The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA (SACCUSA) wishes to inform South Africans in the United States of an important development regarding the confirmation and reinstatement of South African citizenship.
Following a landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship Act (Act 88 of 1995) has been declared unconstitutional and invalid from its inception on 6 October 1995. This provision previously resulted in the automatic loss of South African citizenship upon the voluntary acquisition of another country’s citizenship without prior ministerial approval. As a result of this judgment, individuals affected by this provision are now deemed not to have lost their South African citizenship and are still legally entitled to be South African Citizens.
South Africans who believe they may be impacted are encouraged to verify their citizenship status via the official online platform of the Government of South Africa. The platform allows applicants to register or log in, check their citizenship status, and, where applicable, initiate an application for confirmation of reinstatement of citizenship. The application process includes identity verification, biometric capture, passport upload, completion of an online form, and submission for review.
Please note that this ruling does not apply to individuals who renounced their South African citizenship, nor to those who lost citizenship through conversion prior to 6 October 1995.
SACCUSA encourages all potentially affected South Africans in the USA to use the official government platform to confirm their status and be sure about their South African citizenship before traveling to South Africa.
The online platform to check citizenship is now active and the link to the government website is: