We have successfully solved the problem of getting the paperwork done to patriate a boy to his mother in Switzerland.
His grandmother, and guardian, contacted us through an email requesting our help. In her words: “We have our grandson, 11 years old (Swiss and South African citizen), in our care since 6 months as safe house by court order. The boy was found completely neglected on the street by his fathers house on 24 of September 2019. It has been proven that the father has not sent his son to school, for the better part of 2019.
He has been left by himself at home where often no electricity and often no clean water was available, with no warm food or care. The father has allegedly severe drug (meth) and alcohol problems. Since the child is in our care, the father has since not once contacted his son in our care.”
She further wrote that the child needed special schooling that was not available in South Africa. She said that the patriating case was dragging on for approximately 6 months up to the point that she contacted us in April 2020. Nobody would give her answers on the status of the case and that’s when she contacted us.
After painstaikingly tracing the case along the chain of offices, that the case had to go through, we finally reached the correct office, where the problem was, after two weeks of emails and whatsapps.
We got the information from the Switzerland office, on 22.05.2020, that they have finally received the file to wrap things up on their side.
Needless to say, the family are extremely happy that it has finally reached the point where he could apply for a passport to go to his mother in Switzerland.