SUMMARY OF THE TRAVEL REGULATIONS RELATING TO TRAVEL WITH CHILDREN TO SOUTH AFRICA

From October 1, 2014, anyone travelling to South Africa with children under the age of 18 must bring the children’s official unabridged birth certificates. A statement pertaining to the child in your passport is no longer sufficient. If one (or none) 
of the child’s parents are travelling with the child, a written declaration from the absent parent/s must be provided, granting permission for the child to travel to South Africa with those adults accompanying him/her. ​
Standard tourist visa
​Tourist visas are valid for a maximum period of 90 days from entering South Africa. This visa is issued on arrival.

On May 26, 2014, the South African government introduced a 
new law with some significant changes to the regulations related to obtaining visas for South Africa. The majority of which only have effects foreigners who live and work in South Africa and not those travelling on a tourist visa.
Regulations relating to travelling with children in South Africa
​Everyone, both South African and foreigners alike, travelling with children under the age of 18 to, through or from South Africa, will have to prove that the children in question are their own. This means:
  • Both parents travelling with child(ren) under the age of 18 have to produce a full/unabridged birth certificate for the child (both parents’ details must be on the birth certificate). Certified copies of the birth certificates are also accepted. It is no longer sufficient to merely have a statement pertaining to the child(ren) in the parent’s passport.
 
  • One parent travelling with child(ren) must have consent from the other parent in the form of an affidavit (no older than 4 months from the date of travel) or custody agreement, confirming permission to travel with child(ren). A certified copy of the absent parent’s passport must also be available for presentation upon request.
  • One parent travelling with child(ren) when the other parent has passed away, must produce a certified copy of the death certificate of deceased parent.
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  • Guardians (family member, friend) travelling with child(ren) must provide affidavits from both parents giving permission for child(ren) to travel, in addition to the valid birth certificate(s). Certified copies of their parents/ legal guardian’s passports must be available upon request.
How to apply for a birth certificate
​Currently the turnaround time between requesting and receiving a birth certificate varies from five days to three weeks – depending on the manner of application and in which country you are applying. You request the certificate from the Municipality/Council/District of Birth. To apply for a birth certificate, you must take a valid ID for both yourself and the child. The official birth certificate, the details of both the parents and the child. It is only official if it is equipped with apostilles/ notarization (certificate of authentication). An apostille or 
notarization certifies the authenticity of the signature on the document.

PLEASE NOTE: WHEN APPLYING FOR A CERTIFICATE, BE SURE TO REQUEST AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE, AND EXPRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE APOSTILLE BEING PRESENT ON THE DOCUMENT. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL COUNCIL.
What to include in the letter of consent
The signed letter must contain the parent’s official name and passport number(s), with a certified copy of the parent’s passport attached. Contact details for the parents/ legal guardian of the child(ren) must also be included. We 
recommend that you enquire at your consulate for more information.

 A sample letter can be downloaded here.
In conclusion
The new law refers only to the additional paperwork pertaining to children under 18 years of age, thus the laws regarding acquisition of a tourist visa upon entering the country does not change. Children 18 years and older are regarded as adults and need their own passport, thus no birth certificate or parental consent is required. A free 90-day tourist visa is issued upon arrival at the airport in South Africa.

Having these additional papers are as obligatory as having a passport. As such the airline may ask to see these documents at check-in. Failure to provide these documents may result in your exclusion from the flight. We thus recommend that you keep these documents in your hand luggage, for easy access.
For more information and answers to frequently asked questions please read this document 
Or contact your local South African Embassy or the South African Department of Home Affairs, 0800 60 11 90 (toll free from South Africa).

See also: http://www.news24.com/Travel/South-Africa/New-SA-regulations-for-travelling-with-kids-20140609
http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/civic-services/traveling-with-children