Comments on: Dual Citizenship – SA/USA

By: Monica

Monica — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:24:57 +0000

What is the process to renew one’s South African passport when one’s has the SA permission letter and a US passport? What should you enter as your citizenship? Anything else to note when applying for a SA passport renewal?

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:26:11 +0000

If I become an US citizen, how would the SA government find out if I do not tell them?

By: Shallie

Shallie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:50:12 +0000

I have been a US Citizen since the late 80's and was told I could not get dual Citizenship at the time. I would like to get dual Citizenship, but it appears it is too late. If I were to go back to South Africa for an extended period of time would I lose any benefits that I have here e.g Disability for one and my ex husbands Social Security?

By: Renee

Renee — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:05:45 +0000

I don't believe you have lost your SA citizenship if you were a minor during the time. South African citizens under the age of eighteen (18) years are exempt as long as they acquire the foreign citizenship before their eighteenth (18th) birthday. They automatically retain their South African citizenship for life unless; once they have reached the age of eighteen (18) years and they then wish to acquire a further foreign citizenship. They will then have to apply for prior permission to retain their South African citizenship – failing to do so, they will automatically lose their South African citizenship. (http://www.sahc.org.au/citizenship/Dual_Citizensh...

Hope this helps
Renee

By: Worried mommy

Worried mommy — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:48:29 +0000

Thanks so much for this helpful information. Could you please help me with the following question. I am South African with a baby who's father is American. We got married a week ago and we now want to apply for our son's American passport. I do not want him to loose his South African citizinship. I read somewhere that applicants who are minors under the age of 21 do not need to apply for retention of SA citizenship as they do not loose it automatically by acquiring foreign citizenship. Is this true or am i getting the incorrect information?

By: johnels

johnels — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:05:15 +0000

I am not sure whether the fact that you lost your citizenship without your consent will be regarded as a factor to consider, but I can tell you this: As far as I know, the SA government will give you citizenship back if you are entitled to it, and you are, but I believe there is one condition… you have to move back to South Africa to get it.

By: Charles

Charles — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:53:20 +0000

I lost my South African citizenship in the early 90's when I was a minor (we became US citizens). I have an interest in regaining it. Would the South African gov't consider the fact that I lost my citizenship without my consent if I was to apply?

By: Yolanda

Yolanda — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:39:06 +0000

Hi!. Apart from specifics regarding SA citizenship, many immigrants to the U.S. are eligible for the naturalization process. But, first an individual must be a Lawful Permanent Resident. Here are the requirements for naturalization:

He or she must be at least 18 years old at the time of filing for citizenship.

An individual must reside in the United States for a continuous period prior to the filing of the naturalization application. If the applicant is not married to an American citizen he or she must live in the U.S. for a continuous period of five years after lawful admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident. If an individual is married to a U.S. citizen, he or she must live in the United States for a continuous period of three years following lawful admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident. In the latter case, the individual must be married to and reside with the spouse citizen for three years before the applicant’s exam date and the spouse must have been a U.S. citizen during that entire time.

Residence is required for three months immediately preceding the filing of the naturalization application. Continuous residence in the United States is also required from the date of filing until actual admission to citizenship.

The applicant must have an ability to read, write and speak ordinary English. This is ability is determined through oral and written tests administered by an immigration examiner during the naturalization interview. There are some exemptions to the language requirement; consult our attorneys for more details on possible waivers.

The applicant must have both knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of U.S. history and government. This ability is determined by administration of a multiple choice test. Generally, even those person who are exempt from English requirement must still meet this requirement.

I hope this information proves useful!

By: Tint

Tint — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:38:39 +0000

Great article, John! I learnt a few things here. I didn’t know they’d changed the law.

Love your non-lawyer advice ; ) I agree. I’d ask at anonymously at the consulate before deciding what to do. That is usually my modus operandi.

By: John

John — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:25:47 +0000

Marie, my non-lawyer opinion is this: If the SA government doesn’t know that your doctor has US citizenship, his SA citizenship will be intact. If he wants to retain his SA citizenship and not risk losing it later if SA finds out he has US citizenship, he might want to apply for permission to retain his SA citizenship. On the application form he’ll likely have to state when he intends to obtain US citizenship and he might have to be a little “creative” with his answer.

The other option is for you or someone else (not the doctor) to pose the question to the SA embassy. If they’re willing to accommodate him and knowingly let him apply “after the fact”, then great. If they take a “rules is rules” attitude, then fall back to option 1.