as it requires that a screening committee is convened to assess such applications.36 The requirements for a late registration differ depending on whether a child was born to South African parents, permanent residents, refugees, or other non-nationals. Foreign Children c. Since the last reporting cycle, amendments to the Refugees Act have gone into effect implementing a more punitive, bureaucratic and restrictive regime. 37 In 2018, a draft amendment to the Regulations on the BDRA was also published for comment. 38 According to the BDRA draft regulations, foreign children will be issued with a confirmation of birth and not a birth certificate, 39 and will have to approach their embassies for birth certificates.40 Access to embassies for foreign children is difficult as most embassies are situated in Pretoria, and some states do not have diplomatic representation in South Africa. An additional challenge occurs when embassies only provide limited services and do not issue birth certificates. d. Further, practices regarding the types of birth certificates issued have been inconsistent. At the time of writing, foreign children born in Cape Town are issued with a hand-written birth certificate, meaning that the birth is not entered into South Africa’s National Population Register nor captured digitally. As of 2022, organisations have received reports that the DHA does not re-issue hand-written birth certificates should they be lost or damaged, leaving many parents who have lost birth certificates unable to replace birth certificates. Ultimately, these children are denied proof of nationality and are at increased risk of statelessness. Covid-19 e. Barriers to accessing birth registration have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures in which a National State of Disaster was declared. All DHA offices were closed for a six-week period, and RROs remain closed to date. This created a backlog of birth registrations and an increase in expired immigration documentation. The South African government should be commended for aiming to ensure that birth registration remained accessible during this period through providing relevant services at hospitals and maternity clinics and for extending the period by which a birth needs to be registered from thirty days to twelve months. Additionally, blanket extensions were issued throughout the pandemic for those whose immigration documentation expired during the period. 36 BDRA Regulation 6(4). In February 2022, an official from a DHA office in Cape Town reported the screening committee is currently dealing with applications from 2017-18. 37 Refugee Amendment Acts amending the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 38 The draft regulations have not yet been finalised and are not in force. https://static.pmg.org.za/181012draftregregistrationofbirthsdeaths.pdf 39 A ‘confirmation of birth certificate’ will result in foreign children being unable to receive birth certificates and will have a significant impact on their ability to access services, basic rights and prove nationality. This provision, if enacted, will place many foreign children at risk of statelessness. 40 BDRA Draft Regulation 7. This draft regulation conflicts with sections 2(2) and 4(3) of the Citizenship Act which require foreign children to be in possession of birth certificate to apply for citizenship, as well as sub regulation 4(1) of Refugees Regulations which states that asylum seekers and refugees who approach their embassy may be deemed to have ‘re-availed’ themselves to the protection of their country and may have their status withdrawn. 7