“I hope to get citizenship and to go back to school, to become engaged in the community activities. I bring worry to my family because they think of my well-being and vulnerability to arrest. They may expect me to get educated and assist but I cannot do this. I hope to eventually assist and provide for my family. I fear arrest because I am undocumented. I am not free ...” Case study Case study Y.V.C. (‘Victor’)109 was born in Malawi in 1989 to a South African mother and Malawian father. While he was still a child, both his parents passed away. Victor was then raised by an informal ‘uncle’ who told him of his South African roots. After his uncle died, Victor came to South Africa in search of his remaining family. Remarkably, he was able to trace his grandmother. However, he was told at Home Affairs that he could not register as South African without a birth certificate from Malawi, which he did not have. Malawi only recently enacted legislation to make birth registration compulsory under the law. Having travelled to South Africa without a passport, Victor was arrested and detained for the purposes of deportation on the charge of being an illegal foreigner. LHR intervened and was able to assist Victor in proving his maternal connection with his South African grandmother using a blood test. LHR hopes to assist Victor in accessing late birth registration in South Africa. 109 Name changed to protect identity. Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide 67