Dear Minister Schreiber,

I write to you publicly, as a last resort, after five years of attempting to obtain a routine Unabridged Marriage Certificate from your Department — and after receiving not a single acknowledgement to formal written correspondence sent to your office and to the Director General.

My elderly mother, now 83 years of age and in declining health, has paid for this certificate FOUR times across four separate Home Affairs offices. She has received either the wrong document or nothing at all. The most recent submission, made at a Home Affairs office in the Southern Cape in October 2025, was subsequently found to have never been logged on the national system — despite payment having been accepted. The 2023 Pretoria request remains active on the system but unattended after nearly three years.

Since February 2026, I have contacted the 0800 601 190 helpline on her behalf every two weeks without exception. The response has been the same every single time: "not yet received." Escalation requests were made repeatedly. Supervisor callbacks were promised and never received. I have a full log of every interaction.

This certificate is required to complete a hereditary dual citizenship application — a constitutionally protected right — and time is not on our side given my mother's age and health.

Minister, you have publicly committed to "delivering dignity" and to fixing the basics at Home Affairs. You have spoken of zero tolerance for failure and of a department that works for all South Africans. I believe you mean it. But right now, for one 83-year-old South African citizen, the Department has taken money four times and delivered nothing.

I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for what was paid for, and what the law entitles her to.

I respectfully request that your office intervene to locate and action the outstanding 2023 Pretoria request, investigate the unlogged October 2025 payment at the Southern Cape office, and provide a named contact and case reference so this matter can finally be resolved.

I am willing to travel anywhere in Gauteng to collect the document personally.

Respectfully,
A concerned son, acting on behalf of his elderly mother
Gauteng, South Africa