11. The right to a nationality is enshrined in the South African Constitution,12 according to which, no one shall be deprived of their nationality13 and “every child has a right to a name and a nationality from birth.”14 While this provision does not stipulate that every child has a right to a South African nationality, it should be interpreted in light of South Africa’s obligations under Article 7 CRC, which includes an absolute protection against childhood statelessness. 12. The Citizenship Act15 governs the acquisition of South African citizenship. The Act provides citizenship by birth or descent to: a. children born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless;16 b. children born on the territory and who have lived in South Africa until age of majority, and whose parents are permanent residents;17 and c. children adopted by South African citizens.18 While these provisions could provide strong safeguards against statelessness, in all three instances, contrary to the South African Constitution, birth registration is required before citizenship is awarded. This is a significant concern particularly considering vulnerable children who are excluded from birth registration. The Act also provides for citizenship by naturalisation: d. children born in South Africa to other migrants (non-citizen and non-permanent residents); or those on a visa that does not lead to permanent residence status, are entitled to citizenship by naturalisation at the age of 18.19 This section is also dependent on birth registration. As will be evident further below, the lack of regulations poses a significant barrier to implementing sections 2(2) and 4(3) – both of which have been designed to safeguard against childhood statelessness. Furthermore, it is important to note that the Citizenship Act does not protect children born outside the country, but resident in South Africa, from statelessness. 13. The Birth and Deaths Registration Act and its regulations20 provide the legal framework for birth registration of all persons born in South Africa. Birth registration must ideally be initiated by both parents, and occur within a prescribed time frame after birth. The late registration of births is possible but is subject to penalties. 14. Provision is also made for the late birth registration of adults whose births were never registered when they were children. The aim was to address the need of South African citizens who were unable to access birth registration due to the poor birth records of black South African’s during the apartheid era. However, the Department of Home Affairs is phasing out late registration of births, due to alleged abuse by foreign nationals who attempt to fraudulently acquire South African citizenship.21 12 The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 Ibid., Section 20 14 Ibid., Section 28(1)(a) 15 South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 16 Ibid., Section 2(2) 17 Ibid., Section 2(3) 18 Ibid., Section 3 19 Ibid., Section 4(3) 20 Birth and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992, and Regulations on the Registration of Births and Deaths, 2014 21 http://www.dha.gov.za/files/Brochures/Mop-upCampaignBrochure.pdf 13