# Birth Certificate Missing Mother's Name - Need Advice!



## kate_for_heidi (Feb 1, 2011)

Hi!

I'm posting here on behalf of my friend Heidi, who is currently residing in Cape Town and only has internet on her phone, making it difficult to use these forums.

She moved to Cape Town about a year ago from the U.S. and married a South African citizen. In early January, she gave birth to a baby boy. Recently she received an abridged copy of the baby's birth certificate (question 1 - why abridged?), and here's the best part - *her name is not on the certificate!* At all. Only her husband, the father of the baby, is listed on the birth certificate, but she's missing completely.

So, the question is - how can this problem be fixed? If her name is not on her baby's birth certificate, how is she ever to prove that he is her son?

Urgently awaiting your responses!

Thank you!


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## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

Unfortunately the only advice I can give is that she should contact Dept of Home affairs ( nightmare I know)
http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/Birth certificates.html


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

At the time of the birth, someone, (the father) would have had to fill out a form registering the Birth.
he may have neglected to fill in the mothers name.

if leaving the Mothers name out(which is strange ) was intentional, then she has a problem.
She needs to get affadavits from the Hospital as well as the attending Doctor/Gynae affirming her as the mother.

the abridged Birth Cert is normal as that is used for School/Uni/ ID/ SA Passport etc.. 
the long form Birth Cert is needed for Foreign birth reg and passports.
you can get that from HA easily but takes time.

If she and the father are not on speaking terms she needs to consult an attorney, pronto.
if not, they need to sort it out and also register the child as a foreign birth with the US embassy
just in case.


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## Jean Roux (Feb 15, 2011)

*Re Heidi*

I have been in the same boat with the abridged birth certificate which does not list my parents and it has caused a lifetime of stress. My sister is in the same boat right now with her son who has the hospital certificate written in Afrikaans and the authorities in the Eastern Cape refuse to accept it and issue an official birth certificate. I can only suggest that it is critical Heidi gets it resolved ASAP with homeland security and she may need to get the help of a lawyer or someone who is skilled in intervening with the government system. The longer she waits, the more impossible it will be to get it fixed.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2011)

The problem with the birth certificate is not simply an administrative one. 

Unfortunately, there are a number of foreign nationals that *pay* to have their names placed on South African birth certificates, as this provides a way to apply for Permanent Residency. 

What happened in the past is that if a foreign national had been indicated as a parent on the birth certificate, and some time later the other parent (the South African) went to Home Affairs and claimed that a mistake had been made, and that the father was in fact someone else. 

At that stage the "original father" had already received Permanent Residency and could not be traced in order to verify whether or not they were the actual biological father.

Consequently, Home Affairs is extremely hesitant to amend birth certificates, simply because this has been abused in the past.

The only solution is to be persistent and keep on visiting Home Affairs and pushing for a result. Best would be to get affidavits, have paternity tests done and in the last resort seek the assistance of an attorney.


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## EthenGroom (Feb 1, 2011)

Hi

What a mess! I would advice that she get a letter (affidavit) from the doctor/physician/ nurse who helped her to give birth. Hopefully she did not have a home birth.


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