New Visa Laws Lead to New Zealander Discovering She’s South African in Dual Citizenship Confusion
A 34-year-old New Zealand citizen discovered – while applying for the newly required visa to visit South Africa on holiday – that she has been South African all along without realising it! Her South African expat mother, Cheryl Jury, has shared her story with SAPeople in the hope it can enlighten other South African families who may […]
A 34-year-old New Zealand citizen discovered – while applying for the newly required visa to visit South Africa on holiday – that she has been South African all along without realising it! Her South African expat mother, Cheryl Jury, has shared her story with SAPeople in the hope it can enlighten other South African families who may be in a similar situation.
Cheryl says: “Some advice for New Zealand citizens caught up in this NZ Visa issue. We received our NZ citizenship in 2001, after our daughter had just turned 18.
“We thought by accepting New Zealand Citizenship, and not applying to retain our South African citizenship, we had therefore lost all rights to a SA citizenship… which did not concern us too much as we did not plan to return to SA.
“Our daughter, who planned to travel to South Africa in March on her New Zealand passport and therefore required the new visa, travelled from Sydney to Canberra to present in person at the Embassy (a ridiculous requirement) to obtain her visa… only to be told that because she got her citizenship in 2001 when the law of majority was 21, and she has never renounced her SA citizenship, she is still a South African citizen, and therefore can only travel to SA on a SA passport*… which would take 3 months to issue and she is due to travel next month!
“There appears to be no solution to this problem… so a heads up to any Kiwis whose children were part of the family citizenship process and have not renounced their children’s citizenship if they were under 21 before the law changed in 2007 – I suggest if they plan to travel to South Africa this might pose a problem. My daughter is now 34 so time elapsing makes no impact on this ruling.”
Under South African Immigration Laws minors are not required to apply for dual citizenship if they acquire the foreign citizenship before their 18th birthday… and automatically retain their SA citizenship for life unless, as an adult, they wish to acquire a further foreign citizenship (in which case they need to apply for permission or lose their SA citizenship).
Although Cheryl’s daughter was 18 at the time she received her Kiwi Citizenship in 2001, she was still considered a minor at that stage as the age of majority only changed to 18 in 2007 (as an amendment to the Children’s Act).
Finding herself a dual citizen, it would be possible for Cheryl’s daughter to apply for renunciation of her South African citizenship… and therefore travel on her New Zealand passport BUT Cheryl says: “We did suggest to the Commission that Leanne would be happy to renounce her citizenship, but apparently that takes longer than a passport.”
Cheryl hopes her daughter’s story can help other South African families whose children may have retained South African citizenship without being aware of it.
*According to the South African Citizenship Act, it is an offence for a South African citizen with dual citizenship to enter or depart SA on a foreign passport. Once a person has been granted dual citizenship, the holder must always enter and depart South Africa on their valid South African passport.
MORE
Facts on South African visa requirements for New Zealand passport holders.