,Peter was born out of wedlock, outside the Republic, on 5 June 1998, and his
mother, at the time of his birth, was not in the service of the government of the
Republic. Does Peter qualify for citizenship by birth? Advise him.
A person born outside the Republic qualifies for citizenship by birth on or after the
date of commencement of the Citizenship Act (1995) if, among other things, his or
her parents or his or her mother (if he or she was born out of wedlock) was in the
service of the Government of the Republic. Since Peter’s mother was not in the
service of the South African government at the time of Peter’s birth, Peter does not
qualify for citizenship by birth in South Africa
Themba was born in the Republic on 5 June 1998. His father was a career
representative of the government of Zambia. Does Themba qualify for citizenship by
birth in South Africa? Give a reason or reasons for your answer.
South African citizenship by birth is not extended to a person born in the Republic on
or after the date of commencement of the Citizenship Act if, at the time of his or her
birth, one of his parents was a career representative of the government of another
country. Therefore, since Themba’s father was a career representative of Zambia,
Themba does not qualify for citizenship by birth in South Africa.
Explain the instances that could enable Themba to qualify for citizenship by birth in
South Africa.
Themba will only qualify for citizenship by birth if :
(a) he is legally adopted by a South African citizen, or
(b) he does not have the citizenship or nationality of any other country, or has no
right to such citizenship or nationality, and
(c) his birth is registered in the Republic in accordance with the Births and Deaths
Registration Act 51 of 1992
Briefly explain the legislative history of South African citizenship law.
1. The South African Citizenship Act 49 of 1949
2. The Commonwealth Relations Act 69 of 1962
3. The Black Homelands Citizenship Act 26 of 1970
4. The Restoration of South African Citizenship Act 73 of 1986
5. The Restoration and Extension of South African Citizenship Act 196 of 1993
6. The 1993 Interim Constitution
7. The 1996 Constitution
Sipho, a foreigner, was convicted of rape and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment
in 2001. He served his nine years’ sentence in the Pretoria prison. He comes to you
for advice and he tells you that he wants to apply for a certificate of naturalisation
after having been in South Africa for 10 years. Will he be issued with a certificate of
naturalisation? Advise him.
, You need to determine whether a period a foreigner served in prison is deemed to
be a period of residence or ordinary residence for the purposes of issuing a
certificate of naturalisation. Your answer should be no because Sipho spent nine
years in prison. The Minister, in this case, would not be willing to make use of his
discretion to grant Sipho a certificate of naturalisation under exceptional
circumstances. Therefore, Sipho does not qualify for a certificate of naturalisation.
Sipho holds both South African citizenship and Canadian citizenship. He has just
learnt that he has been deprived of his South African citizenship. He comes to you
for advice – he tells you that the reason why he is being deprived of his citizenship is
that he was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for bank robbery in
Canada. He wants to know whether his deprivation of citizenship is in accordance
with the law. Advise him.
Your answer should be yes. Sipho has been deprived of his citizenship in a lawful
manner. The reason is that the Citizenship Act allows one to be deprived of one’s
citizenship if one holds dual citizenship and has been convicted in another country
for a period of not less than 12 months for an offence which is also regarded as an
offence in South Africa.
Explain the consequences of loss of citizenship by children deprived of their
citizenship because their parents have ceased to be South African citizens through
voluntarily obtaining citizenship of another country without requesting the retention of
South African citizenship or as a result of deprivation.
Children born outside the Republic and who have been deprived of their citizenship,
because their parents have ceased to be South African citizens by voluntarily
obtaining citizenship of another country without requesting the retention of South
African citizenship or as a result of deprivation, shall be regarded as having the
citizenship or nationality they had before becoming South African citizens. If such
children had no other citizenship or nationality before becoming South African
citizens, they are regarded as having the citizenship or nationality of their
responsible parents.
What are the consequences of loss of South African citizenship by a person who
acquired citizenship through naturalisation and has ceased to be a South African
citizen because he or she has renounced his or her citizenship?
If a person who acquired citizenship through naturalisation has ceased to be a South
African citizen because he or she has renounced his or her citizenship, he or she
shall be deemed to be a foreigner who is not :
(i) in possession or is not deemed to be in possession of a permit referred to in
section 25 or 26 of the Aliens Control Act 96 of 1991, as replaced by section 10(2) or
25(2) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002; or
(ii) in terms of section 28(2) of the Aliens Control Act (substituted by s 31(2)(a) of the
Immigration Act 13 of 2002) exempted or deemed to be exempted from the
prohibition in section 23(a) of the Aliens Control Act (substituted by s 10(1) of the
Immigration Act 13 of 2002) which prohibits aliens from entering or sojourning in the
Republic with the intention of remaining there permanently if they do not have
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