South African Embassy - Buenos Aires Argentina

According to the South African Citizenship Act, No. 88 of 1995, South African Citizenship can be obtained by:

Birth:Any person who is born in South African territory, as long as his/her parents are South African citizens or legal aliens holders of a Permanent Residence Permit for the RSA. Children of foreign diplomats or representatives of foreign governments, and children of member of the household or an employee of any such person are not included in this category.
Naturalization:
- By marriage: Spouses or widows/widowers of South African citizens that are legal resident and have resided in South Africa for no less than 2 (two) consecutive years immediately preceding the date of his/her application and after the date of his/her marriage to such citizen.
- By virtue of Permanent Residence: A foreigner, aged 18 and over, who has been a resident in the Republic for a continuous period of not less than 1 (one) year immediately preceding the date of his/her application, and that he/she has, in addition, been resident in the Republic for a further period of not less than four years during the eight years immediately preceding the date of his/her application. He/she must: a) be able to communicate in any one of the official languages of the Republic to the satisfaction of the Minister of Home Affairs; b) have an adequate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of South African citizenship; c) intend to continue to reside in the Republic; d) be of good character (i.e. not have criminal records.)
Descent: Any person born outside the Republic, if one of his/her parents was or is, at the time of his/her birth, a South African citizen and whose birth is registered at the South African Embassy with jurisdiction in his country of residence in terms of the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992). Any person born outside the Republic, if one of his/her parents was or is, at the time of his/her birth, a South African citizen and whose birth is registered at the South African Embassy with jurisdiction in his country of residence in terms of the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992 (Act No. 51 of 1992).

Please note that the above is a brief summary of the South African Citizenship Act, No. 88 of 1995. The full text can be obtained from your nearest South African Embassy and/or the Department of Home Affairs.

Requirements to Make an Enquiry Regarding South African Citizenship

Those who have one or both South African parents may make an enquiry so that it can be determined whether they are entitled to South African Citizenship. Since the South African Citizenship Act is very complicated and has a number of exceptions, this would not be an "application" for citizenship whose outcome is unequivocal, but an enquiry. In the case of grandchildren of South African citizens, the enquiry must be made first in respect of their parents and then (if the outcome has been positive, of course) and then in respect of him/herself.

To make an Enquiry the following must be submitted:

Form BI-529 "Determination of Citizenship"**
Applicant's Argentine/Paraguayan (as the case may be) birth certificate*;
Marriage certificate of the person born in the RSA with the mother/father of applicant*;
Original South African document of the person born in South Africa: Any of the following is acceptable: SA birth certificate / South African ID book / Baptismal Certificate or any other document that proves the parent's citizenship as South African. The said documents must have been issued in South Africa, i.e. documents issued by other countries will not be acceptable even if it is written on them that the holder is "South African." Only originals, or copies duly legalized by South African authorities, are acceptable. The original documents are returned to the applicant once they have been seen by a South African officer, who will send a photocopy duly authenticated by him/herself to Pretoria together with the requirements previously mentioned.
Free of Charge.

NOTE:

* All Argentine documents must be legalized and translated as explained in Legalization of Documents. Paraguayan documents must be Apostilled and translated into English too.

** All the forms must be completed in English, in print with black ink as they are microfilmed.

Retention of Citizenship

If you want to formally obtain the citizenship of another country while retaining your South African citizenship, you can apply for retention of your South African citizenship by:

completing Forms DHA-1664 and DHA-529
paying the required application fee

Please note: the application must be made and approved before acquisition of the other citizenship, or you will lose your SA citizenship automatically on the date that you have acquired the foreign citizenship.

You can submit the forms to any office of the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa, or any South African embassy, mission or consulate overseas.

Automatic loss of Citizenship

Unless you have been granted retention of your South African citizenship prior to acquiring another citizenship, you will lose your South African citizenship automatically if you are 18 years and older and

have obtained the citizenship of another country by a voluntary and formal act, other than marriage, or
are serving in the armed forces of another country (where you are also a citizen) and that country is at war with South Africa.

Resumption of citizenship

You may apply to have your South African citizenship reinstated if you are a former citizen by birth or descent and you have returned to South Africa permanently or are living in South Africa permanently

Former citizens by naturalisation must re-apply for permanent residence or apply for exemption thereof, before they can be considered for resumption.

To apply for resumption, you need to

Complete Forms DHA-175 and DHA-529
Complete application for identity document Form DHA-9
Submit two identity document photographs that comply with the Passport and ID Photograph Specifications
Submit proof that you live in South Africa permanently (municipal account, etc) and copy thereof
Submit your marriage certificate (if applicable) and copy thereof
Payment the prescribed fee

Exemption from loss of citizenship

Persons who have lost their South African citizenship by acquiring the citizenship of another country before 6 October 1995, may apply for exemption from the loss.

The following documents are required:

Completed application Form DHA-1666 and DHA-529
Payment of the prescribed fee

Renunciation of citizenship

If you are a dual citizen or intend to acquire the citizenship of another country you may apply for renunciation of your SA citizenship.

To apply:

Complete Form DHA-246
Submit proof of your other citizenship or confirmation that you are applying for another citizenship
Submit the documents to your nearest Home Affairs office or South African Embassy, Mission or Consulate.

Deprivation of Citizenship

You could be deprived of your South African citizenship if you are a citizen by naturalisation and

your certificate of naturalisation was obtained fraudulently
you concealed a material fact relating to your application
you supplied false information about yourself, or
If you are a dual citizen you may be deprived of your SA citizenship if you have, at any time, been sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment in any country for an offence that would also have been a punishable offence in South Africa, or if deprivation would be in the public interest.

A person will be afforded the opportunity to show cause why he or she should not be deprived of their citizenship before a final decision is taken.

Citizenship