Christine Hobden 3.3 Loss Current South African law continues to allow for the loss and deprivation of citizenship, for citizens by birth, descent or naturalisation. 3.3.1 Voluntary Renunciation A South African citizen who has, or intends to accept, the citizenship of another country may renounce their South African citizenship by declaration ‘in the prescribed form’ (§7(1)). Currently, regulations require the submission of a signed form including a statement of renunciation and reasons for renunciation. Where the co-parent is not a South African citizen, or also renounces citizenship, children under the age of 18 years will also cease to be citizens (§7(3)). 3.3.2 Lapse/ Automatic Loss As previously noted, upon independence, citizenship law allowed for dual citizenship, after extensive debate (Klaaren 2010:234). Importantly however, the SACA holds that South African citizens have to apply to the Minister for an exemption, should they wish to acquire another citizenship or fight in the armed forces of another country against South Africa (§3(6)(b)). Those who fail to do so will automatically lose their citizenship, as will their children under the age of 18. The 2010 Amendment added an additional form of loss of citizenship status applied only to naturalised citizens: §6(3) holds that a “person who obtained South African citizenship by naturalisation in terms of this Act shall cease to be a South African citizen if he or she engages, under the flag of another country, in a war that the Republic does not support.” This clause is not covered by the ministerial exemption and is stricter in specification: it is not just a war directly against the republic, but one that the republic does not support. There is thus, in this respect, a clear distinction between naturalised and ‘by birth’ citizenship. 3.3.3 Deprivation A South African citizen by naturalisation can be deprived of such citizenship if it was obtained by fraud (§8(a)) or it was granted in conflict with the provisions of the SACA or any prior law. Section 9 of the original SACA also controversially allowed the minister to deprive a South African (with another citizenship) of their citizenship if they have at ‘any time made use of the franchise or passport facilities of that country or performed such other voluntary act which, to the satisfaction of the Minister, indicates that such citizen has made use of the citizenship or nationality of that other country.’ This clause was perhaps a concession to the initial reluctance to allow dual citizenship for concern of a lack of loyalty to the Republic.16 This controversial clause was repealed in a 2004 Amendment (Act No 17 of 2004). The minister is also entitled to deprive a citizen of citizenship, only if they have another citizenship (as is required by international law), if they have been imprisoned for over 12 months for a crime in any country or significantly, if the minister is satisfied that it is in the public interest that an individual should no longer be a citizen (§8(2)). This provision has not 16 For an extensive discussion of the parliamentary debate around this issue, see Klaaren (2000). Klaaren suggests that ‘the debate over the dual citizenship issue was scattered to the point of confusion’ (2000:238). 10 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2018/1- © 2018 Author(s)