Sassa Child Grant Application Requirements & How To Apply (2023)

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is pretty famous in South Africa for what it does – administering different types of grants to vulnerable citizens in the country. It is known that a lot of South Africans depend on these grants for their livelihoods and everyday living.

One of these grants is the SASSA Child Grant Support. Since its inception, a lot of folks have benefited from it. The Grant is given to many parents each year, helping many families to sustain themselves. Since it is obvious that it takes a lot of resources to take care of a child (even the basic needs), the Grant is an assistant to lower-income households to help parents take better care of their kids.

A parent will get R460 a month per child if qualified to earn the Grant. Of course, once you are a primary caregiver who is responsible for the child, you can be granted (which is, you don’t have to be the biological parents of the child). Nevertheless, you must be a South African citizen or Permanent Resident, and if you are single, your salary per month should be R4000 or less. But for married couples, their combined monthly earnings must be less than R8000. Also, one can’t get the grant for more than 6 kids who aren’t legally adopted or biological children

To be qualified for the Grant, both the caretaker and the child are expected to satisfy their individual requirements. For instance, on the part of the child, they must below 18 years old, they must not be in the care of a state institution, and are to be living with the primary caregiver in the country (a caregiver who isn’t paid to look after the kid).

How To Apply For Sassa For My Child

Talking about how to apply for this Grant for your child, we should first note that there are certain days set out for when parents are allowed to come to the SASSA offices to do so. So, as you are a caregiver wanting to apply for a child support grant from SASSA, you shouldn’t just jump into the road, but should first understand how things are appropriately done (hence, ensure you carefully read this).

To apply for the SASSA child support grant as a parent, the simple thing to do is to go to the local SASSA office nearest to where you reside, and the procedure commences. If you can get a counter service point of a Regional Office near you, you can always go there too.

It should be noted that their offices are open for these kinds of applications only on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Hence, you should not bother going there any other day of the week.

Nevertheless, it has been made easy and flexible, in the sense that, if a caregiver is sick to go to the office personally, they can send someone else to apply on their behalf. Nevertheless, such a person must come with a letter from you that confirmed that they can proceed with the application on your behalf.

At the SASSA office, you will be given a form which you are to fill appropriately in the presence of a SASSA officer. Once you are done, the officers will give you a receipt. Please, ensure you keep this very safe, as it is actually the only proof of registration they will give you.

You are to also provide the birth certificate of your child, and also submit identification documents as the caregiver. As the Grant is approved, you will be paid from the date you make the application. 

Additionally, the officers will give you a SASSA payment card, which will be utilized to access the money. Nevertheless, the caretaker may choose to request to get the payments via alternative methods. You can opt for any of the accepted banks, and the money will be sent to the account you provided.

What Documents Are Needed to Apply for Sassa Child Grant?

Sassa Child Grant Application Requirements

You can’t just stroll to the office and expect them to grant you your request – there are procedures to go through. You will have to submit certain documents before you can be attended to, and provide some information, such as:

– a South African identity document (ID) which belongs to you. It must be noted that your ID must be bar-coded so it can be acceptable.

– the child’s birth certificate will be required. It must be noted that the birth certificate must have an ID number too. This will enable the officers to ascertain the real age of the child since not all can be approved.

– your salary slip, bank statements, or pension slips. It should be noted that your bank statements should be for 3 months. You can also submit any other proof of income that you have.

– for unemployed people, they should submit their Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) card (or a discharge certificate from their previous working place)

– For folks that are not the child’s parent or guardian, you must get and submit a written note of permission from the parent or guardian of the child, approving that you can take care of the kid. Additionally, you are to give information about how you have tried to get the parents to pay maintenance 

– If you are the parent or guardian, you are to give information that shows that you are the child’s primary caregiver.

It should be noted that the essence of all of these is to ensure the Grant only gets to folks that really need it. Once you have been able to go through the initial stress and efforts, the rest is easy. Of course, this grant is vital income support for many folks in South Africa, which is also complemented by other services like free education and school feeding programs.

Can I Apply For Sassa Child Grant Online

Yes, you can do so. Simply open the SASSA services website with your computer, and click on ‘Apply for a grant’. You can proceed from there. Of course, the requirements are the same, either you are doing it online or offline. Additionally, the required documents to remain the same – they are compulsory. If you don’t know how to go about this, then you should simply ask someone to assist you.

Sassa Child Grant Age Limit

Only children under 18 years old are qualified for the SASSA child support Grant. You should therefore note that one of the requirements for getting the Grant is that the caregiver must submit the child’s birth certificate to the officers, which they will use to confirm the child’s real age.

If after the checks, it was discovered that the child is over 18, the Grant won’t be approved for you, even if you submitted other documents and information appropriately.

Sassa Child Grant Application Form

You can set things in motion using the internet, from the comfort of your home. Here is the direct link that will take you to the agency’s official page for child grant application: sassa.gov.za/Pages/Child-Support-Grant.aspx

Since the government of South Africa is trying to see to it that this grant will cover all children in South Africa (so all parents will be able to take good care of their wards in an appropriate and adequate manner), it is cool to make application as easy and flexible as possible. As a caregiver, you can always visit SASSA official website to learn more about how things should go.

Sassa Child Grant Pay Dates

This is the payment schedule for the child grant, highlighted from

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Conclusion

The child support grant, provided by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), is one of the best initiatives from the government of South Africa, as there are many folks in the country struggling to take good care of their kids. But the Grant will enable parents with the costs of the basic needs of their wards. 

As a caregiver, all you have to do is to apply either online or offline, as far as you are qualified for the Child Support Grant, meeting the specific requirements already put in place. As discussed earlier, there are requirements you must meet as a caregiver, and there are requirements the child too must meet. For instance, you must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee, living in the country (including the child). Even the child must be born after 31 December 1993 before they can qualify.

Finally, you can always contact SASSA’s toll-free number on 0800 60 10 11 or 013 754 9428/54 for more information and clarification on anything that concerns child support grants in South Africa.