As you may have seen, the Constitutional Court ratified the SCA’s verdict from June 2023, thus declaring section 6 (1) to be unconstitutional.   For all those South Africans who had previously ‘lost’ their South African Citizenship due to not applying for South African Retention before obtaining a second citizenship, this is a huge win and as it means they can get their South African Citizenship reinstated.

The most important conclusion of the court order is that anyone who lost their citizenship between 6 October 1995 to 6 May 2025 through section 6(1)(a), has been deemed not to have lost their citizenship

Those who effectively lost their citizenship this way will have the opportunity to have their South African Citizenship reinstated in the very near future – the SA Home Affairs are due to release a portal for quick access on this – still to be updated.

If applying for a renewal of your South African Passport from the UK, you do not have to show a Retention letter anymore.

However, if you fall into the category of having ‘lost’ your passport through not applying for SA Retention before May 2025, you will need to apply to have your South African Passport reinstated through the online portal that SA Home Affairs is due to release (not yet released at todays date)

The Current Situation

Please see updates from the DA Abroad as it stands: https://www.da-abroad.org/citizenship

  • Automatic Loss Invalidated
    The Constitutional Court’s ruling on May 6, 2025, means that South Africans who acquire another citizenship will not automatically lose their South African citizenship simply because they didn’t obtain prior permission. This applies retroactively to October 6, 1995.

  • Reinstatement Process will be Developed
    The Department of Home Affairs will develop an online portal to help those who lost their citizenship under the old law to confirm their reinstatement.   It was expected to be launched by the end of June 2025 but as of yet, it is not available.

Image: Constitutional Court of South Africa Credit: Ciaran Ryan/GroundUp, CC BY-ND 4.0

Image: Constitutional Court of South Africa Credit: Ciaran Ryan/GroundUp, CC BY-ND 4.0

  • Official Recommendation (Temporary)
    Please keep you eyes on the South African High Commission and DA Abroad Website for further updates: https://dirco.gov.za/uk/
    The DA Abroad has this guidance: https://www.da-abroad.org/home-affairs

  • Official statement from the DA Abroad

    https://www.da-abroad.org/citizenship

    The most important conclusion of the court order is that anyone who lost their citizenship between 6 October 1995 to 6 May 2025 through section 6(1)(a), has been deemed not to have lost their citizenship.

    As such, as of 6 May 2025 all persons affected have automatically been reinstated as citizens.

    The Department of Home Affairs has announced it will create an online portal, operational by July, that will give affected persons the chance to reapply for South African documents.

    The Department will also update their requirements on aspects such as acquiring citizenship of a foreign country, and document renewals at diplomatic missions.

    We will share any updates as they are published in the months to come.

  • Future Outlook
    Once the online portal is fully functional and the Department of Home Affairs has updated its internal procedures, the need for proactive retention applications for future dual citizens should ideally fall away.

Nexus Visas: Retention of South African Citizenship and Passport renewal update

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Call 020 3598 7413
Email immigration@nexusvisas.co.uk

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