Note - your baby is not South African simply by being born in South Africa, but will instead take on the nationality of the parents (unless you have citizenship in multiple places - you then will need to research further)

You can sometimes register your baby at the hospital you give birth in – ask what days Home Affairs is at the hospital to register births — this is a much easier route. They should also print birth certificates for you. Prepare a packet of documents to take with you when you go to give birth, including your ID document(s), visas and marriage certificate (if married).

Otherwise, you will need to register at Home Affairs within 30 days (click here if registering after 30 days)

• Register the birth by obtaining the correct form(s) from your healthcare provider :

  • For hospital births : DHA 24/PB (stamped)

  • For home births : DHA 24PBA

• Fill out BI-124 Application for Birth Certificate - carefully in black ink

• Make multiple certified copies of all your documents:

  • Make photocopies of your marriage certificate, current visas and passports for each parent and relevant birth forms

  • Bring all original and copies to the police station or post office and asking for them to be certified.

• Take two trips to the Department of Home Affairs (more advice for dealing with the Department of Home Affairs in the next section), this need to happen within 30 days after giving birth, so don’t delay :

  • Trip One : if you are legally married, one parent can take your passports to the section for applying for Birth Certificates at the Department of Home Affairs, otherwise both parents must go. They will make copies of your passport and send the copies off to Pretoria which typically takes 10 days, this is to validate that you are in fact in the country and have a visa. They will let you know when you have been verified and when to come in for a second time - they will tell you a specific time, which is when you need to arrive and wait and be directed and sorted. When you register the baby’s birth at the Department of Home Affairs, they will give you a receipt of your application. You should not leave the Department of Home Affairs without a receipt. Ask for this receipt if they do not give a receipt to you. You will need it again when you come to collect the birth certificate.

  • Trip Two : both parents along with your new baby go to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for an Unabridged Birth Certificate. Bring your BI-24 form, marriage certificate and passports, and all copies. Go to the section for applying for Birth Certificate at the Department of Home Affairs - you should be able to get it that day and it should be free of charge. This trip typically takes between 2-5 hours - so bring snacks.

• Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge, usually 1 – 2 days after the registration application has been submitted.

Next Steps for Other Identification :

• Once you get your Unabridged Birth Certificate you can apply for a passport and social security for your child at your embassy. Take your Unabridged Birth Certificate along with anything required from your country of origin. Every country has different rules for what is needed and for taking the passport photos (for example, you may be able to bring in your own for example)- so do your own research

• To get a passport for your baby from your home country - click here for more information. Note - if you or your partner is a South African citizen or a permanent resident, your child will automatically have South African citizenship, otherwise they will not.

• To get a visa for your baby - click here for more information

You can sometimes register your baby at the hospital you give birth in – ask what days Home Affairs is at the hospital to register births — this is a much easier route. They should also print birth certificates for you. Prepare a packet of documents to take with you when you go to give birth, including your ID document(s), visa and marriage certificate (if married).

Otherwise, you will need to register at Home Affairs within 30 days (click here if registering after 30 days)

• Register the birth by obtaining the correct form(s) from your healthcare provider :

  • For hospital births : DHA 24/PB (stamped)

  • For home births : DHA 24PBA

• Fill out BI-124 Application for Birth Certificate - carefully in black ink

• Make multiple certified copies of all your documents:

  • Make photocopies of your marriage certificate, current visa for non-South African parent and passports for each parent, copy of South African parents’ ID and relevant birth forms

  • Bring all original and copies to the police station or post office and asking for them to be certified.

• Take two trips to the Department of Home Affairs (more advice for dealing with the Department of Home Affairs is in the next section), this need to happen within 30 days after giving birth, so don’t delay :

  • Trip One : if you are legally married, one parent can take your passports to the section for applying for Birth Certificates at the Department of Home Affairs, otherwise both parents must go. They will make copies of your passport and send the copies off to Pretoria which typically takes 10 days, this is to validate that you are in fact in the country and have a visa. They will let you know when you have been verified and when to come in for a second time - they will tell you a specific time, which is when you need to arrive and wait and be directed and sorted. When you register the baby’s birth at the Department of Home Affairs, they will give you a receipt of your application. You should not leave the Department of Home Affairs without a receipt. Ask for this receipt if they do not give a receipt to you. You will need it again when you come to collect the birth certificate.

  • Trip Two : both parents along with your new baby go to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for an Unabridged Birth Certificate. Bring your BI-24 form, marriage certificate and passports, and all copies. Go to the section for applying for Birth Certificate at the Department of Home Affairs - you should be able to get it that day and it should be free of charge. This trip typically takes between 2-5 hours - so bring snacks.

• Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge, usually 1 – 2 days after the registration application has been submitted.

Next Steps for Other Identification :

• For their international passport + social security - once you get your Unabridged Birth Certificate you can apply for a passport and social security for your child at your embassy. Take your Unabridged Birth Certificate along with anything required from your country of origin. Every country has different rules for what is needed and for taking the passport photos (for example, you may be able to bring in your own for example)- so do your own research.

• To get passports for both South Africa and your home country for your baby - click here for more information

• Their South African ID cannot be applied for until they are 16

• The good news is that your baby won’t need a South African visa as they are a citizen!

You can sometimes register your baby at the hospital you give birth in – ask what days Home Affairs is at the hospital to register births — this is a much easier route. They should also print birth certificates for you. Prepare a packet of documents to take with you when you go to give birth, including your South African ID document(s) and marriage certificate (if married).

Otherwise, you will need to register at Home Affairs within 30 days (click here if registering after 30 days)

• Register the birth by obtaining the correct form(s) from your healthcare provider :

  • For hospital births : DHA 24/PB (stamped)

  • For home births : DHA 24PBA

• Fill out BI-124 Application for Birth Certificate - carefully in black ink

• Make multiple certified copies of all your documents:

  • Make photocopies of your marriage certificate, copy of your South African ID(s) and relevant birth forms

  • Bring all original and copies to the police station or post office and asking for them to be certified.

• Take two trips to the Department of Home Affairs (more advice for dealing with the Department of Home Affairs is to the left), this need to happen within 30 days after giving birth, so don’t delay :

  • Trip One : if you are legally married, one parent can take your passports to the section for applying for Birth Certificates at the Department of Home Affairs, otherwise both parents must go. They will make copies of your passport and send the copies off to Pretoria which typically takes 10 days, this is to validate that you are in fact in the country and have a visa. They will let you know when you have been verified and when to come in for a second time - they will tell you a specific time, which is when you need to arrive and wait and be directed and sorted. When you register the baby’s birth at the Department of Home Affairs, they will give you a receipt of your application. You should not leave the Department of Home Affairs without a receipt. Ask for this receipt if they do not give a receipt to you. You will need it again when you come to collect the birth certificate.

  • Trip Two : both parents along with your new baby go to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for an Unabridged Birth Certificate. Bring your BI-24 form, marriage certificate and passports, and all copies. Go to the section for applying for Birth Certificate at the Department of Home Affairs - you should be able to get it that day and it should be free of charge. This trip typically takes between 2-5 hours - so bring snacks.

• Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge, usually 1 – 2 days after the registration application has been submitted.

Next Steps for Other Identification :

To get a passport for your baby - click here for more information