From the ongoing Department of Home Affairs visa backlogs to the nuances of the Critical Skills list and the latest temporary concessions, the path to residency or citizenship is fraught with complexity.
Whether you are a skilled professional, a business owner, or a family seeking clarity on your status, @ClaudiaPizzocri, CEO of Eisenberg & Associates, is here on DMC to answer all your questions and help you make sense of the latest legal developments.
In 2014, we applied for permanent residency on the basis of an exemption. In 2018, we were informed that, due to changes in the law in 2014, we had been in the country unlawfully, as it is not permitted to remain in the country while awaiting the outcome of a visa application without holding a valid visa. We are now in the country on the basis of a Form 20 and have submitted two new temporary visa applications. Is there anything we can do other than wait?
Hi Mia. If you were granted a Form-20 and after its issuance you submitted in person (within the deadline provided) temporary residence visa applications via VFS Global and have submission receipts confirming the submission/s, you have made great strides to regularise your status. I am not sure what additional concerns you may have, if these are related to delay, depending on how long ago the submissions took place, your applications might form part of the persisting backlog.
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.*
I have an old SA ID booklet.
I would like to get an SA ID card.
I was not born in South Africa.
My family immigrated to SA when I was 5. I was a naturalised citizen by the time I was in my teens. I have voted in nearly every election in this country since 1994. I pay taxes etc.
My naturalisation certificate and other paperwork was lost in a house fire in the 2000s.
How do I go about getting my SA ID card?
My husband and I employ a Malawi man as driver, houseman and carer. He has been a trusted employee of our family since 2002 and currently makes it possible for us to live relatively independently and in our own home. He has a Malawian passport and visa of sorts. Would we be putting him at risk if we encouraged/helped him to apply for legitimate status?
Tina
Hi Nick. In relation to your ID (green ID book vs smart-ID) it may well depend on whether your details, including the basis on which you became a citizen, were ever properly updated or verified after the original document was issued. The rollout of Smart IDs to naturalised citizens only began in May 2025. Until then, the system’s backend could not properly accommodate overseas birth, among other issues, as @Rebecca_Davis reported in her Jan 2025 Daily Maverick article. Whether to replace the certificate lost in the fire or to obtain an official, updated confirmation of your South African citizenship, you would need to pursue an application for the Determination of your South African citizenship. There are different statutory provisions by which you may have become a citizen in your teens, including the possibility of automatic naturalisation under the 1984 amendment. As ever in this area, the devil is in the detail…
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.
Hi Tina. Sadly, this is far from an unusual case. Many dedicated and long-serving employees have, over the years, faced formidable barriers to obtaining lawful status, often because they do not straightforwardly qualify for any work visa under the Immigration Act. Unless, for example, he is married to a South African citizen or permanent resident, and/or has South African citizen or permanent resident minor children, there may be no obvious route available to him. His status over the years may also be either part of the solution or part of the compounding difficulty and would need to be carefully assessed. For that reason, I would strongly recommend obtaining advice on his specific circumstances before taking any step. One would not want to expose him unnecessarily or push him into the lion’s den unprepared.
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.
Hello! I’m interested in a retirement visa to South Africa. (I am treated as a “high net worth” individual by banks in USA, Canada, and South Africa.) My question is about the police background checks I am required to submit. As someone who has had an international career, the requirement to collect within six months background checks for all places I’ve lived since I was 18 seemed prohibitive. I’ve since variously heard only the last five or ten years is required. What’s the actual requirement?
Hello. A “police clearance certificate” since 20 May 2024 is defined to apply for “each country where an applicant, after having attained the age of 18 years, resided for 12 months or longer during the five years immediately preceding the date of application”.
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.
Hi, I am enquiring on behalf of my sister.
She was born in South Africa in 1948. She left South Africa in 1974 to live in Canada where she has lived ever since. She is now a Canadian citizen. She has an old ID number in one of her expired SA passports, but she was never issued with a green ID book. She now requires a new SA ID to liquidate certain investments in SA. She has tried unsuccessfully to apply for her ID through the consulate in Canada. What process can she follow to get her SA ID?
Thank you.
Jane
Hi Jane. With regard to the ID, if your sister has never had a green ID book, I suspect that her last meaningful interaction as a South African citizen with the DHA, even through the South African High Commission in Canada, may have ceased, or have been limited, once she settled in Canada and moved on with life there?
The 13-digit green barcoded ID book came into full effect by 1996, and as a consequence her older ID number may not be readily recognised against current DHA systems and records.
More importantly, depending on (a) when she acquired Canadian citizenship (before or after 6 October 1995?), (b) how she acquired it (whether by marriage, naturalisation or descent?), and (c) whether she had applied beforehand for retention of her South African citizenship (?), she may have ceased to be a South African citizen. In that event, she may nevertheless have retained a right to permanent residence in terms of the Citizenship Act and may be eligible to apply for exemption from such loss, or, following the Constitutional Court judgement of May 2025, may still be regarded as a dual national to date. This can usually be established quite easily by a brief review of the relevant documents and dates.
From the information you have included in your post, the very first step would likely be for your sister to attend to an application for the determination of her South African citizenship, so that her information can be updated and tested on the South African Population Register in light of the gap since her departure.
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.
Thank you so much, Claudia
My sister acquired Canadian citizenship on 30 April 1990 by marriage and length of time in the country.
She didn’t apply for retention of SA citizenship as she was advised at the time by the consul in Montreal that she would always have SA citizenship.
She did not renounce her SA citizenship.
I hope this additional information might help to clarify next steps.
Thank you
Jane
Dear Jane, well noted.
If your sister can demonstrate that her acquisition of Canadian citizenship was based on her marriage then the determination of her SA citizenship would confirm her retained SA citizenship and she may proceed thereafter to apply for a new ID and passport.
If not, the outcome to the application would inform her that on acquisition of Canadian citizenship she ceased to be a SA citizen and that she would retain her right to permanent residence in terms of the Citizenship Act. Importantly the outcome (in the latter scenario) would also inform her that she may apply for the exemption for such loss.
Your sister’s 1990 Canadian citizenship acqusition is not covered by the Constitutional Court Judgement of May 2025 as it pertains to the provisions of the 1949 Citizenship Act and not the 1995 Act.
Please note that my reply is general guidance, not live legal advice, and is based only on the brief facts provided here; for a detailed assessment of your specific circumstances, you are welcome email me directly.