Chris de Beer-Procter<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a sunny morning in Johannesburg and a cautiously optimistic yet tense Phillip L\u00fchl is eating breakfast at a table in a relative\u2019s home. \u201cThe waiting is the worst,\u201d he says, barely lifting his eyes from his phone. His sleepy newborns coo from a nearby room.<\/p>\n
[…]<\/p>\n
Phillip and Guillermo\u2019s legal troubles started in 2019, when their first child, Yona, was born, also through surrogacy in South Africa. The Namibian ministry of home affairs refused to grant Yona his citizenship through descent, even though Phillip is a fifth-generation Namibian and Yona\u2019s birth certificate, which was issued by South Africa\u2019s high court, states clearly that Phillip and Guillermo are the sole parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when the whole DNA story came up \u2014 they say that they require proof of a genetic link between myself and the children,\u201d Phillip tells me between bites of his breakfast.<\/p>\n
Namibian authorities have claimed that such a biological link is a prerequisite for citizenship by descent, even though there is no such written law in Namibia\u2019s constitution or Children\u2019s Act. Complicating matters further is the fact that Namibia has no laws surrounding surrogacy.<\/p>\n