At least 250 000 people have been waiting years for their applications for late birth registration to be processed. And this is a conservative estimate, the Children’s Institute says in its papers filed with the Western Cape High Court, according to a GroundUp report.

The court application seeks to put the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on terms to take action to tackle the backlog.

The institute, represented by the Legal Resources Centre, says the department’s tardy approach to this issue, which affects fundamental rights of children and their parents and caregivers, must be declared unconstitutional. It wants the court to order that the DHA develop a clear and comprehensive plan to tackle the backlog and prevent future backlogs.

Generally, without birth certificates, children cannot get identity documents. And without proof of identity it is very difficult to access the schooling system. They cannot operate within the formal economy and battle to access social grants.

‘They find themselves pushed further and further to the fringes of society,’ legal researcher Mbonisi Nyathi says in his affidavit.

Since launching the application on behalf of 15 affected clients, the DHA has taken action to resolve these particular cases.

In a ‘briefing note’, senior researcher Paula Proudlock says the 15 caregivers involved in the case are primarily mothers, while others are fathers, relatives, foster parents and prospective adoptive parents, who have all lodged applications with Home Affairs for the late registration of their children’s births (and in two instances for their own births).

‘Despite submitting all the necessary documents and complying with the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act and its regulations, they have been forced to wait for between two and seven years for Home Affairs to decide their applications....’ Proudlock said, according to the GroundUp report.

‘Since belatedly becoming aware of the litigation in late May 2025, Home Affairs had prioritised holding interviews to finalise the applications of the 15 caregivers who are involved in our case,’ she said.

‘Ten of the 15 individuals have to date been issued with birth certificates.’

Nyathi said while the DHA had promised to address backlogs for temporary resident and permanent resident permits and unabridged marriage and death certificates, no mention had been made of the late birth application backlog.

The government respondents, including the Minister and DG of Home Affairs, have 30 days to file opposing affidavits.

Full GroundUp report