Hi , as of the 01.of june this year there is a new legislation when travveling in or out of South Africa with a child.

I am going on a safari at the end of this month with two of my sons, and the youngest is under 18.

I have to bring an un abridged birth certificate in english , an affydavit from my ex wife , stating that I am allowed to travel with the kid.
That document has to stamped with a notarius public stamp and a apostille stamp..

These rules are to prevent kidnapping of minors and will definetly be good, but I suspect there will be some issues in the start.

I suspect there are similar rules in all the african countrys , but I have only checked up on RSA.

regards
Jostein

Not really new in the U.S. A few years back when traveling with my daughter, we would have to the same on all international flights. It got so bad that the consent letter from the ex, had to give details and dates of travel. It can turn into a real problem if the ex can't be reached on an impulse trip, or even worse, some type of trip delay. Got stuck in Mexico once and had been smart enough to get creative with the letter. There were other travelers that weren't as creative. Remember, the document checkers aren't real sure how to authicate an American document.

I once used our corporate seal to stamp a copy of her birth certificate. Flew right through.