Parents who share children after a separation are being urged to sort out passport and travel consent well ahead of the December school holidays, according to Martin Vermaak Attorneys. The South African divorce and family law firm, which has offices in Sandton, Pretoria, Umhlanga and Cape Town, has set out how consent works when a child needs a passport or will be travelling outside the country. Because many families lock in their year-end plans during October, the firm recommends dealing with consent now, not in the final days before departure. (SANDTON, October 2026)
When both parents share a home and agree on the trip, applying for a child’s passport is normally straightforward. It is far less simple for parents who are separated, divorced or never lived together. A typical example is one parent hoping to take the children overseas to see family while the other refuses to sign, can’t be contacted or doesn’t show up for the application. Martin Vermaak Attorneys says disputes like these tend to come to a head during the busiest period of the year.
Whose consent is needed
Section 18 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 makes consent to a child’s passport application one of the responsibilities and rights that come with guardianship. The default position is in section 18(5): if more than one person is a guardian, every guardian must consent unless a competent court orders otherwise.
According to the firm, the more useful question is who legally holds guardianship of the child, not just whether both parents agree. The answer can turn on the circumstances of the child’s birth, section 21 of the Children’s Act, adoption, a parental responsibilities and rights agreement, a parenting plan, a court order, the death of a guardian, or an order awarding sole guardianship. If only one person is a guardian, there may be no second guardian who needs to consent.
Why a passport alone is not enough
A misconception the firm deals with often is that once a child has a passport, nothing else is needed. That is not the case. South African law looks at three separate questions: may the child get a passport, may the child leave South Africa for a specific trip, and may the child relocate permanently to another country.
Section 18(3)(c)(iv) covers consent to the passport application. Consent to a child’s departure or removal from South Africa is a separate matter under section 18(3)(c)(iii), read with the current travel document requirements. Moving abroad permanently calls for a wider relocation enquiry centred on the child’s best interests. So a parent can get an order permitting a passport application and still need separate consent, or a court order, before the child leaves the country.
This distinction is important for anyone planning to travel in December. Getting the passport in October is only one step, and consent for the specific trip also has to be arranged.
If a guardian will not agree
The Children’s Act accepts that guardians will sometimes disagree, and section 18(5) lets a competent court order that the consent of every guardian is not needed in the circumstances. Depending on the facts and what is being asked for, a court may order a guardian to cooperate or sign documents, declare a guardian’s consent unnecessary, excuse a guardian from attending the passport application, authorise someone else to complete a procedural step, or attach safeguards and conditions.
A refusal does not automatically mean going straight to court. The firm’s experienced divorce lawyers usually start by checking whether the person refusing is legally a guardian, reviewing what any existing orders or parenting plan say, and identifying the real practical obstacle. How a court order is worded is important, because it has to deal with the exact problem stopping Home Affairs from processing the application.
A trip or a move?
Martin Vermaak Attorneys also helps parents tell a holiday apart from a relocation. Under the Children’s Act, moving within South Africa, for example from Johannesburg to Cape Town, does not automatically need the other parent’s consent. Even so, section 31, existing court orders, parenting plans and the child’s best interests still apply, especially when the move affects schooling, routines or contact.
Relocating permanently outside South Africa is treated differently. The child’s removal from the country will ordinarily need the required guardian consent, and if consent is withheld, the parent may have to seek suitable court relief. A court may look at the proposed country, schooling, accommodation, contact with the parent staying in South Africa, travel costs and the relocation plan as a whole.
One part of a broader practice
Passport and travel disputes often come up together with other legal issues. Martin Vermaak Attorneys has more than twenty years of experience in divorce and family law. Its divorce attorneys act in contested, uncontested and high-net-worth divorces, international divorces, child custody and parental responsibilities and rights, spousal and child maintenance, and domestic violence and protection orders.
The firm’s family law lawyers also help with antenuptial agreements, changes to a matrimonial property regime, notarial services, and estate planning and administration. The firm aims to give clear, structured advice so that clients understand their rights and obligations and the legal processes available to them under South African law.
The firm’s advice to parents who expect a dispute over December travel is to start early. Collecting existing court orders or the parenting plan, confirming who the guardians are and discussing the travel plan with the other parent well before the holidays leaves enough time to reach agreement, or to go to court if needed.
Presence in three provinces
Martin Vermaak Attorneys has its head office at The Station, 63 Peter Place, Bryanston, Sandton, with further offices at Brooklyn Bridge Office Park in Pretoria, Ridgeside in Umhlanga and Wale Street in central Cape Town. It serves clients in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and beyond. Private consultation rooms at selected venues in Gauteng, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal can be booked by appointment.
Parents who want to talk to family lawyers about passport consent, holiday travel or relocation can ask for a free, no-obligation callback on the firm’s website. This release contains general information only and is not legal advice for any individual matter. Further details can be found at https://www.martinvermaak.co.za/.
About Martin Vermaak Attorneys
Martin Vermaak Attorneys is a divorce and family law firm in South Africa with more than two decades of experience. Its work covers contested, uncontested and high-net-worth divorces, child custody and parental rights, spousal and child maintenance, domestic violence and protection orders, antenuptial agreements and changes to a marital regime, and estate planning and administration. The firm has offices in Sandton (head office in Bryanston), Pretoria, Umhlanga (Durban) and Cape Town.
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Martin Vermaak Attorneys
Email: clientrelations@martinvermaak.co.za
Phone: +27 87 822 1639
Website: https://www.martinvermaak.co.za/
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