Christine Hobden majority have family in their home state and, frequently, hopes of returning, if stability is achieved and work opportunities are available. Particularly in light of recent xenophobic violence (discussed below), African citizens are unlikely to want to put all their proverbial eggs in the South African basket. South African citizens living abroad retain the constitutional right to return (§21(3)) and to a South African passport (§21(4)). Citizens living abroad are also entitled to pass on their citizenship (§2(1)(b)), so long as the birth is registered at the South African consulate in the country of birth. The legislation does not currently specify a limit to this method of passing on citizenship; as such, generations of South African citizens living abroad can continue to receive South African citizenship. In order for the child to have dual citizenship, parents would have to ensure that depending on the order of acquisition, they either had applied on behalf of their child for the exemption from the South African minister in terms of (§6(2)) or that they had provided evidence of the permissibility of dual allegiance from their country of residence (§5(1)(h)).18 Citizens living abroad are also entitled to vote in national elections, as established by Richter v Minister of Home Affairs, which held that the provisions of the Electoral Act and its regulations that prevented citizens living overseas from voting in national elections were unconstitutional and invalid.19 The Electoral Amendment Act (No. 18 of 2013) updated legislation to reflect this precedent; regulations require that the individual have a South African Identity Document and passport, be registered on the electoral role, and submit an intention to vote abroad (VEC10) within 15 days from the date the election is proclaimed.20 Voting takes place in the embassy or consulate: for example, in the United Kingdom South African citizens may only vote in London or Edinburgh. In large countries, the location of the voting process only in main centres can create a large travel burden to the exercise of this right. 4. Current Debates and Reforms There are no current legislative reforms tabled nor country-wide campaigns on issues of citizenship. There are however a number of challenges to the implementation and interpretation of the law by the Department of Home Affairs through legal and political channels. A number of NGOs and individuals are frequently in court challenging practices that are not consistent with the current citizenship law or the Constitution. 4.1. The Stateless Child While, legally, the SACA allows for the ‘statelessness exception’ the Department of Home Affairs has not included any guidance on this in the Regulations, thus making it unclear how 18 It seems that, in some cases, it is strictly enforced that the registration should take place at the embassy or consulate in the country of birth; and citizens who attempt to later register their child in South Africa are turned away (LHR 2015). 19 (CCT03/09, CCT 09/09) [2009] ZACC 3; 2009 (3) SA 615 (CC) (Langa CJ, Moseneke DCJ, O’Regan, Cameron, Mokgoro , Ngcobo , Nkabinde , Sachs , Skweyiya and Yacoob JJ). 20 As set out by the Electoral Commission of South Africa. “How to Register and Vote Abroad”. 12 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2018/1- © 2018 Author(s)