Constitutional Court Strikes Down Law Stripping South Africans of Citizenship for Acquiring Another Nationality

The Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled on Tuesday, May 6th, declaring Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 unconstitutional. The section previously stated that South African citizens would automatically lose their citizenship upon acquiring another nationality unless they received explicit permission from the Minister of Home Affairs.

The case, brought forward by the Democratic Alliance (DA), questioned the provision’s constitutionality, arguing that it violated the right to citizenship guaranteed under Section 20. The DA maintained that individuals should not lose their citizenship automatically, without due process, for acquiring another nationality. They emphasized that the law deprived citizens of their constitutional rights to remain citizens of South Africa, a move they deemed unjustified.

In response, the Department of Home Affairs defended the provision, asserting that the state had the authority to regulate citizenship issues. They argued that the law was a legitimate measure to preserve the country’s sovereignty and control over its citizenship policy, with ministerial discretion available under Section 6(2) of the Act.

The Constitutional Court, however, sided with the DA, ruling that the automatic loss of citizenship infringes on individuals’ fundamental rights. The court highlighted that any deprivation of citizenship must be justifiable and based on reasonable grounds, particularly when it concerns a right as significant as citizenship. The lack of clear criteria or limits on the minister’s discretion was also a key point in the judgment.

The ruling invalidates Section 6(1)(a), effectively deeming it unconstitutional from the date of the Act’s promulgation in 1995. As a result, individuals who lost their South African citizenship due to acquiring another nationality are now considered to have retained their citizenship. The court’s judgment is expected to have wide-ranging implications for dual citizenship in South Africa, signaling a shift towards greater acceptance of dual nationality in an increasingly interconnected world.