missions in Zimbabwe and South Africa in such a way that anyone born outside Malawi, even if they actually do not qualify under the law for citizenship in the country of birth, loses his citizenship from the viewpoint of Malawi if he does not comply with section 7 by age 22. Malawian authorities simply apply the presumption that the individual has a claim to another nationality by birth abroad. What this means is that any person born to a Malawian parent in South Africa will lose citizenship if he or she does not fulfil section 7 requirements prior to age 22. This includes the requirement that he or she intend to permanently reside in Malawi – a difficult prerequisite for someone born outside Malawi who has never stepped foot on the territory. South Africa does not provide citizenship by mere birth on the territory. Even though children born in South Africa to Malawian parents are not entitled to South African citizenship, the Malawian foreign mission will require them to comply with section 7. This interpretation and application of a prohibition on dual citizenship is common across southern Africa – countries adopt a better-safethan-sorry approach by interpreting legislation broadly. It could be a result of lack of training and knowledge, but foreign missions seem to prefer to err on the side of depriving would-be citizens of nationality rather than doing a legal analysis of the nationality law in other countries where their citizens give birth – in order to determine whether such children actually do become citizens ‘of some other country.’ While children born abroad to Malawian citizens by birth can apply for restoration of their citizenship (section 27 of the Citizenship Act), it is a discretionary procedure – not a right. In addition, applicants must travel to Malawi to submit their restoration applications and yet Malawian foreign missions refuse to issue emergency travel documents to persons who are not already recognised as nationals. Restoration applicants who do not hold another nationality must then travel illegally to Malawi to lodge their – discretionary – applications. Costs are also prohibitive for many would-be applicants: as of 2011, applications cost $120 and if approved, applicants must also pay unknown and potentially prohibitive ‘citizenship fees.’ In one case, a client of LHR was told by the Malawian Consulate that she could be asked to pay K500,000 – equal to about R12,680 – for the citizenship fee. Malawi also has a racial requirement in its citizenship law. For children born both inside and outside of Malawi, they must have a parent who is not only a citizen but also ‘a person of African race.’ Another caveat in the law impacts second generation children of Malawian migrants. According to section 5 of the Citizenship Act, Malawians can only pass on their nationality to children born outside Malawi if one parent is a citizen by birth (i.e. was born in 90 Promoting citizenship and preventing statelessness in South Africa: A practitioner’s guide