Loss of South African Citizenship
Deprivation of Citizenship on Grounds of Using Citizenship of
Consequences of Loss of South African Citizenship
Status of Persons who cease to be South African Citizens
Saving of Obligations Incurred before Loss of Citizenship
Resumption of South African Citizenship
2.
Any person,
(a)
who immediately prior
to the date of commencement of this Act, was a South African citizen by birth;
or
(b)
who is born in the Republic
on or after the date of commencement of this Act; or
(c)
who is by virtue of
section 3(1)(b) a South African citizen, and one of his or her parents or his
or her mother if he or she was born out of wedlock, was at the time of such
person’s birth -
(i)
in the service of the
Government of the Republic; or
(ii)
the representative or
employee of a person or an association of persons resident or established in
the Republic; or
(iii)
in the service of an
international organization of which the Government of the Republic was then a
member, shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), be a South
African citizen by birth.
2. No person shall be a South African citizen by virtue
of subsection (1)(b) if, at the time of his or her birth, one of his or her
parents -
(a) was a person enjoying diplomatic immunity in the
Republic in terms of any law relating to diplomatic privileges, or was a career
representative of the government of another country, or was a person employed
in the embassy or legation of such a government or in the office of such a
career representative, or was a member of the household or an employee of any
such person; or
(b) had not been lawfully admitted to the Republic for
permanent residence therein, and his or her other parent was not a South
African citizen.
2. No person who, after having ceased to be a South
African citizen, at any time thereafter acquires South African citizenship by
naturalization in the Republic, shall be a South African citizen by birth.
2. Any person born in the Republic and who is not a
South African citizen by virtue of the provisions of subsection (2), shall be a
South African citizen by birth if :
(a) he or she is adopted by a South African citizen in
accordance with the Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983); or
(i) he
or she does not have the citizenship or nationality of any other country, or
has not right to such citizenship or nationality; and
(ii) his
or her birth Is registered in the Republic in accordance with the births and
Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992).
Any person
1. (a) who, immediately prior to the date
of commencement of this Act, was a South African citizen by descent; or
(b) who is born outside the Republic on or after
the date of commencement of this Act, and –
(i)
one of whose parents
was, at the time of his or her birth, a South African citizen and whose birth is registered in terms of the
provisions of section 13 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act
No. 51 of 1992); or
(ii)
to who’s responsible
parent a certificate of the resumption of previous South African citizenship
has, in terms of section 13(3), been issued, and who has entered the Republic
for permanent residence therein becoming a major, and whose birth is within one
year after the date of issue of such certificate, or such longer period as the
Minister in the special circumstances of the case may approve, registered in
the Republic in the prescribed manner; or
(iii)
who is adopted in terms
of the provisions of the Child Care Act, 1983 (Act No. 74 of 1983), by a South
African citizen and whose birth is registered in accordance with the provisions
of subparagraph (i), shall subject to the provisions of subsection (2), be a
South African citizen by descent.
2. No
person who, after having ceased to be a South African citizen, at any time
thereafter acquires South African citizenship by naturalization in the
Republic, shall be a South African citizen by descent.
1. Any
person
(a) who,
immediately prior to the date of commencement of this Act—
(i)
was a South African
Citizen by naturalization; or
(ii)
was or was deemed to be
a South African citizen by registration; or
(iii)
was a citizen by naturalization
of any of the former states; or
(c) who, on or after the date of commencement of this
Act, is granted a certificate of naturalization as a South African citizen in
terms of section 5, shall be a South African citizen by naturalization.
2. Any
person referred to in subsection (1)(b) shall, with effect from the date of the
issue of the certificate, be a South African citizen by naturalization.
1. The
Minister may, upon application in the prescribed form, grant a certificate of
naturalization as a South African citizen to any alien who satisfies the
Minister that -
(a) he or she
is not a minor; and
(b) he or she
has been lawfully admitted to the Republic for permanent residence therein; and
(c) he or she
is ordinarily resident in the Republic and that he or she has been so resident
for a continuous period of not less than one year immediately preceding the
date of his or her application, and that he or she has, in addition, been
resident in the Republic for a further period of not less than four years
during the eight years immediately preceding the date of his or her
application; and
(d) he or she
is of good character; and
(e) he or she
intends to continue to reside in the Republic or to enter or continue in the
service of the Government of the Republic or of an international organization
of which the Government of the Republic is a member of or a person or
association of persons resident or established in the Republic; and
(f) he or she
is able to communicate in any one of the official languages of the Republic to
the satisfaction of the Minister; and
(g)
he or she has an
adequate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of South African
citizenship.
2.
Any period during which
an applicant for naturalization has been employed outside the Republic in the
service of the Government of the
Republic (otherwise than as a person engaged locally) or on a ship or
aircraft or a public means of transport registered or licensed in and operating from the Republic, and any period
during which an applicant for
naturalization has been resident outside the Republic with his or her spouse while the latter was so employed,
shall, for the purposes of subsection
(a)
be regarded as a period
of residence or ordinary residence in the Republic,
(b)
For the purposes of
subsection (1) the Minister may, in his or her discretion, regard as a period
of residence or ordinary residence in the Republic any period during which an
applicant for naturalization has been employed outside the Republic on a ship,
aircraft or public means of transport operating from the Republic, and any
period during which an applicant for naturalization has been resident outside
the Republic with his or her spouse while the latter was so employed,
notwithstanding the fact that such ship, aircraft or public means of transport
was not registered or licensed in the Republic.
3. Any
period during which an applicant for naturalization -
(a)
is or was confined in a
prison or other place of detention in the Republic after being convicted; or
(b)
has sojourned in the
Republic, either conditionally, temporarily or in contravention of any law in
force in the Republic, shall for the purpose of subsection (1), not be regarded
as a period of residence or ordinary residence in the Republic.
4. The
Minister may, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), upon
application in the prescribed form by the responsible parent or the guardian of
a minor who is permanently and lawfully resident in the Republic, grant to that
minor a certificate of naturalization as a South African citizen.
5. The
Minister may, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) , upon
application in the prescribed form, grant a certificate of naturalization as a
South African citizen to a person who is an alien and who satisfies the
Minister that—
(a)
in the case of a man,
he is the husband or widower, or in the case of a woman, she is the wife or
widow, of a South African citizen and he or she has been lawfully admitted to
the Republic for permanent residence
therein and has resided in the Republic for a period of not less than
two years immediately preceding the date of his or her application and after
the date of his or her marriage to such citizen; or
(b)
he or she is the spouse of a South African
citizen, and he or she has in terms of any law relating to the control of the
admission of aliens obtained permission to enter the Republic for permanent
residence therein and he or she has resided with his or her spouse in the
Republic or, while he or she was employed in the service of the Government of
the Republic, outside the Republic for a period of not less than two years.
6. A
certificate of naturalization shall not be issued to any person over the age of
18 years before that person has made the declaration of allegiance set forth in
Schedule 1.
7. The
Minister may in respect of any person who has applied for a certificate of
naturalization make such enquiries as the Minister may deem fit, and require
such a person to appear personally before him or her or a person designated by
him or her.
8. If the
Minister has refused an application for a certificate of naturalization by or
on behalf of any person, the Minister shall not be obliged to reconsider such
application at any time, but shall not consider another application for a
certificate of naturalization by or on behalf of such person until the
expiration of a period of at least one year from the date upon which the person
in question was advised of the Minister’s decision: Provided that the Minister
shall at any time reconsider an application if he or she receives any new
information regarding the applicant which may influence his or her original
decision.
Loss of South
African Citizenship
1.
Subject to the
provision of subsection (2), a South African citizen shall cease to be a South
African citizen if -
(a) he or she, whilst not being a minor, by some
voluntary and formal act other than marriage, acquires the citizenship or
nationality of a country other than the Republic; or
(b) he or she in terms of the laws of any other country
also has the citizenship or nationality of that country, and serves in the
armed forces of such country while that country is at war with the Republic. Any person referred to in subsection (1)
may, prior to his or her loss of South African citizenship in terms of this
section, apply to the Minister to retain his or her South African citizenship,
and the Minister may, if he or she deems it fit, order such retention.
(a)
The Minister shall upon receipt of a declaration made
under this section cause such declaration to be registered in the manner prescribed,
and thereupon the person who made the declaration shall cease to be a South
African citizen.
(b)
Whenever a person ceases under subsection (2) to be a
South African citizen, his or her minor children who are under the age of 18
years shall also cease to be South African citizens if the other parent of such
children is not, or does not remain, a South African citizen.
1. The Minister may by order deprive any South African citizen
naturalization or his or her South African citizenship if he or she is
satisfied that—
(a)
the certificate of
naturalization was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the
concealment of a material fact; or
(b) such
certificate was granted in conflict with the provisions of this Act or any
prior law.
2.
The Minister may by
order deprive a South African citizen who also has the citizenship or
nationality of any other country of his or her South African citizenship if -
(a) such citizen has at any time been sentenced in any
country to a period of imprisonment of not less than 12 months for any offence
which, if it was committed outside the Republic, would also have constituted an
offence in the Republic; or
(b) the Minister is satisfied that it is in the public
interest that such citizen shall cease to be a South African citizen.
3. Whenever
the Minister deprives a person of his or her South African citizenship under
this section or section 9 or 10, that person shall cease to be a South African
citizen with effect from such date as the Minister may direct and thereupon the
certificate of naturalization or any other certificate issued under this Act in
relation to the status of the person concerned shall be surrendered to the
Minister and cancelled, and any person who refuses or fails on demand to
surrender any such certificate which he or she has in his or her possession,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.
Deprivation of
Citizenship on Grounds of Using Citizenship of Another Country
The
Minister may by order deprive a South African citizen of his or her South
African citizenship if he or she also has the citizenship or nationality of
another country, and has at any time made use of the franchise or the passport
facilities of that country or performed such other voluntary act which, to the
satisfaction of the Minister, indicated that such citizen has made use of the
citizenship or nationality of the other country.
Deprivation of
Citizenship in Case of Children
Whenever
the responsible parent of a minor has in terms of the provisions of section 6, 8
or 9 ceased to be a South African citizen, the Minister may, with due regard to
the provisions of the Guardianship Act, 1993 (Act No. 192 of 1993), order that
such minor, is he or she was born outside the Republic and is under the age of
18 years, shall cease to be a South African citizen.
Status of Persons
who cease to be South African Citizens
11. (1)
Whenever a person, under the provisions of section 8, ceases to be a South
African citizen, he or she shall be regarded as having the citizenship or
nationality which he or she had before he or she became a South African
citizen.
(2)
Whenever a person,
under the provisions of section 10, ceases to be a South African citizen, he or
she shall be regarded as having the citizenship or nationality which he or she
had before he or she became a South African citizen, and, if he or she had no
other citizenship or nationality, he or she shall be regarded as having the
citizenship or nationality of his or her responsible parent.
(3)
Whenever a South
African citizen by naturalization, under the provisions of section 6, 7, 8, 9
or 10, ceases to be a South African citizen, he or she shall for the purposes
of the Aliens Control Act, 1991 (Act No. 96 of 1991), but subject to the provisions
of subsection (4), be deemed to be an
alien who is not -
(4) in possession of ir not deemed to be in possession of
a permit referred to in section 25 or 26 or that Act; or
(5) in terms of section 28(2) of the said Act exempted or
deemed to be exempted from the prohibition in section 23(of that Act.
(6)
The Minister may at any
time, unconditionally or subject to such conditions as he or she may deem fit,
exempt any person for a definite or an indefinite period from the provisions of
subsection (3).
Saving of
Obligations Incurred before Loss of Citizenship
12. Whenever a
person ceases to be a South African citizen he or she shall not thereby be
discharged from any obligation, duty or liability in respect of any act done or
committed before he or she ceased to be a South African citizen.
Resumption of South
African Citizenship
13. (1) The Minister may, in such cases as he or she deems
fit, withdraw any order made under section 9 and thereupon the person concerned
shall, with effect from such date as the Minister may direct, resume the form
of South African citizenship of which he or she was deprived by that order.
(2) A minor who has in terms of section 10 or a provision in any of
the laws referred to in Schedule 2 ceased to be a South African citizen and who
is resident in the Republic or has returned to the Republic for permanent
residence therein, may at any time after attaining the age of 18 years make a
declaration in the prescribed form stating that he or she wishes to resume
South African citizenship, and if the Minister deems fit, he or she may order
that such a declaration be registered, and upon registration thereof, such person
shall resume his or her former South African citizenship.
(3) (a) Any
person who in terms of the provisions of section 6, 7, 9 or 10 ceased to be a
South African citizen, may -
(i) if he
or she is not a person referred to in section 11(3) and returns to the Republic
for permanent residence therein or intends residing permanently in the
Republic, as the case may be; or
(ii) if he
or she is a person referred to in section 11(3) and a permit for permanent
residence referred to in section 25 of the Aliens Control Act, 1991 (Act 96 of
1991), is issued to him or her, apply to the Minister in the prescribed form
for the resumption of his or her former South African citizenship if the
Minister is satisfied that the grounds for the loss or deprivation of his or
her South African citizenship no longer exists or are of any consequence, and
issue to him or her a certificate to that effect in the prescribed form.
(4) The
provisions of section 5(7) shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect of a
certificate referred to in subsection (3) (b).