AUTISTIC teenager Alexander Haddow will be able to return to South Africa as long as he does so on his South African passport.
This is after the 14-year-old South African citizen was forced to sign a declaration of undesirability at OR Tambo International Airport in August while travelling to the UK on his British documents because his South African passport had expired.
A declaration of undesirability can carry a ban on returning to South Africa for up to five years.
It took the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) six months to respond adequately to the family regarding the matter.
The Cape Times' sister newspaper, The Star, first broke the story in November after the family made multiple attempts to contact the DHA but did not receive a response.
However, despite the long wait, concrete answers were supplied yesterday by DHA spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete, who emphasised that a South African citizen cannot be declared undesirable.
“We understand his South African passport expired, he has dual citizenship, and that he has been interchanging passports and using his British passport to enter and exit the country.
“As a South African citizen he must enter and exit the country on his South African passport. Our advice to the parents is to please renew his passport or apply for an emergency passport at the embassy.”
Tshwete said the situation arose because Alexander had entered South Africa on his British passport following his last visit to the UK. “He came in as a British citizen… by doing so, when he left, to the immigration officer he had overstayed. The immigration officer was not aware of his condition.
“The incident was unfortunate and we are apologetic for what this child had to go through,” he said.
Tshwete said they were using this opportunity to urge South Africans with dual citizenship to please use their South African documents when entering and exiting the country. “We appeal to South Africans to travel within the confines of the law.
“We call on you to renew their passports and not allow them to expire,” he added.
In August, Alexander, affectionately known as Sasha by his family, was travelling to England to visit his father and for schooling purposes.
“Being autistic, he has the developmental level of a five-year-old. He can't be asked too many questions,” explained his mom, Tanya Goldberg.
She explained that there aren't many schools locally that cater for autistic children, which led his parents to decide to send him to his father in England, where he has been enrolled in a special school.