Related documents
- Is amended by South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 2010
- Is amended by South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 2004
- Is amended by South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 1997
South Africa
South African Citizenship Act, 1995
Act 88 of 1995
- Published in Government Gazette 16751 on 6 October 1995
- Assented to on 28 September 1995
- Commenced on 6 October 1995
- [This is the version of this document as it was from 6 October 1995 to 27 November 1997.]
- [Amended by South African Citizenship Amendment Act, 1997 (Act 69 of 1997) on 6 October 1995]
Chapter 1
Interpretation and application of Act
1. Definitions
Chapter 2
Acquisition of South African citizenship
2. Citizenship by birth
3. Citizenship by descent
4. Citizenship by naturalisation
5. Certificate of naturalisation
Chapter 3
Loss of South African citizenship
6. Loss of citizenship
7. Renunciation of citizenship
8. Deprivation of citizenship
9. 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, indicates that such citizen has made use of the citizenship or nationality of that other country.10. 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, if he or she was born outside the Republic and is under the age of 18 years, shall cease to be a South African citizen.Chapter 4
Consequences of loss of South African citizenship
11. Status of persons who cease to be South African citizens
12. Saving of obligations incurred before loss of citizenship
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.Chapter 5
Resumption of South African citizenship
13. Resumption of South African citizenship
Chapter 6
Miscellaneous provisions in respect of citizenship
14. Marriage does not affect citizenship
A married person shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be capable of acquiring and losing South African citizenship in all respects as if he or she were an unmarried person, and no person shall acquire or lose South African citizenship by reason merely of a marriage contracted by him or her.15. Issue of certificate of citizenship in case of doubt
16. Certificate of South African citizenship
17. Evidence
Any certificate issued under this Act or any prior law, or any certified extract of an entry made in any register in pursuance of this Act or any prior law, shall in all courts of law be prima facie evidence of the particulars set forth therein.18. Penalty for false representations or statements
Any person who makes for any of the purposes of this Act, any false representation or any statement which is false in any material particulars, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding eight years.19. Amendment of certificates of citizenship
20. Determination of questions of residence
Whenever a question arises under this Act as to whether or not a person was resident or ordinarily resident in the Republic the question may be determined by the Minister.21. Instruction in responsibilities and privileges of South African citizenship
The Minister may in respect of—Chapter 7
General provisions
22. Delegation of powers
The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he or she may deem necessary, delegate any power conferred on him or her by this Act, excluding a power referred to in section 25, to an officer in the service of the Department, but shall not be divested of any power so delegated and may set aside or amend any decision of the delegate made in the exercise of such a power.23. Regulations
The Minister may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act, with regard to—24. Application of Act
This Act and any amendment thereof shall also apply in the Prince Edward Islands.25. Review of Minister’s decision by court of law
26. Repeal of laws
26A. Construction of references to citizens and citizenship of former states in existing laws and in certain documents
A reference in any law in force immediately prior to the commencement of this Act, or in any certificate or other document under any such law, to a citizen of any former state or citizenship of any former state shall, unless inconsistent with the context or otherwise clearly inappropriate, be construed as a reference to a South African citizen or South African citizenship, respectively.[section 26A inserted by section 11(1) of Act 69 of 1997]27. Short title
This Act shall be called the South African Citizenship Act, 1995.History of this document
01 January 2013 amendment not yet applied
15 September 2004 amendment not yet applied
28 November 1997 amendment not yet applied
06 October 1995 this version
Commenced
28 September 1995
Assented to
Cited documents 5
Legislation 5
Documents citing this one 100
Gazette 74
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Judgment 22
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- Khoza v Minister of Home Affairs and Another (6700/2022) [2023] ZAGPPHC 93 (27 February 2023)
- Larbi-Odam and Others v Member of the Eexecutive Council for Education (North-West Province) and Another [1997] ZACC 16 (26 November 1997)
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- Mahinga v Minister of Home Affairs and Another (1027 of 2020) [2021] ZASCA 179 (17 December 2021)
- Mahinga v Minister of Home Affairs and Another (49604/16) [2017] ZAGPPHC 136 (8 September 2017)
- Mayelane v Ngwenyama and Another [2013] ZACC 14 (30 May 2013)
- Minister of Home Affairs and Another v Ali and Others (1289 of 2017) [2018] ZASCA 169 (30 November 2018)
- Mulowayi and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another [2019] ZACC 1 (29 January 2019)
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- The Minister of Home Affairs and Others v Jose and Another (169 of 2020) [2020] ZASCA 152 (25 November 2020)
- Xiuguo and Another v The Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs and Another (60392/16) [2018] ZAGPPHC 277 (5 July 2018)