Shock fact: Expats ‘unknowingly’ losing SA citizenship

South Africans need to familiarise themselves with South African citizenship laws before taking on nationalities of other countries, to determine what needs to be done to avoid losing South African citizenship before acquiring other nationalities

CITIZENSHIP AND SPREAD OF SA EXPATS

These days, South Africans are spread across the globe.  One just has to take a walk down a high street in Sydney or London…or in Tel Aviv and Dubai…to hear familiar South African accents which are now commonplace in almost all corners of the globe.

The goal for many South Africans who move abroad, is to obtain a different nationality and or passport. For many South A families, relocation is viewed as a way to pave a better future for their children while for other individuals it is a way to escape falling standards and the dysfunctional state which SA appears to be heading towards.  

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LEAVING BUT NOT EMIGRATING

Most South Africans who leave the country to take up residence in other countries, do so without officially emigrating from South Africa. The country’s Department of Home Affairs does not keep official records on the number of South Africans who have left the country.  

Most departing South Africans do not officially declare emigration or rescind their SA passports as many still hold SA dear to them but wish to obtain secondary passports which offer greater mobility.       

ACQUIRING SECOND NATIONALITIES

After living in their adoptive countries for designated periods of time many expats qualify for nationality in those countries.  Many South Africans take up citizenship in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom after legally living in those places for specified periods. 

When taking up a second nationality many South Africans are not aware that they lose their SA citizenship unless applying to retain SA nationality from the Department of Home Affairs before taking up another nationality.     

LOSING SA CITIZENSHIP       

Section 6(1) of South Africa’s Citizenship Act states that South Africans will automatically lose their citizenship if they voluntarily obtain citizenship of another country. This is a continuation of old apartheid law, according to BusinessTech.

Free Market Foundation senior researcher Gary Moore said thousands of South Africans are being stripped of their South African citizenship with many, if not most, not even knowing this.

SA CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

Moore examined a 2021 application made to the Pretoria High Court for an order to declare Section 6(1) of the Citizenship Act constitutionally invalid since the South African Constitution states that no citizen may be deprived of citizenship.

Pretoria High Court Judge Jody Kollapen upheld Section 6(1). Kollapen said that the fundamental right to not be deprived of citizenship in the Bill of Rights was aimed at preventing statelessness. He added that the citizenship provision in the Constitution does not apply to South Africans applying for citizenship in another country, as they are not stateless.

Kollapen said that South Africans looking to emigrate to other countries with the possibility of acquiring citizenship should familiarise themselves with the relevant citizenship laws.

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