Retaining South African citizenship when you take another citizenship

On 6 May 2025 the Constitutional Court confirmed the Supreme Court of Appeal's order in Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs (CCT 184/23). It declared section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid from 6 October 1995. Citizens who lost their citizenship by operation of that section are deemed not to have lost it [source, source]. DHA's 24 November 2025 statement says the judgment took immediate effect and that affected people are deemed never to have lost their citizenship [source].

The struck-down section applied to a citizen who, whilst not a minor, by a voluntary and formal act other than marriage, acquired the citizenship or nationality of another country. The old rule removed South African citizenship unless the Minister had given permission to retain it beforehand. The Court held that this ministerial power, in section 6(2), did not save section 6(1)(a) [source, source]. The order does not say that every other loss-of-citizenship rule in the Act was struck down.

• Anyone who lost citizenship under section 6(1)(a) is considered to have retained it. DHA tells those people to check their status on the official portal and, if needed, start reinstatement there [source, source].
• If your second nationality was acquired after 6 October 1995 and you did not obtain ministerial permission, DHA says you are automatically covered and considered to have retained South African citizenship. DHA still says you may use the portal to confirm your status [source].
• The portal FAQ says the ruling covers both citizens by birth and people who obtained citizenship through naturalisation, if the naturalised citizenship was lost after acquiring another country's citizenship [source].
• Children born while a parent was incorrectly recorded as having lost citizenship may have affected statuses. DHA says the system will advise if dependants need further steps. It does not list those steps [source].

The portal is myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za/reinstatement-of-citizenship. The Embassy citizens services page links to My Home Affairs Online for citizenship reinstatement [source].

1. Create a profile at My Home Affairs Online. DHA emails a verification link. Log in with that email and password [source].
2. Check your citizen status. You need your ID number [source, source].
3. Take a selfie in a well-lit place with a white background. If the selfie is not enough, scan a passport. A South African or foreign passport is accepted, including an expired passport. Do not cover the page with your fingers, and avoid overhead light on the page [source].
4. If your citizenship is still valid, DHA confirms it and says reinstatement is not necessary [source].
5. If your citizenship may have been revoked, complete the application. DHA says most details are pre-filled from its records. Submit it. You are told by email when it is finalised. Track it under My Applications, at the top right of the homepage [source].

• From the USA: yes. The platform is global. You may use a foreign passport if you do not have a valid South African passport [source, source].
• Time: allow 8 to 10 weeks for DHA to review a reinstatement application. If the record already shows you as a citizen, DHA says you are notified immediately [source, source].
• Fee: the DHA reinstatement FAQ does not state a fee. Do not assume it is free, and do not pay a figure from the older Embassy retention forms unless you are filing one of those forms.
• Documents: a selfie, a passport (South African or foreign, even if expired), and further documents only if the review asks for them [source].
• Invalid ID number: DHA says this can happen if the number does not match its records, including where the ID format changed after 1986, or if it was typed wrong. The FAQ gives the contact as HACC on +27800 601 190 [source]. The portal FAQ gives the email hacc@dha.gov.za [source].
• Passport: reinstatement does not issue a passport. You apply separately. DHA says that application is at a Home Affairs office or a South African mission abroad [source]. In the USA, VFS takes passport applications. See what to bring and fees.

• DHA says South Africans living and working abroad must have a valid South African passport to travel to South Africa. If you still hold South African citizenship, DHA says you will be penalised for entering on a foreign passport. The FAQ does not state the penalty amount [source].
• Proof that you have applied for a South African passport is not accepted for travel. In an emergency, DHA says you may apply for an Emergency Travel Certificate at your local mission. See lost passport and the ETC [source].
• A minor who has dual citizenship also needs a valid South African passport to enter South Africa. DHA's answer is "Yes" [source].
• A child who was never registered as a South African citizen may travel on a foreign passport, subject to visa requirements. To register that child, DHA says you apply for foreign birth registration at the mission or a local office [source]. Where that application is lodged is in conflict: the Embassy birth registration page still describes mailing it in [source]; the citizens services page says no mailed-in birth registration will be processed and points birth registration to VFS [source]; DHA says a citizen born abroad whose birth is not on the population register cannot be served at the VFS centres and must go to a mission [source]. This site does not yet have a full birth-registration page.

DHA says you may apply for renunciation [source]. The Embassy still publishes a renunciation requirements PDF, linked from the citizens services page [source, source]:

• DHA-246 renunciation form and BI-529
• Copy of birth certificate or passport, if available
• Original South African passport, ID book or card
• Copy of the US naturalization certificate, or other foreign citizenship
• Minimum processing period 6 to 8 months
• The PDF says to mail the application to the South African Embassy, 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

The PDF does not state a fee [source]. The citizens services notice that no mailed-in applications will be processed names passport, identity document and birth registration. It does not name renunciation [source]. Confirm with the Embassy before you post original documents.