Swaziland
In 2005, a new Constitution was enacted in Swaziland. It contains
several provisions that exhibit gender discrimination, some of
which mirror the Swaziland Citizenship Act 14 of 1992.
Under article 43(1) and 43(2) of the Constitution, a child born
after the Constitution entered into force, regardless of birthplace,
will be Swazi by birth if his father is a Swazi citizen under the new
Constitution. Also applying to children born after 2005, it appears
that mothers are only permitted to pass citizenship by birth if a
child is born out of wedlock and not ‘adopted by the father or
claimed by that father in accordance with Swazi law and custom,’
provided that the mother is a citizen of Swaziland by birth125 (thus
Swazi women citizens who were born outside of Swaziland do not
pass citizenship to children born out of wedlock abroad). The effect
of this law is that Swazi women who marry foreign men may not
pass on citizenship by birth to their children. However, Swazi men
appear to be unencumbered by marriage to foreign women; their
children and their spouses appear to acquire citizenship with ease.
Section 44 allows foreign women who marry Swazi men to acquire
citizenship from the time of marriage after making a declaration. It
also applies retroactively, such that citizenship is also granted to
foreign women spouses who married before the new Constitution.
Finding a solution for clients: immigration status and citizenship
generation Mozambicans, given that so many former Mozambican
refugees and mine workers live undocumented in South Africa and
have had children born here. Government amnesties provided a
significant number123 of Mozambicans with permanent residence
over the years.124 However, an unknown number have been unable
to regularise their immigration status. Application of section 2(2) to
people whose parents have not acquired legal status in the country
would serve as a critical stop-gap to prevent statelessness in the
Mozambican community and to ensure that the right to a
nationality from birth is realised.
In addition, a child born abroad, such as in South Africa, to a
Swazi father also born abroad must notify Swazi authorities of his or
her desire to retain Swazi citizenship within one year of attaining
123 The first amnesty from 1995 to 1996 offered permanent residence to contract
mineworkers who had worked in South Africa since 1986 and who had voted
in the 1994 elections; around 51,504 people applied. The second amnesty in
1996 provided amnesty to 124,073 undocumented citizens of SADC countries
living in South Africa who 'met certain conditions.' Between 1999 and 2000,
permanent residence was granted to 82,969 former Mozambican refugees
who could show that they arrived between 1985 and 1992 and lived in the
Northern, North West, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Those
living in other provinces were not regularised. Peberdy (n 44 above) 156-158.
124 Peberdy (n 44 above) 156-157.
125 Article 43(4) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2005).
Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide
93
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