Citizenship by Birth
In
terms of Section 2 of the
South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 which was amended in 2010, a
citizen
by birth is someone who was already a citizen by birth prior to the
commencement of the Amendment Act or someone who was born in or outside
of the
Republic of South Africa and, at the time of the child’s birth, one or
more of
the child’s parents is/are a South African citizen/s.
Any
person, who was born in the
Republic of South Africa and does not have the citizenship of another
country
and has no entitlement to the citizenship of another country, will also
be deemed
to be a South African citizen by birth. Please keep in mind that this
is only
the case if the birth is in fact registered in the Republic of South
Africa in
accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act.
Finally,
the last category of persons that are considered to be South African
citizens
by birth is, in fact, a new addition to the South African Citizenship
Act which
was included by the Amendment Act in 2010, which states that if a
person is
born in the Republic of South Africa to parents who have been admitted
to South
Africa for Permanent Residence but are not South African citizens, such
child
will qualify to be a South African citizen by birth if such child has
lived in
the Republic of South Africa from the date of his/her birth to the date
of
becoming a major and so long as such child’s birth is registered in the
Republic of South Africa in accordance with the Births and Deaths
Registration
Act.
Citizenship by Descent
In
terms of the South African
Citizenship Act, which has been amended by the Amendment Act of 2010, a
person
shall only be a South African citizen by descent if such person has
been
adopted in accordance with the Childrens Act by a South African citizen
and
such child’s birth has been registered in South Africa in accordance
with the
Births and Deaths Registration Act.
The
Amendment Act has obviously
severely restricted the definition of a citizen by descent. Whilst a
citizen by
descent used to be a child who was born to one or more South African
Citizen
parent/s outside of South Africa, this category is now included under
citizenship
by birth.
As a result, the abovementioned instance is the only category of a citizen by descent.
Citizenship by Naturalisation
In terms of Section 5 of the South African
citizenship Act (most recently amended by Act 17 of 2010), a foreign
national who is a permanent resident of South Africa may apply for
naturalisation as a South African citizen so long as certain
requirements are met.
In order to qualify for naturalisation as a South African citizen the following requirements need to be met:
- The applicant must be a major
- The applicant must have been admitted to the Republic for permanent residence
- The applicant must be ordinarily resident in
the Republic and have been so resident for a continuous period of not
less than five years prior to making an application for naturalisation
- In order to be considered ordinarily resident in the Republic the applicant must have been residing in the Republic for at least ten years immediately preceding the date of application for naturalisation
- The applicant must be of good character
- The applicant must intend to continue to reside in South Africa
- The applicant must be able to communicate in any one of our official languages
- The applicant must have adequate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of South African citizenship
- The applicant must be a citizen of a country that allows for dual citizenship - if a citizen of a country where dual citizenship is not allowed, such applicant must renounce the citizenship of that foreign country and provide proof of renunciation
In respect of a person who is a minor who wishes
to apply for naturalisation, this can be done in respect of an
applicant who is permanently and lawfully resident in the Republic by
the responsible parent or legal guardian of that minor.
In respect of an applicant who is married to a South African citizen the period of ordinary residence that an applicant must comply with before applying for permanent residence is that the applicant must have been ordinarily resident in South Africa for a period of ten years preceding the date of application for naturalisation. Obviously during this ten year period the applicant must be or have been married to the South African citizen spouse.
Permanent residence that is granted to an applicant on the basis of marriage to a South African citizen generally contain a condition that the couple must attend an interview with the Department of Home Affairs within a two to three year period from having obtained such permanent residence. If this is not done, the applicant may not qualify for naturalisation when the time comes.
In respect of any application for naturalisation it is important to note that the applicant may not have been absent from the Republic for more than ninety days in any year during the five year period immediately preceding the date of application for naturalisation.
Late Registration of Birth
Where
a child is born to one (1)
or more South African citizen parent/s but such child’s birth is never
registered in accordance with the Births and Deaths Registration Act,
the
process that such child would need to go through in order to become a
South
African citizen is known as the late registration of birth process.
A
determination of status would
be the first step in the process which would require the Department of
Home
Affairs to investigate the child’s status and determine whether they do
indeed
have a right to South African citizenship.
If so, they would issue a document, stating that.
The
actual process of the late
registration of birth involves an interview process between the
Department of
Home Affairs, the child and the South African citizen parent/s. It is often that more than
one interview is
required with all these persons present. Please keep in mind that it is
possible that if the child’s South African citizen parent/s are not in
South
Africa to attend to such interview that a South African citizen
relative of the
child can attend on their behalf.
Unfortunately,
the process is not
an easy one due to the abuse that has been taken in respect of this
late
registration of birth process. It
is for
this reason that a number of interviews may be required between the
applicant,
the South African citizen informant and the Department of Home Affairs.
Our office can assist in respect of the determination of status process and, as such, we would suggest that you send us an e-mail confirming that this is what you require to enquiries@immigration.org.za.