable to furnish documents such as birth certificates”.

“There is a misconception by school administrators that a handwritten birth certificate often presented by learners whose parents are non-nationals is not legitimate proof of documentation. When it in actual fact is,” she said.

The Department of Basic Education also released a directive in July 2019 informing schools that it is unlawful to turn away undocumented learners, however, many refugee and migrant children are still unable to access state schools.

Mothapo said several schools might not have received the circular or heard of the judgment, and have continued operating on the basis that a parent must present an official birth certificate of the learner when applying for admission to a state school.

She said another delay is that the online platform to register children does not allow registration without school administrators uploading documentation. “It seems the DBE has not put measures in place to ensure the registration of undocumented learners takes place on the online platform, resulting in learners being turned away.”

CEO and spokesperson of Universities South Africa (USAf) – the representative body of South Africa’s public universities – Professor Ahmed Bawa said provision is available to immigrant learners wanting to apply to tertiary institutions.

“All immigrant students must apply to the Matriculation Board at Universities South Africa for the appropriate recognition and the issuing of the Matriculation Exemption to be considered for university entrance,” he said.

The Matriculation Board will then evaluate exemptions based on the qualifications presented and not the country of residence, said Bawa. He said there were currently no substantial delays or backlogs in the Matriculation Board system.

www.samigration.com

More than 300 000 people in UK could head to SA after red-list removal

Find 24  - 08 October 2021

vaccinated travellers will resume on 11 October between the UK

• main inbound tourism industry body says there was an immediate jump in enquiries from UK travellers after the announcement that the country will be removed from the UK red list.
• The UK government announced that quarantine-free travel between that country and South Africa will resume on 11 October, and SA vaccine certificates will also be regarded as valid proof of vaccination.
• The CEO of the Tourism Business Council of SA urged all workers in the tourism industry to get vaccinated.

More than 300 000 British passport holders could visit friends and family or take advantage of holiday deals across southern Africa after the UK revised its travel red list, according to an estimate from South Africa’s main inbound tourism industry body.

On Thursday, the UK scrapped tough Covid-19 quarantine travel rules for 47 destinations, including South Africa.

The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (Satsa), which represents 1 350 businesses, said UK operators had already seen a jump in enquiries from "sun-starved Brits looking for a winter escape", just after the announcement.

The UK has traditionally been South Africa's biggest source of international tourists, and the local economy lost an estimated R790 million per month while the country was on the red list.

The UK started to imposed travel restrictions on South Africa in December last year, and Thursday's announcement followed months of lobbying, including a call from President Cyril Ramaphosa to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"We do want to thank the president, the minister of tourism, the minister of international relations and everybody else who has worked on this from the public sector, for the work that they have done. It wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t get involved," CEO of the Tourism Business Council of SA Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said. 

He told Fin24 that people working in the tourism value chain now need to be vaccinated and protocols should be followed to avoid incidents that may tarnish the work done to get South Africa off the list.

Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management, James Vos, said the city is ready for British travellers. He plans to contact the Britain’s High Commissioner and Consul General to discuss the city’s plans to attract international travellers. 

Vos also appealed to the government to implement a remote worker visa, saying Cape Town is a favourite location for "digital nomads" with high incomes, and asked the government to approve Delta Airlines’ request to fly to Cape Town.

Quarantine-free travel for vaccinated travellers will resume on 11 October between the UK and South Africa. South Africa is one of the 47 countries the UK is removing from the red list. Only seven destinations - Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela - remain on the red list.

"From 04:00 [on] Monday, 11 October, eligible travellers vaccinated in over 37 new countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey, will also be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England," said Transport Secretary Grant Shapp.

www.samigration.com